Effect of Nanosilica and Weave Geometry on Weld Properties of Friction Stir Welded Nylon 6–6 Thick Plates

In this present work the mechanical and microstructure properties of friction stir welded Nylon 6–6 thermoplastic were studied. The main aim of this work was to investigate the effect of adding nanosilica particle and weaving geometry on mechanical and microstructural behavior of friction stir welding of nylon 6–6 and how the nanosilica addition and weaving geometry improves the weld quality. The welding process was done using a non-consumable threaded pin tool with rectangular weave pattern followed by process parameters such as stirring speed (rpm), step size (mm) and nanosilica percentage (wt). The mechanical and microstructure properties were evaluated in-accordance with ASTM standards. The tensile result shows that the weld, which was made of 1500 rpm, 2 mm step size and 2 wt.% of nanosilica particle gives highest tensile strength of 53 MPa and microhardness of 65 shore-D. The microstructure revealed uniform dispersion of nanosilica particle in the welding zone with sufficiently stirred nylon 6–6 parent material.