Chiang Mai Journal of Science

     Friction stir welding (FSW) is employed for welding of aluminium metal matrix composite (MMC) reinforced with zirconium dioxide and Graphite as the reinforcing element. Stir casting is used for mixing the MMC and the reinforcing element. The specimens are fabricated in the form of rectangular plates and the plates are then welded using FSW process. The welding process parameters considered in this work are; tool rotational speed, welding speed and axial load. The tensile strength and the hardness of the weld nugget are investigated using response surface methodology. The ANOVA analysis and the response optimizer are used to evaluate the optimum welding process parameters and the results are then validated.