Friction stir lap welding methods for manufacturing large-scale spaceflight vehicles
- Martin W. ,
- Anderson B. ,
- Jones R. ,
- et al
- Martin W. ,
- Anderson B. ,
- Jones R. and
- Loftus Z.
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Description
In relation to weight and cost saving on spaceflight pressure vessels, two friction stir lap welding methods were demonstrated on large-scale thin-gauge hardware and evaluated with respect to tooling and tooling cost reduction, lap joint stiffness and load capacity, and high-strength aluminium alloy use. The first method investigated the productivity achievable using Tri-Flute fixed pin tooling to lap weld extruded stiffeners onto skin panels to form Al-7075 payload fairing barrel sections (diameter 7 m, thickness 3.2 mm) for the Evolved Heavy Lift Vehicle (EHLV). The second procedure involved circumferential lap welding of Al-2090-T83 Al-Li barrels (diameter 5.5 m, thickness 2 mm) using a retractable pin tool with a SIN-pattern transverse oscillation on the first weld and a straight self-reacting process on the other. Load-carrying ability and vehicle stability are discussed.
6th International Symposium, 10-13 Oct 2006, Session 11B: Aerospace III, Paper 02
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