TWI Digital Library

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) was employed to fabricate lap joints in hot extruded AZ31 magnesium alloy sheets (thickness 2 mm), and the effect of introducing nanostructured SiC particles (mean size 40 nm) on the microstructure and mechanical pr…

Quantification approaches applied to phase space data generated from friction stir welding aluminium alloys under varying process conditions are reported. A multi-step, micro-wormhole, non-destructive evaluation phase-spaced, (PS) algorithm that com…

Numerical simulations and experimental tests were undertaken to visualise material flow and to study the effect of the flow field on the mixing mechanism and particle break-up in friction stir welding of metal matrix composites. A 3D thermo-fluid mo…

Friction stir welding (FSW) is discussed in manufacture of a sports car body made largely of aluminium alloy sheet with some components of cast aluminium or extruded aluminium, and the only steel used is the frame for the windscreen. Advantages are …

Nondestructive testing of friction stir welds is discussed. The ultrasonic testing of friction stir welded joints, advantages of phased array testing and test applications are presented briefly. The eddy current array testing technique is illustrate…

Fatigue tests were performed using lap-shear specimens of friction stir spot welded Al, 0.8%Mg, 1%Si alloys. Sheet specimens (thickness 2 mm) were subjected to PWHT of solution treatment and/or ageing. Weld zone microstructure was observed by SEM. F…

The joining of hot rolled aerospace quality AZ31B-H24 magnesium alloy (Mg, 2.5-3.5%Al, 0.7-1.3%Zn, 0.2-1.0%Mn) sheets (thickness 4.95 mm) was investigated using an MTS ISTIR friction stir welding (FSW) machine, the quality of the butt joints produce…

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…

Multirun friction stir processing (FSP) (12 mm depth over large surface area) was performed on NiAl bronze (Cu, 9.1%Al, 4.4%Ni, 3.9%Fe) thick plates (thickness 40 mm) using a rectangular spiral-out raster path, and longitudinal residual stresses wer…

An overview is presented of the twenty year history and technological developments relating to the application of friction stir welding (FSW) to aluminium alloy railway car body shells. Issues discussed include the history of railway car body shell …

The microstructure and corrosion properties of welded joints in Inconel 22 (Alloy 22 or NO6022) made by friction stir welding (FSW) were investigated. Bead-on-plate welds were produced in Alloy 22 (59.6%Ni, 13.43%Mo, 0.22%Cr, 3.29%W, 3.17%Fe, 0.84%C…

An investigation is presented into a methodology for simulating the entire friction stir welding (FSW) process using a hybrid mesh free method on a graphics processing unit (GPU) and its implementation for different FSW applications such as butt joi…

Fatigue crack growth in friction stir welded (FSW) aluminium alloys 2024-T3 and 6013-T6 were predicted using two commercial software programs, ESACRACK and AFGROW in order to facilitate lifetime predictions of FSW aircraft structures. The following …

The feasibility of using friction stir welding (FSW) in the construction of an aircraft central wing box from butt-welded extrusions was evaluated. An FSW procedure for welding 7055 T77511 and 7349 T6511 10 mm thickness extrusions was developed by T…

The application of friction stir welding (FSW) to the fabrication of copper backing plates of thickness 6 mm was investigated. The welding conditions, FSW machine development, and mechanical and metallurgical properties of friction stir welded joint…

The design, construction and use of a purpose-built friction stir welding machine for the welding of 15.9 mm (0.625 in) thickness, 1.88 m (74 in) long aluminium alloy 6061-T6 plate and extruded sections to form the side panels of a laser system is d…

The repair of friction stir weld defects in aluminium alloy 6061-T6 3 mm thickness sheet (Al, 0.683%Mg, 0.564%Si) by friction stir welding was investigated using artificial defects. The defects were created using an unsuitable pin profile, whilst re…

A softening model was constructed for friction stir welding (FSW) of 2xxx series aluminium alloys and was combined with previously derived thermal cycle modelling work. A thermal model of energy input and heat conduction was used to calculate therma…

Control equipment for the friction stir welding process was developed and evaluated for the production of a 8.4 m (27.5 ft) diameter, 0.32 in (8.13 mm) wall thickness 2195-T8 aluminium alloy space vehicle external fuel tank. The use of a computer-ba…

Finite element analysis was used to model the friction stir welding process in 6061-T6 aluminium alloy plate, to predict temperature, residual stress and distortion. Temperature distributions in the workpiece were determined as a function of time, c…