METALURGIJA, cilt.44, sa.3, ss.209-213, 2005 (SCI-Expanded)
The objective of paper was to determine the fracture toughness of friction stir welding (FSW) joints of EN AW-2014 (AlCu4SiMg) aluminium alloy, and to compare the fracture toughness of FSW with that of conventional metal inert gas (MIG) process. FSW of aluminium alloy was performed on a conventional semiautomatic milling machine. Defect free FSW welds were produced on alloy plates at constant tool rotation and traverse speed of 1600 rpm and 200 mm/min, respectively. The results of Vickers hardness and Charpy impact tests were used to evaluate the fracture toughness of welded joints. Low heat input, absence of melting and filler metal resulted in better fracture toughness for FSW joints.