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Design of the Friction Stir Welding Tool Using the FEM Model


Affiliations
1 Dept. of Industrial and Production Engg., K L College of Engg., Vaddeswaram, India
2 Dept. of Mechanical Engg., College of Engg., Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
     

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In late 1991, The Welding Institute (TWI), a British research and technology organization, invented and patented a welding process named Friction Stir Welding (FSW). Since its introduction, FSW development has progressed rapidly and is currently being used in a number of aerospace and industrial applications. Friction stir welding uses the high rotational speed of a tool and the resulting frictional heat created from contact to crush, stir together, and forge a bond between two metal alloys. A welding tool moves along the area to be joined while rotating at a high speed. The action between the tool and the aluminum creates frictional heat, which softens the aluminum but does not melt it. The plasticized material is then, in essence, consolidated to create one piece of metal where there were originally two. In this paper, a FSW process with varying pin geometries (cylindrical and conical) and advancing speeds is numerically modeled, and a thermo-mechanically coupled, rigid-viscoplastic, fully 3D FEM analysis able to predict the process variables as well as the temperature distribution. The obtained results allow finding optimal tool geometry for improving nugget integrity of aluminum alloys.
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  • Design of the Friction Stir Welding Tool Using the FEM Model

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Authors

M. Sasidhar
Dept. of Industrial and Production Engg., K L College of Engg., Vaddeswaram, India
A. M. K. Prasad
Dept. of Mechanical Engg., College of Engg., Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
K. Jayanendra Babu
Dept. of Industrial and Production Engg., K L College of Engg., Vaddeswaram, India

Abstract


In late 1991, The Welding Institute (TWI), a British research and technology organization, invented and patented a welding process named Friction Stir Welding (FSW). Since its introduction, FSW development has progressed rapidly and is currently being used in a number of aerospace and industrial applications. Friction stir welding uses the high rotational speed of a tool and the resulting frictional heat created from contact to crush, stir together, and forge a bond between two metal alloys. A welding tool moves along the area to be joined while rotating at a high speed. The action between the tool and the aluminum creates frictional heat, which softens the aluminum but does not melt it. The plasticized material is then, in essence, consolidated to create one piece of metal where there were originally two. In this paper, a FSW process with varying pin geometries (cylindrical and conical) and advancing speeds is numerically modeled, and a thermo-mechanically coupled, rigid-viscoplastic, fully 3D FEM analysis able to predict the process variables as well as the temperature distribution. The obtained results allow finding optimal tool geometry for improving nugget integrity of aluminum alloys.