Load bearing capacity of tool pin during friction stir welding

Although friction stir welding (FSW) is now widely used for the welding of aluminum and other soft alloys, premature tool failure limits its application to hard alloys such as steels and titanium alloys. The tool pin, the weakest component of the tool, experiences severe stresses at high temperatures due to both bending moment and torsion. It is shown that the optimum tool pin geometry can be determined from its load bearing capacity for a given set of welding variables and tool and work-piece materials. The traverse force and torque during friction stir welding are computed using a three-dimensional heat transfer and viscoplastic material flow model considering temperature and strain rate-dependent flow stress of the work-piece material. These computed values are used to determine the maximum shear stress experienced by the tool pin due to bending moment and torsion for various welding variables and tool pin dimensions. It is shown that a tool pin with smaller length and larger diameter will be able to sustain more stress than a longer pin with smaller diameter. The proposed methodology is used to explain the failure and deformation of the tool pin in independent experiments for the welding of both L80 steel and AA7075 alloy. The results demonstrate that the short tool life in a typical FSW of steels is contributed by low values of factor of safety in an environment of high temperature and severe stress.     

Influences of tool pin profile and axial force on the formation of friction stir processing zone in AA6061 aluminium alloy

AA6061 aluminium alloy (Al-Mg-Si alloy) has gathered wide acceptance in the fabrication of light weight structures requiring a high strength-to-weight ratio and good corrosion resistance. Compared to the fusion welding processes that are routinely used for joining structural aluminium alloys, the friction stir welding (FSW) process is an emerging solid state joining process in which the material that is being welded does not melt and recast. This process uses a non-consumable tool to generate frictional heat in the abutting surfaces. The welding parameters such as tool rotational speed, welding speed, axial force etc., and the tool pin profile plays a major role in deciding the weld quality. In this investigation an attempt has been made to understand the effect of axial force and tool pin profiles on FSP zone formation in AA6061 aluminium alloy. Five different tool pin profiles (straight cylindrical, tapered cylindrical, threaded cylindrical, triangular and square) have been used to fabricate the joints at three different axial force levels. The formation of FSP zone has been analysed macroscopically. Tensile properties of the joints have been evaluated and correlated with the FSP zone formation. From this investigation it is found that the square tool pin profile produces mechanically sound and metallurgically defect free welds compared to other tool pin profiles.     

Effects of tool rotation and pin diameter on fatigue properties of friction stir welded lap joints

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of the tool pin diameter and tool rotation on the fatigue behaviour of friction stir welded (FSW) lap joints. FSW lap joints of AA 5754 aluminium alloy plates were produced by means of a conventional semiautomatic milling machine. Consequently, defect free FSW lap joints were produced on alloy plates at a constant traverse speed but with different tool pin diameter and tool rotation. Therefore, within this study, tool rotation and the tool pin diameter were accepted as variable parameters, while others held fixed. The results of the tests performed, indicate that an optimisation is required for the studied parameters, in order to obtain reasonable fatigue strength. An index, related to tool rotation, traverse speed, pin diameter, and pin height can be identified and used to select optimum parameters for FSW applications.     

Simulation of heat transfer and analysis of impact of tool pin geometry and tool speed during friction stir welding of AZ80A Mg alloy plates

Peak temperature arising during the joining of metals by friction stir welding (FSW) needs to be investigated along with other process parameters of FSW to understand their inevitable impact on joint quality. This investigational and experimental analysis aims to determine the impact of pin geometry and its rotational speed by formulating thermic mechanical process-based models to anticipate peak temperature and to compare it with actual values. Three distinctive pin geometries rotated at three speeds were used while other parameters were unchanged. The fitness and suitability of the model were verified by comparing the anticipated values with the experimental values. Macrographic and micrographic observations revealed that flawless joints with improved mechanical properties were fabricated at a peak temperature of 616 K (80 % melting temperature) when a taper cylindrical pin with a rotational speed of 818 rpm was employed. In addition, SEM analysis of the fractured specimen confirmed that failure of the defect free weldment occurred in brittle mode, indicating that preferred fusion of grains and their constituents occurred during the joining process.

     

Prediction of weld zone shape with effect of tool pin profile in friction stir welding process

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - This article investigates the effect of tool pin profile on weld zone shape using computational fluid dynamics techniques in friction stir welding...     

Effect of tool pin profile on friction stir butt welding of high-zinc brass (CuZn40)

In this experimental study, the effects of tool pin profiles (chamfered taper, single-threaded taper, three-flute, threaded cylinder, threaded taper, spline, and hexahedron) in friction stir welding of high-zinc brasses were explored through mechanical and micro-structural examinations. To evaluate the effect of temperature in friction stir welding, the temperature was measured by embedding thermocouples within the fixture body. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the effects of the tool shape, the main FSW parameters (rotational speed, travel speed and plunge force) were maintained constant. Mechanical tests (hardness, tensile and bending) and micro-structural examinations were performed to study the properties of welded samples with regard to temperature measurement. The results indicated that suitable tools can generate enough heat below the shoulder due to further materials stirring. Moreover, studies of a hexahedron sample revealed that accumulated defects near the weld were one reason for mechanical weakening with regard to a lower heat generated.     

Effect of tool pin design on the microstructural evolutions and tribological characteristics of friction stir processed structural steel

In this research, friction stir processing (FSP) technique is applied for the surface modification of ST14 structural steel. Tungsten carbide tools with cylindrical, conical, square and triangular pin designs are used for surface modification at rotational speed of 400 rpm, normal force of 5 KN and traverse speed of 100 mm min⁻¹. Mechanical and tribological properties of the processed surfaces including microhardness and wear characteristics are studied in detail. Furthermore, microstructural evolutions and worn surfaces are investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopes. Based on the achievements, all designed pins were successfully applicable for low carbon steel to produce defect-free processed material. By the microstructural changes within the stirred zone, the processed specimen is obtained higher mechanical properties. This is due to the formation of fine grains as the consequence of imposing intensive plastic deformation during FSP; however, this issue is highlighted by using square pin design. In this case, minimum grain size of 5 μm and maximum hardness of 320 VHN, as well as, maximum wear resistance are all examined for the specimen modified by square pin.     

Improving joint features and tensile shear properties of friction stir lap welded joint by an optimized bottom-half-threaded pin tool

To increase the lap shear failure load of friction stir lap welding (FSLW) joint, a tool with a bottom-half-threaded pin was designed in the present study. Using 7N01-T4 aluminum alloy as the research object, tools with the bottom-half-threaded pin and the traditional full-threaded pin were used to fabricate lap joints. Results showed that the thread end position on the pin greatly influenced the material flow behavior. The material concentrated zone using the bottom-half-threaded pin mainly located above the lap interface, which is beneficial to suppress the hook and cold lap. The lap shear failure load of the FSLW joint using the bottom-half-threaded pin was 17,644.7 N, which is equal to 122.8 % of the joint using the full-threaded pin.     

Residual stresses in friction stir welded parts of complex geometry

Residual stresses play a key role on the mechanics underlying the fatigue crack growth propagation of welded joints. Indeed, compressive residual stresses may induce a beneficial enhancement of the fatigue life under loading condition whereas tensile residual stresses may act to increase the stress distribution at crack tip, resulting in a life-threatening condition of the welded structure. In-process distortion and final geometry of welded joints are also affected by residual stresses. In this paper, the longitudinal residual stress distributions in friction stir welding (FSW) joints were investigated for butt and skin–stringer geometries, including lap and T configurations. To measure residual stresses, the cut-compliance and the inverse weight-function methodologies were adapted for skin–stringer FSW geometries via finite element analysis. AA2024-T4 and AA7075-T6 aluminum alloys were used to weld dissimilar skin–stringer joints whereas butt joints were made of AA2024. The effect of most relevant process parameters as well as the cooling during welding process was also investigated for a better understanding of welding residual stresses. Our findings suggest that FSW of complex skin–stringer geometries produces higher residual stresses than those of butt joints, and that the cooling water flux further reduces residual stresses. Changes of process parameters did not affect markedly residual stress distribution.     

Multi-layered metal flow and formation of onion rings in friction stir welds

The friction stir welding (FSW) is achieved with an external tool consisting of a shoulder and pin. The shoulder and pin transfer the metal from the front side to the rear side in two distinct modes; the first and second modes of metal transfer, respectively. In the present study, the pin in the form of a cylindrical tool is used to analyse the metal flow during FSW in the second mode of metal transfer. Movement of the cylindrical tool transfers the metal from the front side to the rear side layer by layer. The longitudinal and transverse forces during the metal transfer are measured and the layered metal flow phenomenon has been proposed, due to stick and slip conditions. Based on the results obtained, the two modes of metal transfer as well as the formation of onion rings in friction stir welds have been explained. The present work can be used to model the process for improving tool and fixture design.     

Influence of machine variables and tool profile on the tensile strength of dissimilar AA7075-AA6061 friction stir welds

Friction stir welding (FSW) of dissimilar alloys and materials is becoming progressively essential as it permits to take the benefits of both materials. Tensile strength is a measure of the weld quality, which mainly depends on machine variables and tool design. In this paper, FSW of dissimilar AA7075-AA6061 aluminium alloys was studied with respect to the welding speeds (rotational and axial), tool tilt angle and tool geometry by the response surface methodology (RSM) with central composite design (CCD). A reduced second-order polynomial equation was successfully developed and validated to adequately fit the observed results of the ultimate tensile strength (UTS). Respectable fitness and well agreement between the experimental and calculated values with an elevated regression coefficient and low deviation were detected for this model within the range of the operating variables. Five tools with concave shoulders and different probe profiles (cylindrical and tapered, smooth and threaded, flatted and non-flatted) and a self-designed backing plate and clamping system were fabricated for this study. It was found that the welding tool with a threaded truncated cone pin and single flat results in a sound weld with higher tensile strength, wide nugget area and smooth surface finish.     

Influence of surface texture and roughness parameters on friction and transfer layer formation during sliding of aluminium pin on steel plate

Surface texture of harder mating surfaces plays an important role during sliding against softer materials and hence the importance of characterizing the surfaces in terms of roughness parameters. In the present investigation, basic studies were conducted using inclined pin-on-plate sliding tester to understand the surface texture effect of hard surfaces on coefficient of friction and transfer layer formation. A tribological couple made of a super purity aluminium pin against steel plate was used in the tests. Two surface parameters of steel plates, namely roughness and texture, were varied in the tests. It was observed that the transfer layer formation and the coefficient of friction along with its two components, namely, the adhesion and plowing, are controlled by the surface texture and are independent of surface roughness (R_a). Among the various surface roughness parameters, the average or the mean slope of the profile was found to explain the variations best. Under lubricated conditions, stick–slip phenomena was observed, the amplitude of which depends on the plowing component of friction. The presence of stick–slip motion under lubricated conditions could be attributed to the molecular deformation of the lubricant component confined between asperities.     

火箭贮箱环缝搅拌摩擦焊外定位床身的设计与研究

针对火箭贮箱卧式搅拌摩擦焊的焊接特点,设计了集主驱动和外定位于一体的焊接机床.对底箱、环座和压环等机床床身的主要零/部件进行了强度、刚性分析,并验证其对火箭贮箱焊接质量的影响;解决了火箭贮箱焊接时扭转力矩偏大、定位精度低以及焊接扭转错缝等难题.推动了我国火箭贮箱搅拌摩擦焊的工程化应用,为后续相似装备的设计开发提供了实际...