Predicting Mechanical Properties of Friction Welded AISI 1020/AISI 1018 Steel and AISI 431/AISI 1018 Steel Joints

The joining of dissimilar AISI 1020/AISI 1018 steel and AISI 431/AISI 1018 steel carries significant importance in automotive applications to lower the cost of manufacturing and obtain the mechanical properties of different materials. However, the joining of these materials by fusion welding is difficult particularly for a rod-to-plate joint configuration such as solidification cracking, wider heat affected zone (HAZ), HAZ softening, high residual stresses, and distortion of joint configuration. So, to overcome the issues in fusion welding of AISI 1020/AISI 1018 steel and AISI 431/AISI 1018 steel, rotary friction welding (RFW) was employed to develop the rod-to-plate joints. The parametric empirical relationships (PERs) were developed using regression equations incorporating RFW parameters to predict tensile strength (TS) and weld interface hardness (WIH) of rod-to-plate joints. The functionality of the mathematical models in predicting TS and WIH of joints is validated using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results showed that the PERs accurately predicted TS and WIH of rod-to-plate joints of AISI 1020/AISI 1018 steel and AISI 431/AISI 1018 steel at <1.0% error and 95% confidence.