Effect of process parameters on the residual stresses in AA5083-H321 friction stir welds

This paper investigates the effect of varying welding parameters on the residual stress profiles in friction stir welds of aluminium alloy AA5083-H321, which were created on a fully instrumented friction welding machine. The residual stresses were determined non-destructively using synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The width and maximum of the residual stress profile show clear correlation with the heat input, and in particular feed rate, which was found to be the dominant parameter.