Investigation on Tensile Strength of Friction Stir Welded Joints in PP/EPDM/Clay Nanocomposites

Polymer-based nanocomposites due to good corrosion resistance, adequate mechanical properties and low cost are widely used in modern technologies. Because of the increasing application of these nanocomposites, their joining through welding processes seems unavoidable. In this paper, 5mm thick nanocomposite plates containing polypropylene, ethylene-propylene diene monomer with 0, 3 and 6% clay were butt welded using a novel hot tool in friction stir welding process. Response surface method is used to design experiments and determine the effect of process parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, tool shoulder temperature and clay content on weld tensile strength. The results show that although increasing clay content in the base material increases its tensile strength, but decreases the tensile strength of the weld such that in specimens with 0, 3 and 6% clay content, the tensile strength of the weld equals 94, 80 and 61 percent of the respective base materials.