TWI

Following a brief overview of the state of the art and applications for FSW of aluminium and Al alloys, experience and activities with this process at TWI Ltd (UK) are introduced. Principles, advantages and applications are presented of some process variants: Stationary Shoulder FSW (Ti, high strength Al alloys) including corner FSW and T section FSW; and AdStir Butt FSW, where a filler wire is incorporated into the weld. Research in progress into FSW tool life improvement is outlined. Process monitoring and quality assurance using the ARTEMIS instrumented tool system and the SignaStir online laser ultrasonic inspection technique are described. The number of FSW licences issued 1995-2012 is given.

9th International Symposium, 15-17 May 2012, Session 4A: Variants I, Paper 03