TWI Digital Library

The tolerance of operational accuracy and optimum tool control in 3D friction stir welding (FSW) was investigated in relation to joint mechanical properties. A five-axis controlled FSW machine was developed for 3D welding. The material studied was a…

With regard to the dependence of welded joint properties on tool probe shape during friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar butt joints between aluminium and steel, an investigation was undertaken into the interface formation mechanism by conducti…

The friction stir welding of dissimilar aluminium alloys for the production of aircraft structural components was investigated. Welds were made between alloys 7040 and 7449 pre-aged to obtain a defined temper after post-weld ageing. Alloy 7040 was a…

An investigation is presented into the fatigue properties of welded joints in various structural aluminium alloys prepared by friction stir welding (FSW) and the results are compared with those measured on MIG welded joints. The experimental specime…

Friction stir spot welded joints in aluminium alloy 6061-T4 were studied. Sheet of 1, 1.5, 2, and 3 mm thickness was friction stir welded to sheet of 3 mm thickness, using welds of 8-18 mm in length (equivalent in area to circular resistance spot we…

Dissimilar lap joints between ASTM A36 low carbon steel and Inconel 625 (Ni, 21.4%Cr, 9.65%Mo, 3.2%Nb, 2.6%Fe) were fabricated by friction stir welding (FSW) and the effects of process parameters on microstructure and hardness were investigated. FSW…

An investigation is presented into the effect of frictional heating on joint behaviour during friction stir welding (FSW) between aluminium alloy 6063 and mild steel S45C, the cross-section microstructure of the weld interface, and the welding mecha…

Very high speed (10m/min [394 ipm]) friction stir welding (FSW) was demonstrated in both 2 mm thick AA6061-T6 and AA5051-H32. For AA6061-T6, weld parameters of 2,025 kg (4,500 lbs.) at 10,000 rpm and for AA5052-H32 weld parameters of 1,665 kg (3,700…

A 3D fully coupled computational fluid dynamics model was established to investigate the heat generation and material flow during friction stir welding, and the measured tool torque and axial force were used to characterise the contact conditions (f…

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…

A nonlinear dynamic model to study the axial force and torque in the tool of a friction stir welding (FSW) process was developed by training an artificial neural network (ANN) multi-perceptron layer structure with a nonlinear autoregressive exogenou…

A simplified friction stir welding (FSW) tool equipped with an adjustable probe was developed, FSW trial results with prototype tools were obtained and were analysed in terms of weldability. The simplified tools were realised by devising shoulders f…

A flat heat pipe with Al2O3 nanofluid or deionised water as the working medium was designed, the relationship between pipe parameters and heat transfer characteristics was analysed, and the application of the heat pipe to friction stir welding was e…

A qualitative and discrete quantitative approach was adopted to develop a generalised electronic NDE (e-NDE) algorithm for identifying erratic friction stir welding (FSW) indications contained in the tool force feedback signals as low and high frequ…

The large load friction stir spot welding (LL-FSSW) technique was applied to a low carbon steel sheet in order to achieve lap joints at a low temperature, and the microstructure and hardness of the joints were investigated. The composition of the gr…

A device was designed and manufactured to facilitate accurate monitoring of forces, torque and tool temperature during friction stir welding (FSW) and for use as a weld quality indicator in relation to issues such as tool wear, lack of tool penetrat…

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…

Thermocouples were mounted in a friction stir welding (FSW) tool to measure its temperature during the FSW of aluminium alloy 6061-T6 (Al, 1.0%Mg, 0.61%Si, 0.27%Cu, 0.10%Mn) sheet of 3 mm thickness. Type K thermocouples were mounted at various dista…

A thermal numerical 3D model to predict temperature and machine torque values for bobbin tool friction stir welding (FSW) is presented. The model includes a 3D representation of the work piece, clamping and bobbin tool. The heat transported by the t…

A description is presented of a 5-axis gantry machine for friction stir welding (FSW) of full-size aluminium structures for applications ranging from armoured vehicle chassis and other military vehicles to more delicate 3D aircraft structures. The g…