Abstract
This paper presents the effects of plunge depth on
the weld integrities of Friction Stir lap welds of aluminium and
copper. 3 mm sheets of aluminium and copper were joined
using the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) technique. The study
focuses on understanding the relationship between the defects
and the process parameters. The produced welds were
characterized using visual inspection, microstructural
evaluation and microhardness profiling. It was found that
while all the typical FSW microstructural zones were present
in the welds, the sizes of the voids observed in the welds were
dependent on the plunge depth employed. Optimization of the
processing parameters is in view.