TWI Digital Library

The StiRoLight Research project (carried out in conjunction with SAAB, ESAB and Volvo) to investigate the use of an industrial robot for friction stir welding of aluminium alloys in the automobile industry, is outlined and studies of path deviations…

The thermal stability of the microstructure in the plastically deformed region of aluminium alloy friction stir welds was investigated. Alloys 6082-T6 (Al, 0.62-0.70%Mg, 0.95-1.05%Si, 0.50-0.57%Mn, 0.15-0.23%Fe) and 7108-T79 (Al, 5.20-5.70%Zn, 0.70-…

This research studies a hybrid method of manufacturing of porous alloy/ foam or functionally graded porous alloys with the help of a hybrid process of friction stir processing followed by microwave post-processing. The manufacturing productivity of …

Aluminum 6xxx extrusions are commonly joined with either friction stir welding (FSW) or fusion welding into large-sized assemblies. The assemblies are typically deployed to service in as-welded condition. Mechanical performance of naturally aging we…

A slide presentation outlining the development of a low cost transportable friction stir welding machine for use in stiffened panel production in shipyards. The development of the use of fixed geometry bobbin tools and of specifically designed equip…

Based on a dynamical control-low stress no distortion (DC-LSND) methodology, an array jet impingement heat sink apparatus was designed to facilitate reductions of residual stress and distortion in friction stir welding (FSW), and test results were o…

In relation to the European funded research project HILDA (high integrity low distortion assembly) to encourage the industrial take up of friction stir welding (FSW) for structural steels, an investigation was undertaken into the microstructure and …

A technique was developed to fill the exit hole during the retraction phase of a friction stir welding (FSW) sequence which, by using existing equipment functionality and designing a hollow FSW tool, syringe-type delivery system and pre-loaded alumi…

Friction stir welding (FSW) was employed to undertake lap joining of very thin sheets (thickness 1 mm) of aluminium alloys and a structural steel using different tool geometries and a wide range of process parameters, and the microstructure and mech…

A fully integrated approach to facilitate optimisation of the friction stir welding (FSW) process was developed, incorporating a model for the FSW process, coupling material flow and thermal analysis, a model for precipitation evolution, a microstru…

A scanning nonlinear acoustic NDT method was employed to detect the presence of kissing bonds in a friction stir welded 2000 series aluminium alloy and experimental results were validated using coupons taken from the scan area and inspected by optic…

The results of two testing programmes dealing with the metallurgical and mechanical properties of friction stir weldments (thickness 6 and 25 mm) in the aluminium alloys 2024, 5083, 6082/6060 and 7075 are reported, and a systematic study of the key …

The application of friction stir welding to the construction of airframe structures of precipitation-hardened aluminium alloys, using butt, lap and T-joints, is described. A landing gear strut door was manufactured by welding an Alclad 7075-T6 skin …

Precipitation hardened copper alloy sheets (thickness 2 mm) containing Cu, 0.9-1.2%Cr, 0.06-0.09%Zr were joined by friction stir welding (FSW), process parameters were optimised to realise defect-free joints, and the microstructure and mechanical pr…

To meet the needs of lightweight automobile design to join thin steel structures to thicker aluminium sheets, two joint geometries for high-strength friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar and unequal thickness sheets were developed: one involving…

A review is presented of various models developed to understand the effects of thermal cycles and metal flow behaviour on the microstructure and properties of welded joints fabricated by friction stir welding of steel, and a comprehensive numerical …

An integrated multi-physics model was employed to predict the temperature distribution, the post-weld grain size distribution and the local subgrain size distribution around the pin during friction stir welding (FSW) of 6061 aluminium alloys. The mu…

Metallographic observations, hardness distribution measurements and fatigue tests were undertaken to investigate the discontinuity state related to the crack nucleation site in butt joints fabricated in 2024-T3 aluminium alloys (Al, 3.8-4.9%Cu, 1.2-…

In relation to the application of friction stir welding (FSW) to the production of metallic aircraft fuselages, a report is presented into the evolution of the MUVAX (multi use vacuum assisted exoskeleton) concept within the framework of the LuFo V-…

An investigation is presented into a systematic model based, real time process monitoring framework to analyse the performance and behaviour of the friction stir welding (FSW) process and into the framework's ability to predict weld quality threshol…