Friction Stir Welding
Friction Stir Welding
Friction Stir Welding
H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia
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Friction stir welding, a process invented at TWI, Cambridge, involves the joining of metals without fusion or filler materials. It is used already in routine, as well as critical applications, for the joining of structural components made of aluminium and its alloys. Indeed, it has been convincingly demonstrated that the process results in strong and ductile joints, sometimes in systems which have proved difficult using conventional welding techniques. The process is most suitable for components which are flat and long (plates and sheets) but can be adapted for pipes, hollow sections and positional welding. The welds are created by the combined action of frictional heating and mechanical deformation due to a rotating tool. The maximum temperature reached is of the order of 0.8 of the melting temperature.
The tool has a circular section except at the end where there is a threaded probe or more complicated flute; the junction between the cylindrical portion and the probe is known as the shoulder. The probe penetrates the workpiece whereas the shoulder rubs with the top surface. The heat is generated primarily by friction between a rotating--translating tool, the shoulder of which rubs against the workpiece. There is a volumetric contribution to heat generation from the adiabatic heating due to deformation near the pin. The welding parameters have to be adjusted so that the ratio of frictional to volumetric deformation--induced heating decreases as the workpiece becomes thicker. This is in order to ensure a sufficient heat input per unit length. The microstructure of a friction-stir weld depends in detail on the tool design, the rotation and translation speeds, the applied pressure and the characteristics of the material being joined. There are a number of zones. The heat-affected 1
The Machine
The six photographs below show a typical friction stir welding (FSW) machine. This one is at the Joining and Welding Research Institute (JWRI) of Osaka University, Japan. The photographs are taken with the permission of Professor Hidetoshi Fujii; they can be enlarged by clicking on the thumbnails. The last two photographs are a close-up of the tool, as mounted in the machine.
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