TWI

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…

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…

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 welding was conducted on Al alloy 6005A-T6 plates of 6 mm thickness. The power input was determined from torque measurements. The effects of advancing speed and rotation speed on total power input were examined. Thermal cycles were mea…

Friction stir welding experiments were undertaken on Al-Li alloys for application to C919 passenger aircraft fuselage panels, and the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded lap joints were investigated. The materials comprised 2060-T…

A direct modelling approach ("SAMCEF" software finite element simulation) coupled with an inverse model, based on genetic algorithm optimisation (MAX software), was applied to the friction stir welding (FSW) process for two aluminium alloys (6005A-T…

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…

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…

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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…

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…

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…

A project to introduce friction stir welding for aluminium shipbuilding in Taiwan is described. The advantages of FSW compared with arc welding for this application are summarised. Stages of the project are outlined, covering work with local tool fa…