TWI

Different aluminium alloys were joined by friction stir welding (EN AW-5754-H14 to sheets of the same material, extruded profile EN AW-6063-T6 sheets to high pressure die cast EN AC-46000) and characterised by x-ray and microscopy studies, and the m…

The weldability of magnesium alloys by friction stir welding was studied using three die-cast alloys of thickness 6 mm (AM50 and AM60 Mg-Al-Mn alloys; AZ91 Mg-Al-Zn alloy) and one wrought alloy of thickness 6.4 mm (AZ231 Mg-Al-Zn alloy). Surface app…

An extensive study of friction stir welding (FSW) of HSLA-65 steel plate (thickness 6 mm) was undertaken, incorporating defect-free friction stir butt welding at a travel speed of 3.4 mm/s, the achievement of low/no distortion FSW by employing appro…

Butt joints were fabricated in AA 6061-T6 (Al, 0.8%Mg, 0.6%Si) and AA 6082-T6 (Al, 0.62%Mg, 0.99%Si, 0.49%Mn) plates (thickness 6 mm) by friction stir welding, and the tensile and fatigue properties of the weldments were investigated. The microstruc…

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…

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,…

An experimental study was carried out to characterise the types of defect which may occur in friction stir welding (FSW) when operating outside the standard processing window and to determine the causes of these defects. Friction stir welds were mad…

Results are presented from tests carried out to determine the mechanical and corrosion properties of friction stir welds in sheets of thickness 4 mm of two aerospace aluminium alloys AA-6056 and AA-6013. The specimens included alloys in the T6 condi…

A method investigated by Sweden for storage of nuclear waste in copper canisters sealed using friction stir welding (where EB welding has been used before) is described. Topics include: Nimonic 105 and Densimet sintered tungsten alloy tool; welding …

Following an overview of friction stir spot welding (FSSW) for potential automotive applications (including robotic FSSW in poke welding and C-frame configurations, and pedestal FSSW machines for manual, automatic or robotic use), a FSSW process dev…

Friction stir welding experiments using a W-Re pin tool were undertaken on thermohydrogen processed Ti, 6-6.2%Al, 4.15-4.18%V, 0-0.5%H alloys to investigate the effect of hydrogen content on weldability, and the welded joint morphology, microstructu…

A silicon nitride (Si3N4) tool with a threaded pin was used for friction spot joining of ultralow carbon (0.004-0.01%C, 0.1-0.16%Mn) and DP 590 grade dual-phase high-strength steel (0.06%C, 0.49%Si, 1.23%Mn) sheets, and the microstructure and mechan…

Friction stir welding (FSW) was employed to join various aerospace aluminium alloys, the welded joints were characterised with respect to microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance, and the effects of post-weld artificial ageing …

As part of a study investigating friction stir welding (FSW) as a method for joining the lids on copper canisters for the long term storage of nuclear waste, finite element modelling was used to analyse heat flow and material flow and the developmen…

The effects of tool shoulder size and tilt angle on the formation of weld zones during the friction stir welding of aluminium alloys were studied. Aluminium alloy 5083 (Al, 4.2%Mg, 0.2%Si, 0.6%Mn, 0.15%Fe, 0.09%Cr, 0.09%Zn, 0.06%Cu, 0.02%Ti), an all…

The microstructure and mechanical properties (hardness profiles, tensile strength) of friction stir welded (FSW) joints of ZL114A cast aluminium alloy (Al, 6.5-7.5%Si, 0.45-0.6%Mg), a material of interest for applications in the aerospace industry, …

An investigation is presented into the use of a friction stir welding/forging process to fabricate tee and I-beam shapes with integral radial shaped fillets, the optimisation of process parameters for different alloys and shapes, and the results of …

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were undertaken on sheet specimens (thickness 5 mm) of 5454-H111 aluminium alloys and the relationships between process forces, spindle power and tool geometry were investigated. Twelve FSW tools with specifie…

With regard to the development of dissimilar aluminium-steel joint fabrication for automotive applications such as body-in-white, an investigation incorporating experiment and numerical simulation was undertaken to examine the dissimilar friction st…

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were undertaken to investigate the feasibility of joining a metal matrix composite (MMC), comprising an AA 2124 matrix and 25 vol.% SiC particles, to itself and to a monolithic alloy (AA 2024-T3), and the micr…