TWI

An experimental and numerical analysis of the wear of a polycrystalline boron nitride (PCBN) friction stir welding (FSW) tool is overviewed as presentation slides. Topics highlighted include: FSW plunge trials of EH46 shipbuilding steel at a plunge depth of 13 mm from FSW machine (parameters varied were: tool rotation speed at dwell period 120 or 200 rpm; axial plunge force max. 105-157 kN; longitudinal force max. 17-21 kN; dwell time 6-8 s; torque max. 471-583 Nm); infinite focus microscopy (IFM) determinations of plunge depth, thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ) area, and inner HAZ (IHAZ) and outer HAZ (OHAZ) dimensions; PCBN (with W-Re binder) FSW tool wear and microstructure and percentage of BN in EH46 parent material at the shoulder/probe side region for each weld; cross sections of the plunge trials; thermocouple temperature measurements; computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of the temperature distribution during the FSW process using a Eulerian steady state solution (tool rotation speed of 120 or 200 rpm); and analysis of the computed results in relation to TMAZ shear layer, tool wear, and temperature and shear stress of the tool surface.

12th International Symposium, 26-28 Jun 2018, Session 9B: Modelling II, Paper 01