Mathematical Modelling of a Friction Stir Welding Process to Predict the Joint Strength of Two Dissimilar Aluminium Alloys Using Experimental Data and Genetic Programming

Friction stir welding (FSW) is the most popular and efficient method of solid-state joining for similar as well as dissimilar metals and alloys. It is mostly used in applications for aerospace, rail, automotive, and marine industries. Many researchers are currently working with different perspectives on this FSW process for various combinations of materials. The general input process parameters are the thickness of the plate, axial load, rotational speed, welding speed, and tilt angle. The output parameters are joint hardness, % of elongation, and impact and yield strengths. Genetic programming (GP) is a relatively new method of evolutionary computing with the principal advantage of this approach being to evaluate efficacious predictive mathematical models or equations without any prior assumption regarding the possible form of the functional relationship. This paper both defines and illustrates how GP can be applied to the FSW process to derive precise relationships between the output and input parameters in order to obtain a generalized prediction model. A GP model will assist engineers in quantifying the performance of FSW, and the results from this study can then be utilized to estimate future requirements based on the historical data to provide a robust solution. The obtained results from the GP models showed good agreement with experimental and target data at an average prediction error of 0.72%.