Residual Stress Analysis of Friction Stir Processed AA6061

Abstract

Currently, after appropriate heat treatments, the 6xxx aluminium alloys are used in a variety of applications including aircraft fuselage skins and automobile body panels and bumpers, instead of more expensive 2xxx or 7xxx alloys. The paper presents the results of the residual stress analysis in case of Friction Stir Processing- FSP of AA6061-T4 plates, 10 mm thickness, demonstrating the process ability to locally modify the base metal properties. The residual stresses, DRX depicted, are correlated with the microstructure and hardness results.