ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF WELD CHARACTERISTICSAND BEAD

GEOMTERY ANALYSIS FOR AL 6061 BY GTAW PROCESS

1
S.Dinesh kumar, 2M.Ramakrishnan, 3Malai Salva Raja
1
S.Dinesh kumar,P.G Scholarr,SIR ISSAC NWTON ENGINEERING COLLEGE, Nagapattinam, India.
2
M.Ramakrishnan, Assistant Professor ,SIR ISSAC NWTON ENGINEERING COLLEGE,Nagapattinam, India.
3
Malai Salva Raja,HOD/Mech, ,SIR ISSAC NWTON ENGINEERING COLLEGE,Nagapattinam, India.
ABSTRACT:
Gas tungsten arc welding is a fusion welding process having wide applications in industry. In this
process proper selection of input welding parameters is necessary in order to control weld distortion and
subsequently increase the productivity of the process. In order to obtain a good quality weld and control weld
distortion, it is therefore, necessary to control the input welding parameters. In this research work, experiments
were carried out on Aluminum 6061 plates of 6 mm thick using gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process. Full
Taguchi method is used to formulate the experimental design. A plan of experiments based on full Taguchi
technique has been used to acquire the data. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) is employed to investigate the
welding characteristics of Aluminum 6061 material & optimize the welding parameters During Al 6061 through
using GTAW process found out the input parameter value tensile strength obtained 108.29 N/mm 2 and
maximum depth of penetration 4.957 mm is obtained fifth sample with parameter was 120 Peak current /60
Base current & Bevel angle 700 is the best value and it does not create any major changes and failures in the
testing process. According to the Taguchi design optimized parameter for maximum tensile strength was Peak
current -140 amps, Base current -100 amps and bevel angle-55 0 and mainly influenced with Bevel angle 31%
the suitable input parameter for Al6061 material of 6 mm thickness in GTAW welding process.

Keywords: GTAW, AL6061, Distortion, DOE

1.INTRODUCTION: The weld area is protected from atmosphere with a

Welding is a permanent joining process used
to join different materials like metals, alloys or
plastics, together at their contacting surfaces by
application of heat and or pressure. During welding,
the work-pieces to be joined are melted at the
interface and after solidification a permanent joint
can be achieved. Sometimes a filler material is
added to forma weld pool of molten material which
after solidification gives a strong bond between the
materials. Weld ability of a material depends on
different factors like the metallurgical changes that
occur during welding, changes in hardness in weld
zone due to rapid solidification, extent of oxidation
due to reaction of materials with atmospheric
oxygen and tendency of crack formation in the joint
position.
A) Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW) or
Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG): GTAW or TIGwelding
process is an arc welding process uses a non
consumable tungsten electrodeto produce the weld.
1
shielding gasgenerally Argon or Helium or
sometimes mixture of Argon and Helium. A filler
metalmay also feed manually for proper welding.
GTAW most commonly called TIGwelding process
was developed during Second World War. With the
development ofTIG welding process, welding of
difficult to weld materials e.g. Aluminium
andMagnesium become possible. The use of TIG
today has spread to a variety of metalslike stainless
steel, mild steel and high tensile steels, Al alloy,
Titanium alloy.
1.2 Applications of TIG Welding
The TIG welding process is best suited for
metal plate of thickness around 5- 6 mm.Thicker
material plate can also be welded by TIG using
multi passes which results in highheat inputs, and
leading to distortion and reduction in mechanical
properties of the basemetal. In TIG welding high
quality welds can be achieved due to high degree of
control inheat input and filler additions separately.
 TIG welding can be performed in all parameters is the level with the greatest S/N
positions andthe process is useful for tube and pipe ratio Furthermore, astatistically significant with
joint. The TIG welding is a highly controllable the S/N and ANOVA analyses, the optimal
andclean process needs very little finishing or combination of the process parameters can be
sometimes no finishing. This welding process canbe predicted. Finally, a confirmation experiment is
used for both manual and automatic operations. conducted to verify the optimal process
parameters obtained from the parameter
2.EXPERIMENTAL WORK design.There are 3Signal-to-Noise ratios of
2.1 Tig welding machine specification common interest for optimization of Static
Tig Welding Machine: Problems. The formulae for signal to noise ratio
PEAK : 20 -300-AT/TIG are designed so that an experimenter can always
TIG : 16 PEAK /415v select the largest factor level setting to optimize
Cooling : Air cooling the quality characteristic of an experiment.
Frequency : 50Hz Therefore a method of calculating the Signal-To-
It has a good surface finish, high corrosion Noise ratio we had gone for quality
resistance, is readily suited to welding and can be characteristic. They are
easily anodised. Most commonly available as T6 1. Smaller-The-Better,
temper, in the T4 condition it has good formability. 2. Larger-The-Better,
3. Nominal is Best.
2.2 TAGUCHI APPROACH
Basically, experimental design 2.3 DESIGN OF EXPERIMENT
methods were developed original Table 2 Process parameters and their levels
fisher. H o w e v e r experimental design Process parameters
methods are too complex and not easy to use. Levels Peak current Base current Bevel
Furthermore, a large number of experiments (amps) peak (amps) angleº
have to be carried out when the number of the 1 110 50 55
process parameters increases, to solve this 2 120 60 65
3 130 70 70
problem, the Taguchi method uses a special
design of orthogonal arrays to study the entire
2.4 INPUT PARAMETER
parameter space with a small number of
Table 3 Input Parameter
experiments only. The experimental results are
Welding peak current Base current Bevel angleº
then transformed into a signal– to – noise (S/N)
110 50 55
ratio to measure the quality characteristics
110 60 65
deviating from the desired values. Usually, there
110 70 70
are three categories of quality characteristics in
120 50 65
the analysis of the S/N ratio, i.e., the–lower– 120 60 70
better, the–higher–better, and the–nominal– 120 70 55
better. The S/N ratio for each level of process 130 50 70
parameter is compared based on the S/N 130 60 55
analysis. Regardless of the category of the 130 70 65
quality characteristic, a greater S/N ratio
corresponds to better quality characteristics.
Therefore, the optimal level of the process

2
3. MACRO TEST ANALYSIS-ROCKWELL Table 5 Tensile strength value
HARDNESS TEST Sl. Bevel Hardn
1. Rockwell Hardness systems use a direct readout Peak Base SNRA1
no angel ess
machine determining the hardness number based 1 130 80 55 66 -36.3909
upon the depth of penetration of either a diamond 2 130 90 65 62 -35.8478
point or a steel ball. Deep penetration indicated a 3 130 100 70 55 -34.8073
material having a low Rockwell Hardness number. 4 140 80 65 60 -35.5630
2. However, a low penetration indicates a material 5 140 90 70 58 -35.2686
6 140 100 55 66 -36.3909
having a high Rockwell Hardness number. The
7 150 80 70 65 -36.2583
Rockwell Hardness number is based upon the
8 150 90 55 55 -34.8073
difference in the depth to which a penetrator is 9 150 100 65 58 -35.2686
driven by a definite light or “minor” load and a
definite heavy or “Major” load. TABLE 6 response table for signal to noise ratios-
3. The ball penetrators are chucks that are made to smaller in better
hold 1/16” or 1/8” diameter hardened steel balls. Level Base Peak Bevel angle
Also available are ¼” and ½” ball penetrators for 1 -35.68 -36.07 -35.86
the testing of softer materials. 2 -35.74 -35.31 -35.56
4. There are two types of anvils that are used on the 3 -35.44 -35.49 -35.44
Rockwell hardness testers. The flat faceplate Delta 0.30 0.76 0.42
models are used for flat specimens. The “V” type Rank 3 1 2
anvils hold round specimens firmly.
5. Test blocks o0r calibration blocks are flat steel or TABLE 7 Analysis of Variance TENSILE
brass blocks, which have been tested and marked % Of
Source DF SS MS F P
with the scale and Rockwell number. They should Contri
be used to check the accuracy and calibration of the Base 2 6.889 3.444 0.08 0.928 4
Peak 2 46.222 23.111 0.52 0.656 30
tester frequently.
Bevel
Using the “B” Scale; 2 14.889 7.444 0.17 0.856 10
angle
a. Use a 1/16 indenter
Error 2 88.222 44.111 56
b. Major load: 100 Kg, Minor load: 10 Kg Total 8 156.222 100
c. Use for Case hardened steel titanium, tool steel.
d. Do not use on hardened steel Model Summary
hardness = 60.56 + 0.44 peak_130 + 0.78 peak_140
HARDNESS VALUE-HRB VALUE - 1.22 peak_150 + 3.11 base_80- 2.22 base_90
Table 4 hardness value –HRB value - 0.89 base_100 + 1.78 b.a_55 - 0.56 b.a_65
SAMPL S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 - 1.22 b.a_70
66 62 55 60 58
ES
S6 S7 S8 S9 - 3.2 TENSILE TEST&ELONGATION
AL6061
66 65 55 58 -
Friction processed joints are evaluated for their
mechanical characteristics through tensile testing.
S1& S6 test plates only slightly higher than the
A tensile test helps determining tensile properties
other value of hardness.
such as tensile strength, yield strength, percentage
of elongation, and percentage of reduction in area
and modulus of elasticity. The welding parameters
3.1 ANALYSIS OF HARDNESS VALUES
3
were randomly chosen within the range available in 1 40.23 40.40 40.23
the machine. The joints were made with random 2 40.55 40.48 40.57
parameters and evaluate tensile strength and burn 3 40.29 40.19 40.26
off. Then the joints were made and evaluate the Delta 0.32 0.30 0.34
mechanical and metallurgical characteristics. The Rank 2 3 1
friction welded specimens were prepared as per the
TABLE 11 Analysis of Variance TENSILE
ASTM standards. The test was carried out in a
universal testing machine (UTM) 40 tones FIE % Of
Source DF SS MS F P
make. Contri
Base 2 26.70 13.35 1.29 0.437 27
3.2.1 TENSILE STRENGTH RESULT Peak 2 20.33 10.16 0.98 0.505 21
Table 8 Tensile strength value Bevel
2 30.41 15.21 1.47 0.405 31
angel
Pea Bevel T.Load T. Strength-
Sl.no Base Error 2 20.73 10.37 21
k Angle (KN) N/mm2
Total 8 98.16 100
TP-1 130 80 55 9.68 102.96
TP-2 130 90 65 10.26 104.65
TP-3 130 100 70 9.58 100.48 T S = 104.24 - 1.54 BASE_130 + 2.40 BASE_140
TP-4 140 80 65 10.64 110.69 - 0.87 BASE_150 + 0.55 PEAK_80
TP-5 140 90 70 10.24 108.29 + 1.50 PEAK_902.05 PEAK_1001.51 BEVEL
TP-6 140 100 55 9.86 100.94 ANGEL_55+ 2.59 BEVELANGEL_651.08 
TP-7 150 80 70 9.54 100.70 BEVELANGEL_70
TP-8 150 90 55 10.03 104.28
TP-9 150 100 65 9.96 105.13 4.DEPTH OF PNETRATION
Inadequate weld bead dimensions such as shallow
3.2.2 TAGUCHI ANALYSIS RESULT-SN depth of penetration may contribute to failure of a
RATIO welded structure since penetration determines the
Table 9 S-N Ratio table for Tensile strength stress carrying capacity of a welded joint .To avoid
Bevel such occurrences the input or welding process
Sl.no Peak Base T.Strength SNRA1
Angle variables which influence the weld bead penetration
TP-1 130 80 55 102.96 40.2534
must therefore be properly selected and optimized
TP-2 130 90 65 104.65 40.3948
to obtain an acceptable weld bead penetration and
TP-3 130 100 70 100.48 40.0416
TP-4 140 80 65 110.69 40.8822 hence a high quality joint . To predict the effect of
TP-5 140 90 70 108.29 40.6918 welding process variables on weld bead geometry
TP-6 140 100 55 100.94 40.0813 and hence quality researchers have employed
TP-7 150 80 70 100.70 40.0606 different techniques .
TP-8 150 90 55 104.28 40.3640
TP-9 150 100 65 105.13 40.4345
TABLE 10 Response Table for Signal to Noise
Ratios- Larger is better
Level Base Peak Bevel angle
BEAD GEOMETRY TP -1 BEAD GEOMETRY TP -2 BEAD GEOMETRY TP -3

4
 P- 110, B-50, B A -55º P- 110, B-60, B A -65 P- 110, B-70, B A -70º

BEAD GEOMETRY TP -4 BEAD GEOMETRY TP -5 BEAD GEOMETRY TP -6

P- 120, B-50, B A -65º P- 120, B-60, B A 70º P- 120, B-60, B A -55º

BEAD GEOMETRY TP -7 BEAD GEOMETRY TP -8 BEAD GEOMETRY TP -9

P- 130, B-50, B A -70º P- 130, B-60, B A -55º P- 130, B-70, B A-60º

4.1 VARIOUS SIZES OF BEAD WIDTH, DEPTH OF PENETRATION AND HEAT AFFECTED
ZONE-AL6061 GTAW
Table 12 Depth Of Penetration
SAMPLES Area Mean Min Max Angle Length
0.338 228.09 208 243.333 180 11.652
S1
0.124 227.692 177.333 240.667 90 4.261
0.275 106.496 97.667 118.667 180 9.478
S2
0.108 203.987 99 249 90 3.739
0.34 219.201 104 253.333 180 11.739
S3
0.111 207.646 143.333 242.667 90 3.826
0.292 186.721 101.333 235 180 10.087
S4
0.101 204.494 99 243 90 3.478
0.34 227.285 117.333 254.667 180 11.739
S5
0.144 195.573 110.667 253.333 90 4.957
0.3 152.486 108.667 214 180 10.348
S6
0.103 202.051 115.667 232 90 3.565
0.34 214.768 112 251.667 180 11.739
S7
0.124 209.322 131 251.333 90 4.261
0.265 202.38 118 226.667 180 9.13
S8
0.113 215.091 138.667 237.333 90 3.913
0.297 109.013 92.333 132.333 180 10.261
S9
0.126 207.149 105 235.333 90 4.348
mechanical and metallurgical characteristics. The
joints exhibited 90-95% of parent material’s
5. CONCLUSION AND RESULLT Hardness value. During Al 6061 experiment by
TIG welding can be used successfully to join using GTAW found out the input parameter value
AL6061 .The processed joints exhibited better tensile strength obtained 108.29 N/mm2 and
5
maximum depth of penetration 4.957 mm is
obtained fifth sample with parameter was 120
PC/60 BC & Bevel angle 700 is the best value and
it does not create any major changes and failures in
the testing process. Finally concluded the suitable
input parameter. Al-6061 material of 6 mm
thickness in GTAW welding process. According to
the Taguchi design optimized parameter for
maximum tensile strength and minimum hardness
characteristics.
5.1 OPTIMAL CONTROL FACTOR
1. Impact strength- A3 (Peak current -150 amps )
B1(Base current -80 amps )C2(bevel angle-650)
2. Tensile strength- A2 (Peak current -140 amps )
B3(Base current -100 amps )C1(bevel angle-55 0)
5.2 PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTION
Hardness-Peak current- 30%
Tensile strength-Bevel angle-31%
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