TWI Digital Library

A series of models was used to study weld formation in 6000-series aluminium alloy in the friction stir welding process. Weld formation was considered as three separate thermomechanical processes: coupled friction heat generation; plastic flow slip …

Full field displacement measurement with digital image correlation was used to study the mechanical properties of friction stir welded joints in aluminium alloy plates. Welds were made in 5454-O and 5454-H sheet of 3.9 mm thickness, and 2195-T8 plat…

A stop-action technique was used to stop tool motion during friction stir welding of aluminium alloys in order to study the interactions between the parent material and welding tool pin in the keyhole. Welds were made in 25 mm thick Al-Cu-Li 2195 pl…

Following an overview of friction stir spot welding (FSSW) for potential automotive applications (including robotic FSSW in poke welding and C-frame configurations, and pedestal FSSW machines for manual, automatic or robotic use), a FSSW process dev…

Variations in microstructure in friction stir welds in AA 7449 (Al, 2.2%Mg, 8.2%Zn, 1.7%Cu, 0.12%Si, 0.15%Fe, 0.2%Mn, 0.05%Cr, 0.25 T plus Zr) in the initially overaged (T7) condition were studied. Isothermal heat treatments were conducted at 350 an…

This paper describes the joining criterion for lap joining of dissimilar metal materials of aluminum and stainless steel by friction stir. A criterion for evaluating the joined state or non-joined state is proposed, which is led by the concept based…

Experimental measurements and thermal modelling were used to determine the transient heat loss into friction stir welding tools and so calculate the welding efficiency. Energy inputs were determined from force and torque measurements made whilst per…

Experimental methods were developed to track material flow and mixing during the friction stir welding (FSW) process. Experiments were conducted with butt joints of 6.35 mm (0.25 in) thickness 7050-T7451 aluminium alloy plates. The FSW tool was H13 …

Alternative friction stir welding tool shoulder materials to improve welding speed and quality were evaluated. The materials, which were compared with tool steel using a tool designed for exchangeable shoulder inserts, were: nitrided tool steel, Inc…

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…