TWI Digital Library

A combined analytical and experimental study was carried out to determine power, heat input, tool shoulder temperature and process efficiency for the FSW of aluminium alloys, carbon steels and titanium alloys and to compare heat input with that for …

Thick sheets (thickness 5.4 mm) of a ferritic stainless steel (18.33%Cr, 1.81%Mo, 0.2%Nb) were joined by friction stir welding with optimised process parameters (rotational speed 200 rpm, welding speed 100-160 mm/min) and the microstructure and mech…

Dissimilar joints between AA 6063 aluminium alloy and S45C steel were fabricated by friction stir welding and the growth behaviour of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) at the weld interface during PWHT was investigated. Welding was performed at a rotat…

An empirical process model to estimate tool shoulder temperature for different materials and friction stir welding (FSW) conditions is described that incorporates a design of experiments method and linear regression analysis (MATLAB software) with c…

Two types of WC-Co hard alloy tools (threaded and smooth) were used to friction stir weld an AC4A aluminium matrix composite (Al, 9%Si reinforced with 30 vol.% SiC particles) and the wear behaviour of the tools was investigated. Samples were butt we…

Lap joints between 2 mm aluminium alloy sheet in 2024-T3 (Al, 4.4%Cu, 1.5%Mg, 0.6%Mn) and 7075-T6 (Al, 1.6%Cu, 2.5%Mg, 0.23%Cr, 5.6%Zn) were prepared and evaluated. The welds were produced using a range of welding and tool speeds, with a non-threade…

The present study developed analytical techniques for analysis of welds from various thickness and welding tool designs by expressing the variables of interest in terms of unit area of welding tool surface. Previously, a method of expressing the spi…

Rotary friction welding was employed to fabricate joints between an ASTM A36 steel pipe (0.11%C, 0.2%Si, 0.92%Mn, 0.02%Cr, 0.02%Nb, 0.03%Al) and an API 6A flange and microstructural analyses and mechanical tests were undertaken to investigate the se…

Modelling tools were developed to describe the relationships between process parameters, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the weld in friction stir welding (FSW). Experiments were conducted using aluminium alloy 6056. Initial t…

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods were used to model the metal flow in the friction stir welding (FSW) process in order to optimise the pin profile to minimise the traversing force; welding experiments were carried out to validate the findi…

5A06 aluminium alloy (Al, 6.8%Mg, 0.5%Mn) sheets (thickness 5.17 mm) were joined by friction stir welding (FSW) and the microstructure and mechanical properties of the welded joints were investigated. Welding was performed using a tool pin with a sc…

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 …

A friction stir welding (FSW) procedure using a W-Re alloy tool, magnetic welding fixture and a high-speed steel backing bar was developed for application to precipitation-hardened martensitic stainless steel (13.7%Cr, 7.1%Ni) thin sheet (thickness …

Friction stir welding (FSW) was investigated in aluminium alloys used in aircraft structures. Extruded shapes in alloys 2024 (Al, 4.96%Cu), 7475 (Al, 5.96%Zn, 2.57%Mg, 1.62%Cu) and 7050 (Al, 6.29%Zn, 2.36%Mg, 2.00%Cu) were welded; welds were evaluat…

The influence of friction stir welding on the microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium alloy 6061 was investigated. Aluminium alloy 6061-T651 plate of 6.4 mm (0.25 in) thickness was friction stir welded and the joints characterised by o…

The influence of weld length on pin breakage during friction stir welding (FSW) of aluminium alloy was investigated. Tool geometry, microstructure, pin diameter and the occurrence of cracking were studied during welding. Welded joints were made in 7…

Carbon nanotube reinforced AA 6063 aluminium alloy (Al, 0.65%Mg, 0.34%Si) metal matrix composite (MMC) sheets (thickness 1.8 mm) were joined by friction stir welding (FSW) and experimental studies were undertaken to examine the MMC weldability as we…

The influence of pores and residual stresses on fatigue crack propagation was studied for friction stir welded joints in aluminium alloys 2024-T3 and 6013-T6 of thickness 4 mm. Good welds and pore-containing welds were produced using tools with and …

The non-destructive testing (NDT) aspects of the Qualistir project for the on-line quality control of friction stir welding in aluminium are described. Definitions are given for the following defects: voids, wormholes, lack of penetration, faying su…

The microstructure, hardness, indentation profile, tensile strength, fracture cracking and grain boundaries of friction stir overlap welds in 2124 aerospace aluminium alloy were investigated. Welds were made in EN AW-2124 heat-treatable wrought AlCu…