TWI

Torsion testing was carried out using a range of temperatures and strains to simulate the formation of nugget zone grain structures in friction stir welds of a typical aluminium alloy (7010) in order to investigate the formation mechanisms. Electron…

A real-time wireless temperature measurement system was developed to facilitate improved temperature measurement at the tool-workpiece interface and a closed-loop control system for friction stir welding (FSW) that maintains weld quality under vario…

An experimental study was carried out to investigate the effect of welding conditions on weld macrostructure and the microstructure and mechanical properties of the nugget zone in welds in AA-7010 aluminium alloy made by friction stir welding (FSW).…

An investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of high welding speed and the use of thermal boundary conditions during friction stir welding (FSW) on the mechanical properties of AA 7050 aluminium alloy weldments. FSW experiments were perfor…

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…

Sleeve plunge friction spot welding was employed to join AA5042 aluminium alloys under various process conditions and the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the welded joints were investigated. Welding was performed using a three-piece …

Friction stir spot welding experiments were conducted on dissimilar metal joints between AA5052 aluminium alloy and two kinds of steel (980 MPa high tensile strength steel and 270 MPa mild steel), and the microstructure and mechanical properties of …

The material flows of aluminium and steel during friction stir welding were visualised in three dimensions using x-ray transmission radiographic real-time imaging. The movement of a miniature spherical tungsten tracer during welding was visualised u…

Friction stir welding tools of three different compositions (MS80, Q70 and Q60) of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) were tested to examine wear and fracture sensitivity. Three tools were made from each composition and were run for a total …

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were performed on Al-based alloys prepared by direct-chill casting and continuous casting, and the influence of intermetallic particles and process parameters on onion ring zone morphology and microstructure w…

With regard to the production of aluminium alloy T joints for stiffened panel construction by friction stir welding (FSW), an investigation is presented into the fabrication of FSW T joints with AA 6082-T6 alloys and the influence of welding paramet…

Tapered probe and parallel probe tools were employed in friction stir welding of thick section AA 6082-T6 aluminium alloy specimens (thickness 38 mm) and the effect of tool geometry on weldment microstructure and crystallographic texture was investi…

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were undertaken on commercially pure Ti and Ti-6%Al-4%V plates (thickness 6 mm) by incorporating nickel foil markers of varying thicknesses to reduce forging load, enhance surface finish, eliminate void format…

In relation to the challenges involved in temperature data acquisition and transmission associated with rotation of the friction stir welding (FSW) tool, an investigation is presented into a wireless temperature monitoring system based on thermocoup…

Work from two projects is described: "Qualistir" for the on-line quality control of friction stir welding in aluminium (by ultrasonic phased array examination of butt welded Al 7075); and a TWI feasibility study on inspection of Al 5083 butt and lap…

The influences of the thermal and mechanical stresses experienced during friction stir welding on the structure of coarse-grained aluminium alloy 2519-T87 were investigated. Plate of 25 mm thickness was welded at a speed of 1.5 mm/s, using a tool sp…

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…

A kinematic approach is presented for modelling the friction stir welding process and the relationship between tool geometry and process parameters. The model was used to describe the correlation between features of the weld nugget, process paramete…

A report is presented into the friction stir welding (FSW) fabrication of an aluminium deck for a pedestrian bridge over the Petite Decharge river (Alma, Quebec, Canada), incorporating the design and manufacturing of extrusions, FSW tools and a syst…

An approach to welded joint inspection incorporating in situ characterisation of weld quality was developed to facilitate the detection of discontinuities (e.g. voids and volume defects) during friction stir welding (FSW). FSW experiments were perfo…