TWI Digital Library

Friction stir welding (FSW) experiments were undertaken on commercially pure Ti and Ti-6%Al-4%V plates (thickness 6 mm) by incorporating nickel foil markers of varying thicknesses to reduce forging load, enhance surface finish, eliminate void format…

The results of a programme to establish self reacting friction stir welding for thin gauge (less than 3 mm) aluminium alloy applications are reported divided into the five major phases: tool development; joint evaluation; strength optimisation; prot…

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…

Work from two projects is described: "Qualistir" for the on-line quality control of friction stir welding in aluminium (by ultrasonic phased array examination of butt welded Al 7075); and a TWI feasibility study on inspection of Al 5083 butt and lap…

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…

The influences of the thermal and mechanical stresses experienced during friction stir welding on the structure of coarse-grained aluminium alloy 2519-T87 were investigated. Plate of 25 mm thickness was welded at a speed of 1.5 mm/s, using a tool sp…

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…

A procedure has been developed for repairing welds made by friction stir welding (FSW) in cases where the tool breaks during welding. It involves the following stages: excavating the broken FSW tool, milling out a slot across the hole, machining an …

The quality of friction stir welds of butt joints (including the use of inserts to simulate compensation for poor fit up) between aluminium alloys 5083-H12 (Al, 4.6%Mg, 0.6%Mn, 0.3%Si) and 6082-T6 (Al, 0.7%Mg, 0.9%Si, 0.5%Mn), was evaluated. The wel…

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 effects of friction stir welding (FSW) tool geometry on material flow during the welding of 4 mm aluminium alloys 2024-T51 and 6056-T4 were investigated. Welds were made using three different welding tool pins (conical non-threaded profile, coni…

The relationship between microstructure and properties in friction stir welding was studied. The effects of grain size, particle size and distribution, and dislocation density on weld strength in friction stir welds in work-hardenable Al alloy AA 52…

The mechanical properties and microstructures of friction stir butt welds in 6.4 mm and 12.7 mm thickness quenched and tempered martensitic steel plate were compared with those of GMA butt welds in the same parent metal. The friction stir welds in t…

A description is presented of the self reacting friction stir welding (SR-FSW) process and the specially designed welding head; results are reported from tests determining the mechanical properties of SR-FSW welds in AA-2219 and AA-2195 aluminium al…

The use of friction stir welding, as an alternative to bolted or riveted joints, for the assembly of Airbus wings is discussed. Issues considered include: cost reduction, weight reduction, joint quality, and enhanced in-service performance. Potentia…

An overview is presented of the benefits and limitations of stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW) compared with conventional FSW and other joining technologies; the challenges faced when applying FSW on a serial kinematics robot in relat…

With regard to the development of hybrid friction stir welding-adhesive bonding (FSW-AB) for the fabrication of lap joints, a mesh free coupled thermomechanical simulation of the FSW-AB process was undertaken using the SPHriction-3D code and the num…

A feasibility study was undertaken to investigate friction stir welding of hybrid lap joints between polyphenylene sulphide and AA 6111 alloy (Al, 0.76%Mg, 0.63%Si, 0.75%Cu) sheets (thickness 2 and 1.5 mm, respectively) and the influence of process …

The influence of welding speed on the friction stir welding (FSW) of a 304 austenitic stainless steel butt joint was investigated. Austenitic stainless steel SUS304 specimens of 160 mm length, 35 mm width and 1.5 mm thickness were butt-welded with a…

An investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of high welding speed and the use of thermal boundary conditions during friction stir welding (FSW) on the mechanical properties of AA 7050 aluminium alloy weldments. FSW experiments were perfor…