TWI

This paper describes the joining criterion for lap joining of dissimilar metal materials of aluminum and stainless steel by friction stir. A criterion for evaluating the joined state or non-joined state is proposed, which is led by the concept based…

Experimental measurements and thermal modelling were used to determine the transient heat loss into friction stir welding tools and so calculate the welding efficiency. Energy inputs were determined from force and torque measurements made whilst per…

Experimental methods were developed to track material flow and mixing during the friction stir welding (FSW) process. Experiments were conducted with butt joints of 6.35 mm (0.25 in) thickness 7050-T7451 aluminium alloy plates. The FSW tool was H13 …

Alternative friction stir welding tool shoulder materials to improve welding speed and quality were evaluated. The materials, which were compared with tool steel using a tool designed for exchangeable shoulder inserts, were: nitrided tool steel, Inc…

The development of a novel friction stir welding (FSW) monitoring for the in-process collection of tool force data is reported. The concept and features of this Advanced Rotating Tool Environment Monitoring and Information system (Artemis), based ar…

With regard to the development of a hybrid structure tool holder to facilitate chatter vibration suppression in metal cutting processes, an investigation was undertaken into the use of friction stir girth welding (FSGW) to fabricate dissimilar joint…

Microstructural observations and mechanical tests were undertaken to investigate the phase transformation behaviour of low alloy Cr-Mo steel (0.2%C, 0.61%Mn, 1.07%Cr, 0.16%Mo) sheets (thickness 1.6 mm) during friction stir welding. Stir-in-plate typ…

An investigation is presented into the processing window for friction stir welding (FSW) of Formall 545 (equivalent to AA-5083) to age-hardened AA-6082 aluminium alloys with regard to tool rotation and traverse speeds, and into an evaluation of a nu…

5083-O aluminium alloy sheets (thickness 3 mm) were butt welded using a gate-type friction stir welding (FSW) machine to investigate tolerance to deviations in butt-line/tool-travel line, gap spacing and tool roll angle, and the welded joints were e…

In relation to the application of tailor welded blanks of aluminium alloys to the vehicle weight reduction process, an investigation is presented into the precipitation sequence in friction stir welded 6016 alloy sheets (thickness 2 mm) during a pai…

An experimental study was conducted to measure the torque of friction stir welded cast aluminium A356 (Al, 7%Si, 0.3%Mg) over a range of travel and rotational speeds. Plates of 6.35 mm thickness were FSW using travel speeds and rotational speeds ran…

The weldability of zirconium-titanium alloy joints fabricated by means of friction stir welding (FSW) was investigated. Sheets (thickness 3 mm) of Zr-Ti alloy (Zr, 41%Ti, 4%Al, 3%V) underwent FSW with a tungsten-rhenium alloy (W, 25%Re) tool with an…

With regard to the development of Al-Mg-Sc alloys for aerospace applications, an investigation is presented into friction stir welding (FSW) of thick plates (thickness 35 mm) and thick-walled pipes made from 1570C alloy (Al, 5.7%Mg, 0.29%Mn, 0.2%Sc,…

Bead-on-plate welds were fabricated in S31254 superaustenitic stainless steel (19.82%Cr, 17.78%Ni, 6.13%Mo) plates (thickness 6 mm) using friction stir welding (FSW) and their microstructure and texture evolution were studied by high resolution elec…

A fully coupled thermomechanical three dimensional finite element (FE) model was developed to analyse the thermomechanical conditions, including material flow and heat generation, at the tool/matrix interface in friction stir welding. The model was …

Two techniques developed on TWI's "RoboStir" system, robotic floating-bobbin friction stir welding (RFBFSW) and robotic stationary shoulder friction stir welding (RSSFSW), are described and some results from welding trials are presented. The RFBFSW …

A friction melt bonding process was employed to fabricate dissimilar lap joints between ultralow carbon (0.01%C, 0.14%Mn) or dual-phase DP600 (0.08%C, 1.51%Mn, 0.35%Cr, 0.06%Mo) steel grades and 1050, 2024 or 6061 aluminium alloys and the microstruc…

The stationary shoulder technique was applied to the self reacting pin tool (SRPT) for friction stir welding (FSW) of high quality aluminium alloy railway car body structures in order to enhance the appearance of no coating side structures construct…

Controlled force monitored plug-in tests were undertaken to investigate the influence of rotational speed and to analyse flow regimes during friction stir welding (FSW) of different aluminium alloys. Experimental specimens comprised sheets (thicknes…

A thermal model with a thermo pseudo mechanical (TPM) heat source was employed to investigate the influence of process parameters (rotational speed, feed rate and tool geometry) on the temperature profile at the interface of dissimilar metal lap joi…