Thermal Management of Friction-Drilled A356 Aluminum Alloy: A Study of Preheating and Drilling Parameters

Friction drilling is a non-conventional process that generates heat through the interaction between a rotating tool and a workpiece, forming a hole with a bushing. In this study, the effect of the preheating temperature, rotational speed, and feed rate on the induced temperature during the friction drilling of A356 aluminum alloy was investigated. This study aimed to analyze the influence of friction-drilling parameters on the thermal conditions in the induced bushing, where it focused on the relationship between preheating and the resulting heat generation. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) approach was carried out to optimize the friction-drilling parameters that contributed most to the induced temperature during the friction-drilling processing. Experiments were conducted at various preheating temperatures (100 °C, 150 °C, 200 °C), rotational speeds (2000 rpm, 3000 rpm, 4000 rpm), and feed rates (40 mm/min, 60 mm/min, 80 mm/min). The induced temperature during the process was recorded using an infrared camera, where the observed temperatures ranged from a minimum of 154.4 °C (at 2000 rpm, 60 mm/min, and 100 °C preheating) to a maximum of 366.8 °C (at 4000 rpm, 40 mm/min, and 200 °C preheating). The results show that preheating increased the peak temperature generated in the bushing during friction drilling, especially at lower rotational speeds. The rotational speed rise led to an increase in the induced temperature. However, the increase in the feed rate resulted in a decrease in the observed temperature. The findings provide insights into optimizing friction-drilling parameters for enhanced thermal management in A356 aluminum alloy.