Abstract
In this paper the authors report the study done on welded Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheets by friction stir and laser beam welding. Fusion and solid-state techniques were compared to determine the most performance favourable welding process. Welds were accomplished by varying the process traverse speed. High traverse speeds indicated increased hardness in the weld nugget and wider nugget area for laser beam as compared to FSW. Tensile strength for both processes showed similar performance to that of the parent plate. Welds from laser beam welding exhibited superior fatigue strength under tension-tension loading than friction stir welds at intermediate speeds. Microstructure was discussed to explain the effect of the process parameters on joint integrity in relation to the parent plate. Additionally, residual stresses measured in the weld nugget are explained.