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This study presents the effect of the governing parameters in friction stir welding (FSW) on the mechanical properties and weld quality of a 6mm thick 6061 T651 Aluminum alloy butt joint. The main FSW parameters, the rotational and traverse speed were optimized based on multiple mechanical properties and quality features, which focus on the tensile strength, hardness and the weld quality class using the multi-objective Taguchi method (MTM). Multi signal to noise ratio (MSNR) was employed to determine the optimum welding parameters for MTM while further analysis concerning the significant level determination was accomplished via the well-established analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, the first order model for predicting the mechanical properties and weld quality class is derived by applying response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the experimental confirmation test, the proposed method can effectively estimate the mechanical properties and weld quality class which can be used to enhance the welding performance in FSW or other applications.

Pulverized oil palm fruit bunch (OPFB) fiber was used as filler in Polypropylene (PP). Pulverized OPFB was added at various sizes (250 mm, 180 mm, 125 mm, and 100 mm) to study its effect on the physical and mechanical properties of OPFB filled PP. OPFB powder was mixed with polypropylene at 20 wt% and maleic anhydride polypropylene (MAPP) was also added as coupling agent at 2 wt%. Water absorption behavior of composites followed the normal trend where the water uptake increases with the increasing of OPFB size due to its hydrophilic characteristic. The incorporation of OPFB also decreases the thermal stability of composites at initial stage. Tensile and flexural properties were enhanced with the addition of OPFB powder and further increased with the increase of OPFB size. Meanwhile elongation at break and impact strength were decreased with the increase of OPFB size. SEM observation on the fracture surface of tensile, flexural, and impact tested samples provide further understanding on the effect of OPFB as filler in the matrix.