Taguchi Optimisation of Friction Stir Processing Parameters to Achieve Maximum Tensile Strength of Mg AZ31B Alloy

Abstract

In this investigation, the effect of friction stir processing process variables such as rotational speed, traverse speed and tool tilt angle on the tensile strength of magnesium alloy AZ31B was studied. The experiments were carried out according to the Taguchi parametric design L9 at various combinations of process parameters and statistical optimization technique ANOVA was used to determine the optimum levels and to find the percentage of contribution of the process parameters. The results indicate that the rotational speed is the most significant factor followed by the traverse speed and tool tilt angle for maximising the tensile strength of the friction stir processed magnesium alloy.