TWI

Annealed AISI 420 martensitic stainless steel (0.46%C, 0.3%Mn, 13.8%Cr) sheets (thickness 3 mm) were subjected to dry or wet friction stir processing (FSP) and the correlation between microstructure, hardness and process parameters was investigated.…

Friction stir welding (FSW) was conducted on high-strength pipe steel plates (thickness 12.7 mm) using commercially pure tungsten, tungsten-rhenium (W, 25%Re) and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride pin tools; mechanical properties of the welded joi…

A method for incorporating local material property gradients across the weld zone in finite element simulations of friction stir welded 2139-T8 aluminium alloys was developed to predict the time evolution of strain. Local material flow stress was de…

Butt joints were fabricated by friction stir welding (FSW) in 4340 steel (0.43%C, 0.69%Mn, 0.76%Cr, 1.76%Ni, 0.24%Mo, 0.43%V, 0.16%Cu) and between 4340 steel and Inconel 718 (Ni, 17-21%Cr, 4.7-5.5%Nb, 2.8-3.3%Mo) and their microstructure and mechani…

A review is presented of the development programme to achieve a production-ready procedure to manufacture copper canisters for Swedish radioactive waste storage using friction stir welding (FSW) for encapsulation, incorporating adaptive thermal mana…

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were conducted on Ti-6%Al-4%V (Ti, 6.32%Al, 4.08%V) and SP-700 (Ti, 4.37%Al, 2.93%V, 1.91%Fe, 1.9%Mo) alloy sheets (thickness 2 mm) in order to investigate the effect of process conditions on joint microstruct…

A feasibility study was undertaken to investigate the use of friction stir welding to join B4C particle reinforced Al metal matrix composite plates (thickness 8 mm) that form the neutron absorber tubes of the basket of a spent nuclear fuel cask. Wel…

The StiRoLight Research project (carried out in conjunction with SAAB, ESAB and Volvo) to investigate the use of an industrial robot for friction stir welding of aluminium alloys in the automobile industry, is outlined and studies of path deviations…

Ultrafine grained test pieces of aluminium, copper and steel produced by the accumulative roll bonding process were friction stir butt welded at various revolutionary pitches, and the microstructures and mechanical properties (tensile strength, Vick…

Thick section friction stir welds were made in 25.4 mm (1 in) 5083-H131 and in 18.4 mm 2195-T8P4 aluminium alloy plates by single-pass friction stir welding (FSW) using new welding tool designs. The alloys are used for aerospace applications. The sh…

Friction stir welding of UK Ministry of Defence Def Stan 95-22 7017 aluminium alloy (Al, 4.5%Zn, 2.0%Mg) armour plate was evaluated by studying the mechanical properties and cracking of welded joints. Initially plate of 10 mm thickness, locally redu…

A brief review is presented of the RIFTEC welding job shop, a major supplier for friction stir welded components in Germany, and Hammerer Aluminium Industries (HAI) in Austria and some of their applications to railway, automotive and electronic indu…

8th International Symposium, 18-20 May 2010, Session 5A: Industrial Applications 1, Paper 03

The friction stir welding (FSW) manufacturing technology of large aluminium extrusions for rail, automotive and aerospace applications was optimised. Tensile strength, impact value, hardness and microstructure were investigated in friction stir weld…

Advances in low cost, rapidly re-configurable fixturing and support tooling for the production of complex curvature parts by friction stir welding are described. An Intelligent Friction Stir Welding (IFSW) path planning algorithm developed by the So…

The development of cryogenic tank domes for gas tanks for carrier rockets using friction stir welding (FSW) and high strength aluminium alloys of the 2xxx series is outlined. The verification of an existing NC-controlled milling machining centre (Ca…

Friction stir processing (FSP) experiments were undertaken on three Ni-based alloys (Alloy 625 (Ni, 21.6%Cr, 8.6%Mo, 3.7%Fe), Alloy 718 (Ni, 23.7%Fe, 18.1%Cr, 3.1%Mo, 1%Ti) and Hastelloy X (Ni, 21.3%Cr, 19.2%Fe, 8.3%Mo)) using a W-Re tool, process p…

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) experiments were undertaken on sheet specimens of similar and dissimilar combinations of AA 2024-T3 (thickness 1.27 mm), AA 2024-O (2.2 mm) and AA 7075-T6 (1.27 mm) aluminium alloys under various process conditions,…

The application of friction stir welding to the construction of airframe structures of precipitation-hardened aluminium alloys, using butt, lap and T-joints, is described. A landing gear strut door was manufactured by welding an Alclad 7075-T6 skin …

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-…