International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 11, Number 2 (2016) pp 1251-1255

Research India Publications. http://www.ripublication.com

Experimental Investigation of Tensile Strength Behavior on Friction Welded

Austenitic Stainless Steel Grade 304L Joints

M. Ganesan
Research Scholar, Department of Mechanical Engineering,
PRIST University, Thanjavur, Tamilnadu, India.
Email: armganesan@gmail.com

P. Marimuthu
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Syed Ammal Engg. College, Ramanathapuram, Tamilnadu, India.
Email: pmarimuthu69@gmail.com

Abstract
Solid state friction welding technique is the one of the best
effective and efficient method for joining similar as well as
dissimilar materials without applications of filler rod.
Recently austenitic stainless steel grade 304L are used to join
the similar combination in the automobile, electrical,
chemical, nuclear, marine industries and defence. The main
objective of this experimental investigation is to join the
similar materials of size 12 mm in diameter and to find the
optimum level of tensile strength. During the friction welding
process, heat is generated at the interface of joining the metal
under plastic deformation by converting the mechanical
energy into thermal energy. The experiments were conducted
by the proper selection of friction welding parameters to
obtain good mechanical strength using L9 orthogonal array
recommended by the design of experiments. In this
experimental investigation, austenitic stainless steel grade
304L has been welded by using the KUKA continuous drive
friction welding machine with constant rotating speed of
1500 rpm in Welding Research Institute of BHEL. Joining of
Similar material combination plays important role in the
various applications required for finding the mechanical
properties of the welded joint. The optimum welding
parameters of friction welding process are great impact in the
manufacturing environment. The basic friction welding
parameters such as heating pressure, upset pressure and
heating time were selected and examined at three different
kind of levels, to study the correlation between the welding
parameters and tensile strength are found in the study. The
strength of the welded joints was evaluated by using the
computer controlled universal testing machine. The present
experimental work is focused on the optimization of friction
welded process parameter using design of experiments and the
most optimum level of friction welding parameter can be used
for the further investigation. Results of experimental
investigations indicated that upset pressure plays crucial role
in the friction welding process.
Keywords: Friction welding, Austenitic stainless steel grade
304L, Welding parameters, Design of Experiment, Tensile
strength.
Introduction
Normally welded joint provides better mechanical properties
compared with bolted joints. Friction welding process is
usually called as hot pressure welding technique in which the
formation of welded joints is accomplished in a solid state.
Friction welding is the one of the method of joining the two or
more metal component parts by applying the relative motion
and pressure. The heat required for making the joints is
generated by rubbing together of mating surfaces under heavy
pressure. Friction welding can be used to reduce the cost,
increase the output, and improve the performance of the
product. Friction welding technique is normally used in series
and volume production for joining components parts of
similar or dissimilar materials. The important input
parameters in the friction welding process are specimen size,
composition and structure of the specimen, heating pressure,
upset pressure, heating time and rotation speed are to be
considered. The purpose of this report is to predict the tensile
strength of the friction welded joint on AISI 304L stainless
steel. Recently many countries were utilized the friction
welding process, so the researchers were concentrated to
improve the efficiency of the friction welding process.
Literature Review
Now a days, the objective of the manufacturing industries is to
achieve the economical welding condition. The reduction of
experimental time and cost have crucial role for selecting the
best parameter in economical way. A lot of welding processes
like arc welding, gas welding, thermit welding and friction
welding are normally used in the manufacturing industries.
Selection of welding method depends on the design, specimen
specifications, welding speed and time, welding cost,
applications and joining strength are required. The specimen
is having circular (or) non circular cross section can be used to
weld very easily by friction welding process with in the
minimum time. The major important friction welding
parameters are heating pressure, upset pressure, heating time,
upset time and spindle speed. Recently, many researchers
addressed the friction welding process for identifying the
parameter influence on different responses with the assistance
of various intelligent techniques. The literature review on the
friction welding process is essential to study the effects of
parameters on the performance measures.

1251
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 11, Number 2 (2016) pp 1251-1255
Research India Publications. http://www.ripublication.com
Mohammed Asif et al. (2015) developed the three
dimensional non-linear finite element model and
characterization of friction welding on UNS S31803 duplex
stainless steel joints. The experimental results are validated
and optimizing the input parameters for the improvement of
design and machine tools. Muralimohan C.H et al. (2014)
studied the effect of process parameters for friction welding of
Titanium-stainless Steel Joints with a Nickel Interlayer. The
effect of microstructure of the welded joint is investigated by
optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The
main factors affecting the friction welding process are
evaluated and it is observed that tensile strength is increased
with increasing the forging pressure at constant friction time.
Amit Handa et al. (2014) investigated the effect of axial
pressures on the mechanical properties of friction welded
AISI 304 with AISI 1021 steel joints under the constant speed
of 1250 rpm. The experimental setup was developed for
conducting the friction welded joint to evaluate the output
responses like tensile strength, impact strength and micro-
hardness. Deepak Kumar et al. (2014) presented the
optimization on mechanical properties of aluminium alloy
6082 T6 and austenitic stainless steel 304 friction welded
joints using the design of experiments. The effect of friction
welding parameter over the tensile strength was analyzed.
Eder Paduan Alves et al (2013) addressed a Thermocouple
Data Logger for determining the temperature in the bonding
interface of friction welded AA 1050 aluminum and AISI 304
stainless steel joints. The new region of research is initiated
for temperature at the interface of the joint. Avisash s. Pachal
et al (2013) investigated the optimization of process
parameters in friction welding of 6061 aluminum alloy and
304 steel by taguchi design of experiments technique to
predict the optimum welding condition for maximizing the
tensile strength. L9 orthogonal array is used for this
investigation. Amit Handa et al (2013) initiated an
experimental setup to conduct the friction welding process,
investigated the process parameters and found that axial
pressure as a dominating factor for affecting the mechanical
properties of welded joints like tensile strength, impact
strength and hardness. Gourav Sardana et al (2013) addressed
the mechanical behavior of friction welding process of HSS
M33 and SS 316 and reported that the spindle speed of test
specimen increases with decreases breaking point load but the
breaking point load increases at highest spindle speed.
Radoslaw Winiczenko et al (2013) examined the fracture
morphology using scanned electron microscopy and phase
transformation taking place during the friction welding of
ductile iron with stainless steel and subsequently obtained the
intensity of diffusion process during this welding of bainitic
ductile iron is larger than ferritic ductile iron. The authors
found that the depth of chromium atoms penetration reached
50 m. Radoslaw Winiczenko et al. (2012) welded the
specimen like ductile iron and stainless steel using friction
welding process. The intensity of diffusion processes during
friction welding of bainitic ductile iron is larger than ferritic
ductile iron and Scanning electron microscopy was used for
study of the fracture morphology and phase transformations
pleasing place during friction welding process. Kannan et al
(2012) investigated the dissimilar friction welds with and
without silver interlayer is experimented and concluded that
1252
introduction of silver inter layer shows 3.06 % decrease in the
particle fracture when compared to the normal friction
welding process. The joint efficiency were analyzed with the
help of input parameters. Shubhavardhan R.N et al. (2012)
presented the friction welding set-up and the strength of
joining AA6082 aluminum alloy and AISI 304 stainless steel
are determined and the welding parameters are optimized the
output responses are tensile test, Vickers micro hardness test,
fatigue test, Impact test, and SEM-EDX examination to
conclude the levels that occurred during the friction welding
process. Deya H C et al. (2009) investigated the effect of
joining titanium to 304L stainless steel by using the friction
welding process. The result shows that the failure occurred in
Ti base metal during tensile testing. Mumin Sahin et al.
(2009) investigated the effect of mechanical and metallurgical
changes at the interfaces of austenitic stainless steel and
copper materials welded by friction welding process. The
optimal parameters are obtained for the test specimen and the
results are examined.
Based on the literature review, many researchers were used
trial and error based experimental analysis. Recently, lot of
research is carried out for reducing the experimental work.
Few researchers were used design of experiments concept for
developing the experimental plan to reduce the weld time and
cost. The Taguchi design of experiment concept is mainly
utilized for avoiding the trial and error experimental runs. It
can be concluded that friction welding process is one of the
best method for joining the similar and dissimilar materials.
An investigation is essential for progress the performance of
the friction welding process on Austenitic stainless steel grade
304L using Taguchi design of experiments and found that
friction welding parameters plays essential features in the
excellence and efficiency of the welded joint.
Experimental Work
The modern manufacturing industries are used the friction
welding technique for joining similar or dissimilar materials
with high quality. The experiments were conducted on the
KUKA continuous drive friction welding machine with
maximum load capacity of 0.3 MN is shown in Figure 1. In
this experimental work, Austenitic stainless steel grade 304L
is used for investigation. The specimen was prepared from the
raw materials having the dimensions of 12 mm diameter and
100 mm length after facing operation conducted on the CNC
turning centre and it is shown in Figure 2. The joining end of
the test specimen was cleaned with acetone solution to ensure
the clean surface for better joint efficiency. The chemical
composition of the test specimen is presented in Table 1. The
basic constraint to achieve a friction weld is to generate the
adequate heat quickly to elevate the temperature at the
interface very high for forging of the mating surfaces to
develop a metallurgical sound joint. The selection of friction
welding parameters is most important for achieving better
mechanical properties and efficiency of the joint. The
significant friction welding parameters predicting the welding
performance characteristics are heating pressure, upset
pressure and heating time can be speckled within the range
available in the machine requirements and manufacturer
suggestion is shown in Table 2. The experiments were carried
out by the proper selection of input parameters to achieve
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 11, Number 2 (2016) pp 1251-1255
Research India Publications. http://www.ripublication.com

better tensile strength using L9 orthogonal array recommended Table 3: L9 Orthogonal Array
by the Taguchi Design of Experiment concept is presented in
Table 3. Input Parameters
Experimental Run HP UP HT
Bar Bar Sec
1. 10 16 3
2. 10 20 5
3. 10 24 7
4. 14 16 5
5. 14 20 7
6. 14 24 3
7. 18 16 7
8. 18 20 3
9. 18 24 5

Results and Discussion

The modern manufacturing industries are used the continuous
Figure 1: Friction Welding Machine
drive friction welding machine for joining the similar or
dissimilar materials. The experimental work determined the
influence of heating pressure, upset pressure and heating time
on tensile strength in the friction welding process. Based on
the Taguchi design, 9 experiments were conducted on the
Austenitic stainless steel grade 304L with KUKA continuous
drive friction welding machine. The Minitab software version
16 is used to investigate the experimental results as per the
recommendation of the Taguchi design of experiment is
presented in Table 4.

Table 4: Experimental Results

Input
Results
Parameters
Experimental
Tensile
Run HP UP HT S/N
Strength
Ratio
Bar Bar Sec N/mm2
Figure 2: Friction welded test specimen 1. 10 16 3 786 57.9085
2. 10 20 5 777 57.8084
Table 1: Chemical composition of Austenitic Stainless Steel 3. 10 24 7 841 58.4959
Grade 304L 4. 14 16 5 724 57.1948
5. 14 20 7 780 57.8419
Elements Carbon Nickel Chromium Manganese Silicon
6. 14 24 3 772 57.7523
Composition
0.02 9 18.5 1.5 0.6 7. 18 16 7 741 57.3964
(%)
8. 18 20 3 792 57.9745
Table 2: Friction Welding Process Parameters 9. 18 24 5 773 57.7636

Process Level of Factors i. Response Table for S/N Ratio

S. No. Units Symbol
Parameters Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 The important objective of this experimental investigation is
1. Heating Pressure Bar H P 10 14 18
to investigate the effect of friction welding parameters on the
2. Upset Pressure Bar U P 16 20 24
3. Heating Time Sec H T 3 5 7 tensile strength and hence Larger is Better condition is
selected. The response table for the signal to noise ratio for
this investigation is presented in Table 5.

1253
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 11, Number 2 (2016) pp 1251-1255
Research India Publications. http://www.ripublication.com

Table 5: Response Table for S/N Ratio

Heating Upset Heating

Level
Pressure Pressure Time
1 58.07 57.50 57.88
2 57.60 57.88 57.59
3 57.72 58.01 57.91
Delta 0.47 0.51 0.32
Rank 2 1 3

The response table specifies the rank based on the delta values
which compare the relative magnitude of the each effect. The
delta value is designed from the highest average minus lowest
average of each factor. Based on the response table
demonstrated that upset pressure plays crucial role on the
tensile strength, heating pressure is the next peak value
followed by heating time. The tensile strength of the friction
welded specimen is improved when the heating pressure is 10
bar, upset pressure is 24 bar and heating time is 7 sec with
constant spindle rotation of 1500 rpm.
ii. Main Effect Plot
The main effect of input parameters on the tensile strength of
friction welded Austenitic stainless steel grade 304L is shown
in Figure 3. The optimal level of input parameters for this
experimental investigation is represented as the highest value
of each level in the main effect plot. From Figure 3, it is
distinguished that the effect of input parameters increases with
increase in the level. The optimal level of friction welding
parameters for this experimental work is 10 bar of heating
pressure, 24 bar of upset pressure and 7 sec of heating time
with constant speed of 1500 rpm.
Figure 4: Interaction Plot for Tensile Strength
iv. ANOVA
The friction welding parameter investigation on Austenitic
stainless steel grade 304L is most important for predicting the
welding performance characteristics. ANOVA is the statistical
method used to calculate the size of the difference between
data set. The influences of welding parameters on input
variables are identified with the support of analysis of
variance table in Table 6. ANOVA is an application of
Taguchi design of experiment for selecting the best predicted
value of friction welding parameters affecting the tensile
strength for this experimental investigation. This analysis was
carried out for a confidence level of 95%. It is observed that
upset pressure plays crucial role for affecting the tensile
strength with p-value of 0.197.
Table 6: Analysis of Variance for Tensile Strength

Adj Adj F- P-
Source DF
SS MS Value Value
Heating
2 2948.5 1474.2 3.68 0.214
Pressure (Bar)
Upset
2 3270.5 1635.3 4.08 0.197
Pressure (Bar)
Heating Time
2 1515.3 757.6 1.89 0.346
(Sec)
Error 2 801.8 400.9
Total 8 8536.1

Figure 3: Main Effect Plot for S/N ratio
iii. Interaction Plot
The tensile strength for each experimental run is investigated
by using the interaction plot is shown in Figure 4. The
interaction plot illustrates an interaction between all the levels
and parameters for effective optimization. From Figure 4,
shows that the lines are not parallel to each other for all level
of factors. It is concluded that maximum tensile strength for
the friction welded AISI 304L stainless steel joints are heating
pressure is 10 bar, upset pressure is 24 bar and heating time is
7 sec.
Conclusion
The experiments were conducted on Austenitic stainless steel
grade 304L using the KUKA continuous drive friction
welding machine. The experiments were accomplished for
various combinations of heating pressure, upset pressure and
heating time. Taguchi design of experiments was
implemented to predict the better tensile strength for the
specimen. The tensile strength of the friction welded joint was
analyzed by computer based tensile testing machine. The
authors studied the following important conclusions from this
experimental investigation.
Friction welded Austenitic stainless steel grade 304L
joint has good mechanical properties.
The experimental data has been used to determine
the tensile strength under various combinations of

1254
 International Journal of Applied Engineering Research ISSN 0973-4562 Volume 11, Number 2 (2016) pp 1251-1255
Research India Publications. http://www.ripublication.com

input parameters within the range of experimental Volume 3, Issue 4, pp. 131-134.
values. [9] Radoslaw Winiczenko amd Mieczyslaw
Upset pressure has greater influence on tensile Kaczorowski (2013), Friction welding of ductile
strength compared with other input parameters. iron with stainless steel, Journal of Materials
Use of high upset pressure is recommended to obtain Processing Technology, pp. 453-462.
the better tensile strength. [10] Radoslaw Winiczenko and Mieczyslaw Kaczorowski
The optimal friction welding parameters are heating (2012), Friction welding of ductile iron with
pressure 10 bar, upset pressure 24 bar and heating stainless steel, Journal of Materials Processing
time 7 sec with constant spindle rotation of 1500 Technology, pp. 453-462.
rpm. [11] Kannan P, Balamurugan K and Thirunavukkarasu K
(2012), Experimental investigation on the influence
Based on the experimental investigation, it is found that of silver interlayer in particle fracture of dissimilar
joining strength on the Maximum is Better condition in friction welds, International Journal of Mechanical
tensile strength of the friction welded joint. This experimental Engineering and Technology, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp.
report is valuable for the researchers to enhance the 32-37.
competence of the friction welded joint for Austenitic [12] Shubhavardhan R.N and Surendran S (2012),
stainless steel grade 304L. Friction welding to join stainless steel and
aluminum materials, International Journal of
References Metallurgical and Materials Science and
Engineering, Volume 2, Issue 3, pp. 53-73.
[1] Mohammed Asif. M, Kulkarni Anup Shrikrishana [13] H.C. Deya, M. Ashfaqb, A.K. Bhaduria and K.
and P. Sathiya (2015), Finite element modelling and Prasad Raoc (2009), Joining of titanium to 304L
characterization of friction welding on UNS S31803 stainless steel by friction welding, Journal of
duplex stainless steel joints, Engineering Science Materials Processing Technology, Volume 209,
and Technology, an International Journal Volume 18, Issues 18-19, pp. 5862-5870.
Issue 4, pp. 704-712. [14] Mumin Sahin, (2009), Joining of stainless steel and
[2] Muralimohan C.H, Muthupandi V and Sivaprasad K copper materials with friction welding, Industrial
(2014), Properties of Friction Welding Titanium- Lubrication and Tribology, Volume 61, Issue 6, pp.
stainless Steel Joints with a Nickel Interlayer, 319-324.
Procedia Materials Science Volume 5, pp. 1120-
1129.
[3] Amit Handa G and Vikas Chawla (2014),
Experimental evaluation of mechanical properties of
friction welded AISI steels, Cogent OA, Taylor and
Francis group, pp. 1-10.
[4] Deepak Kumar M and Venkatakrishnan P G (2014),
Optimization of Friction Welding of Aluminium
Alloy 6082 T6 and Austenitic Stainless Steel 304,
International Journal of Engineering Development
and Research, Volume 2, Issue 1, pp. 522-527.
[5] Eder Paduan Alves, Chen Ting An, Francisco Piorino
Neto and Eduardo Ferro dos Santos (2013),
Experimental Determination of Temperature during
Rotary Friction Welding of Dissimilar Materials,
Frontiers in Aerospace Engineering, Volume 1, Issue
1, pp 20-26.
[6] Avisash s. Pachal and Amol bagesar (2013),
Taguchi Optimization of Process Parameters in
Friction Welding of 6061 Aluminum Alloy and 304
steel: A Review, International Journal of Emerging
Technology and Advanced Engineering, Volume 3,
Issue 4, pp. 229-233.
[7] Amit Handa and Vikas Chawla (2013), Mechanical
Characterization of Friction Welded AISI 304
steels, International Journal of Engineering Sciences
and Research Technology, pp. 2818-2821.
[8] Gourav Sardana and Ajay Kumar (2013), To Study
the Mechanical Behavior of Friction Welding of HSS
M33 and SS 316, International Journal of
Engineering Science and Advanced Technology,

1255