TWI

The origin of the lines of micrometre sized oxide particles observed in aluminium alloy friction stir welds was investigated. Butt and bead on plate welds were prepared using 6 mm plate of aluminium (99.999%Al and 99.5%Al) and aluminium alloy 6056 (…

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…

Friction stir welding (FSW) was carried out on AZ31 magnesium alloy (Mg, 3%Al, 1%Zn) plates of thickness 6 mm in order to examine the relationship between weld microtexture and tensile properties. Orientation imaging microscopy was used to examine m…

An accurate temperature feedback strategy and closed-loop feedback control system for temperature have been developed for friction stir welding. A wireless data acquisition system was constructed to measure temperatures at the tool-workpiece interfa…

The swept frequency friction stir spot welding technique was employed to fabricate lap joints in 6061 aluminium alloy workpieces and the influence of process parameters on mechanical properties was investigated. Welding experiments were conducted us…

The microstructure, crystallographic texture and grain distribution were determined in a transverse cross section of a friction stir weld and in a plan-view section through the embedded friction stir welding (FSW) tool. The weld was obtained by FSW …

The use of a new tool material, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), developed by Brigham Young University in association with Advanced Metal Products, for friction stir welding (FSW) high-temperature materials was investigated. The manufactu…

Incorporation of friction stir welding (FSW) in a parallel kinematics machine (PKM) 5-axis machine was undertaken with the intelligent computer aided manufacturing (ICAM) approach to optimise process parameters and tool paths by using available CNC …

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were undertaken on single crystal and polycrystalline pure iron sheets (thickness 1.5 mm) as well as a polycrystalline carbon steel, and the microstructure, material flow characteristics and plastic deformatio…

4th International Symposium, 14-16 May 2003, Session 5A: Aerospace 2, Paper 01

A friction stir spot welding process was employed to fabricate dissimilar joints between 6016 aluminium alloy (Al, 1-1.5%Si, 0.25-0.6%Mg) and galvanised HSLA 280 phosphorus-hardened cold rolled steel (0.08%C, 1.3%Mn, 0.1%Ti, 0.08%Al, 0.09%P), and th…

The design of a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride friction stir welding tool, tool holder and machine for use with high melting temperature materials is described. A polycrystalline cubic boron nitride truncated cone tool tip, capable of working a…

An investigation is presented into the use of temperature control in two friction stir welding (FSW) research projects: to understand the effect of backing plate conductivity on process parameters and to study the influence of active FSW tool coolin…

A friction stir welding technology was developed to facilitate welding extruded profiles together as a whole side wall in an aluminium railway wagon for coal transportation. The material employed was an AA 6061-T6 alloy plate (thickness 7 mm). Some …

An investigation is presented into tool material development of large polycrystalline cubic BN blanks to facilitate friction stir welding of thick section steel specimens (thickness 9.5 or 20 mm). Tool materials were produced from 90% polycrystallin…

An apparatus was developed to analyse the contact condition between the rotating tool and the workpiece during friction stir welding, and empirical tests were performed to determine the friction conditions (static, dynamic and the transition from on…

An investigation is presented into the effect of a paint bake cycle on the performance of friction stir spot welded (FSSW) joints fabricated in heat-treatable 6111-T4 aluminium alloy automotive sheets (thickness 0.93 mm) using a pinless tool and sho…

A thermomechanical finite element model of the friction stir welding process, which considered temperature distributions in the workpiece and tool loadings, was developed and validated by comparing the model simulations with experimental data for th…

A discussion is presented on the industrial use of the friction stir welding (FSW) process looking at cost issues and technological developments. The cost implications of introducing FSW into production areas and the calculation of returns on invest…