TWI Digital Library

To meet the needs of lightweight automobile design to join thin steel structures to thicker aluminium sheets, two joint geometries for high-strength friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar and unequal thickness sheets were developed: one involving…

A review is presented of various models developed to understand the effects of thermal cycles and metal flow behaviour on the microstructure and properties of welded joints fabricated by friction stir welding of steel, and a comprehensive numerical …

An integrated multi-physics model was employed to predict the temperature distribution, the post-weld grain size distribution and the local subgrain size distribution around the pin during friction stir welding (FSW) of 6061 aluminium alloys. The mu…

Metallographic observations, hardness distribution measurements and fatigue tests were undertaken to investigate the discontinuity state related to the crack nucleation site in butt joints fabricated in 2024-T3 aluminium alloys (Al, 3.8-4.9%Cu, 1.2-…

In relation to the application of friction stir welding (FSW) to the production of metallic aircraft fuselages, a report is presented into the evolution of the MUVAX (multi use vacuum assisted exoskeleton) concept within the framework of the LuFo V-…

An investigation is presented into a systematic model based, real time process monitoring framework to analyse the performance and behaviour of the friction stir welding (FSW) process and into the framework's ability to predict weld quality threshol…

The Taguchi method was employed to determine optimum process parameters for friction stir welding of dissimilar joints between AA 6061 (Al, 0.84%Mg, 0.54%Si, 0.4%Fe, 0.24%Cu) and AA 7075 (Al, 5.58%Zn, 2.28%Mg, 1.6%Cu) aluminium alloys. Welding was p…

An investigation is presented into the bending properties of welded joints prepared by friction stir welding (FSW) in various structural aluminium alloys during which the influence of process conditions and alloy composition (Mg, Si, Zn levels) was …

An investigation was undertaken into the efficiency and cost effectiveness of two process chains for the production of an AW-70xx aluminium alloy telescopic beam for a crane boom (length 8 m, sheet thickness 4 mm), and a comparison between friction …

Various dissimilar butt joints were fabricated between 2017A-T451 (Al, 4.14%Cu, 0.72%Mg), 6082-T6 (Al, 1.03%Mg, 0.92%Si) and AlSi9Mg (Al, 8.6%Si, 0.31%Mg) aluminium alloys by friction stir welding using a high pin tool rotational speed (1400 or 1800…

An investigation was undertaken to examine the use of an industrial serial robot incorporating dual loop force/position control to reduce the investment cost and increase process flexibility in friction stir welding (FSW) by compensating the lateral…

A pinless tool with involute grooves on its shoulder surface was designed to facilitate friction stir spot welding (FSSW) of 2024-T3 aluminium alloy (Al, 3.8-4.9%Cu, 1.2-1.8%Mg, 0.3-0.9%Mn) sheets (thickness 1.5 mm) and the influence of process para…

The tool workpiece thermocouple (TWT) temperature measurement method was applied for optimisation of the initial welding phases (plunge and dwell) in conventional FSW (friction stir welding) and FSSW (friction stir spot welding), and an analysis of …

To gain further understanding of the mechanism for abnormal grain growth occurring in the stir zone of friction stir welded (FSW) aluminium alloys during post weld heat treatment (PWHT), details of the grain growth phenomena were examined in commerc…

The principles of spot friction welding (SFW) and the differences between SFW and linear friction stir welding (FSW) are outlined. Displacement control and load control of SFW machines are described. Experiments were conducted using a displacement-c…

An experimental canister welding machine was developed in order to evaluate FSW as a method of welding the copper canisters used in the long term storage of nuclear waste. Preliminary trials involved the development of a machine with sufficient stif…

Friction stir welds in austenitic stainless steels 316L (0.019%C, 0.87%Mn, 17.70%Cr, 12.19%Ni, 2.19%Mo) and 304 (0.040%C, 1.08%Mn, 18.10%Cr, 8.56%Ni); duplex stainless steel 329J4L (0.016%C, 0.78%Mn, 24.81%Cr, 7.27%Ni, 3.13%Mo, 0.43%Cu, 0.41%W); and…

A discussion is presented on developments in polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tool design for use in the friction stir welding of high temperature materials such as steels. Improvements in tool material grades, tool design and FSW equipmen…

The deformation microstructures formed during friction stir welding (FSW) of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy (Al, 5.76%Zn, 2.46%Mg, 1.32%Cu) were studied using SEM with electron back-scattered diffraction. The sheet thickness was 1.5 mm. The alloy was evalu…

Models were developed for the temperature distribution and material flow during friction stir welding. Both friction and material shearing were presumed to generate heat, and finite element analysis was used to determine the temperature distribution…