Microstructure analysis in friction welding of copper and aluminum

The Friction welding is a welding method with utilizing heat generated due to friction. Surfaces of two materials to be joined, one rotates the other being idle, is contacted by a pressure force. Friction on the second contact surface is done continuously so that the heat generated by the continuous friction will continue to rise. With the heat and the pressure force on the second surface to the second meeting of the material reaches its melting temperature then there is the process of welding. This paper examines the influence of the pressure force, rotational speed and contact time on friction welding of Aluminum (Al) and Copper (Cu) to the quality of welded joints. Friction welding process is performed on a friction welding machine that is equipped with the loading mechanism. The parameters used are the pressure force, rotational speed and friction time. Determination of the quality of welding is done by testing the tensile strength, hardness, and micro structure on the weld joint areas. The results showed that the friction welding quality is very good, this is evidenced by the results of a tensile strength test where the fault occurs outside the weld joint and increased violence in the weld joint. On the results visually cuts the welding area did not reveal any porosity so that it can be concluded that each metal contacts have melted perfectly and produce a connection with good quality.