TWI Digital Library

The fine scale precipitation in the nugget zone and in the HAZ of a weld in aluminium alloy AA-6082 (Al, 0.7%Mg, 0.5%Mn, 0.9%Si) of thickness 5-10 mm made by friction stir welding (FSW) was examined using transmission electron microscopy. The dissol…

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 (…

Preliminary results from a 3-dimensional heat and material flow computer simulation program for friction stir welding are given and compared with experimental observations. The simulation is based upon solutions of Navier-Stokes equations and nonlin…

A method investigated by Sweden for storage of nuclear waste in copper canisters sealed using friction stir welding (where EB welding has been used before) is described. Topics include: Nimonic 105 and Densimet sintered tungsten alloy tool; welding …

The numerical simulation of the friction stir welding process using two different commercial finite element codes is described. FORGE3, which uses an updated Lagrangian approach, was used to simulate the plunge of the pin and the THERCAST package, w…

Evaluation of phased array ultrasonic inspection for the detection of typical friction stir weld defects is reported. Characteristics of friction stir welds with respect to inspectability are described. Phased array operation is outlined. A variety …

Friction stir welded joints in aluminium alloy 6061-T6 sheet were produced using a robot arm, to assess the ability of the arm to withstand the mechanical stresses associated with friction stir welding. The arm was fitted with an electrically powere…

A friction stir welding tool with a variable length probe (suitable for variable thickness joints, repairs and circumferential welding) was developed and evaluated for the welding of aluminium alloy 2195. Tapered sheet, of both increasing and decrea…

Friction stir welding of aluminium alloys suitable for railway and shipbuilding applications was investigated. Sheet of 4 mm thickness of alloys 6N01-T5 (Al, 0.7%Mg, 0.6%Si, 0.1%Cu) and 5083-H112 (Al, 4.7%Mg) were friction stir welded, and the joint…

Aluminium alloy fusion welds were modified by friction stir processing (FSP) as a function of FSP location and tool design, and differences between the FSP locations and tools were quantified by microstructure and mechanical property measurements (u…

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 …

The incorporation of strips of copper foil in friction stir welded aluminium alloy plate was evaluated for flow visualisation without disturbing the welding process. The strips, of 0.1 mm thickness, were placed in various longitudinal and transverse…

In order to understand the complex interactions between deformation, recrystallisation and precipitation induced during friction stir welding, two aluminium alloys were studied: a work hardened 5251-O alloy (Al, 2.2%Mg) and a precipitation hardened …

Friction stir welding trials, comprising double-sided butt welding of plates of thickness 10-11 mm, were conducted to investigate the weldability of copper and its alloys and to determine the correct process parameters (welding and rotation speeds) …

A computational fluid dynamics package, FLUENT, was used to model the viscous material flow during friction stir welding using two- and three-dimensional tool shapes. Two approaches were used to describe the viscosity. The first approach interpolate…

The friction stir welding of lap joints of aluminium alloy 6061 sheet of 3 mm thickness was monitored using a variety of sensors, to establish systems for weld quality control. A triaxial dynamometer measured the forces on the workpiece in three per…

A discussion is presented on the development of a FSW process for the welding of thin gauge aluminium alloy lap joints in the fuselage and wing sections of the Eclipse 500 twin-engine jet aircraft. The issues of pin tool geometry for use on lap join…

The effects of friction stir welding (FSW) on the corrosion resistance of aluminium alloys 2014A and 7075, both welded in the peak aged T651 condition, were studied. The effects of postweld heat treatment (retrogression and reageing treatment) were …

Coupons with both triangular and rectangular gaps were prepared from AA 2024 aluminium alloy plate stock by friction stir welding (FSW) and volumetric defect formation was investigated by a neural network-based electronic NDE (e-NDE) technique. The …

A simplified finite element modelling approach was employed to analyse the effect of localised dynamic cooling on residual stress development during friction stir welding (FSW), and the model predictions were compared with x-ray synchrotron and neut…