TWI

An instrumented constrained Charpy test was used to measure the fracture toughness of friction stir welded joints produced using several designs of welding tool in sheet aluminium alloys 6082 (4.7 mm) and 7108 (3.2, 5.0 mm). This test constrained pl…

The bobbin tool or self-reacting tool variant of the friction stir welding process was investigated on butt joints of various 2000 series aluminium alloys for aircraft fuselage applications; welding feasibility tests were conducted in pin length con…

Technology improvements and process innovations in respect of friction stir welding (FSW) of high temperature materials are reviewed, welding process conditions and mechanical properties of completed welds for various alloys using polycrystalline cu…

Friction stir welding (FSW) trials were carried out for thin HSLA-65 steel plate (6 mm thickness) to evaluate the potential benefits of using induction preheat. Other studies including tool design and multi-run welding are also evaluated as methods …

An investigation is presented into the development of a flexible 3D friction stir welding (FSW) process capacity incorporating a rail mounted industrial robot to facilitate high production rate repair of aluminium cathodes for electro refining opera…

An integrated modelling approach, incorporating coupled process, material response and material performance models, was developed and implemented for use in friction stir welding (FSW) of aerospace structures. The process model employed was a dynami…

A comparative study was undertaken of three different machine types, a modified high payload robot, a CNC milling machine and an ESAB "SuperStir" FSW machine, in terms of their capability for FSW of various aluminium alloys using identical process p…

Friction stir welding was employed to fabricate welded joints in AA 7475-T7351 aluminium alloy plates (thickness 6.35 mm) and the effect of kissing bond defects on fatigue life and other mechanical properties was investigated. Welded test specimens …

In order to study the relationship between material flow and the development of highly variant process forces during friction stir welding (FSW), a high sampling rate triaxial force measurement device and a high speed camera were employed to monitor…

Lap joints were fabricated in AA 7075-T6 aluminium alloy sheets (thickness 2 mm) using an ESAB "Rosio" friction stir welding (FSW) robot and the effect tool of side-tilt angle on welded joint tensile strength was investigated. A "CounterStir" FSW to…

Dissimilar welded joints between AW 6061-T6 aluminium alloy (Al, 0.93%Mg, 0.59%Si, 0.5%Fe) and AZ31B-H24 magnesium alloy (Mg, 2.55%Al, 0.79%Zn) were fabricated by friction stir welding and the influence of process parameters on their microstructure …

Dissimilar overlap joints between different aluminium alloys were fabricated by friction stir welding (FSW) and the influence of alloy composition and FSW tool type on fatigue fracture, microstructure and mechanical properties was investigated. The …

Friction stir spot welding experiments were undertaken on AZ31 magnesium alloy (Mg, 3%Al, 1%Zn, 0.2%Mn) sheets (thickness 2 mm) in order to investigate the influence of a flame spray gun rapid preheating process on the microstructures and mechanical…

A brief review is presented of the state of development of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tool materials for friction stir welding (FSW) of high-temperature materials (high alloy steels and Ni based alloys) with respect to weld penetrati…

As part of a project to develop a physical-mathematical model and software for thermal simulation of the friction stir welding (FSW) process, an initial version "FricSim2.2" was created and verified, using the software tool "SpotFSW" to convert the …

Butt joints were fabricated in AA 2219-T87 aluminium alloy panels (thickness 6.35 mm) by friction stir welding (FSW), and force data collected during welding were analysed using an unsupervised matched filter technique to classify weldment segments …

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…

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…

With regard to the fabrication of hollow structures by the inversion friction stir welding (IV-FSW) technique, welded joints were fabricated in A-1050 and A-6061 aluminium alloy and SPCC steel sheets (thickness 2 mm) by IV-FSW and their surface appe…

Friction stir spot welding experiments were conducted on dissimilar metal joints between AA5052 aluminium alloy and three kinds of zinc coated steel, and weldability analysis, microstructure observations and mechanical tests were undertaken. The coa…