A review of linear friction welding of Ni -based superalloys

Ni-based superalloys are one of the most important materials employed in high-temperature applications within the aerospace and nuclear energy industries and in gas turbines due to their excellent corrosion,radiation,fatigue resistance,and high-temperature strength.Linear friction welding(LFW)is a new joining technology with near-net-forming characteristics that can be used for the manu-facture and repair of a wide range of aerospace components.This paper reviews published works on LFW of Ni-based superalloys with the aim of understanding the characteristics of frictional heat generation and extrusion deformation,microstructures,mechanical proper-ties,flash morphology,residual stresses,creep,and fatigue of Ni-based superalloy weldments produced with LFW to enable future optim-um utilization of the LFW process.

3D modeling for effect of tool eccentricity on coupled thermal and material flow characteristics during friction stir welding

A novel three-dimensional numerical model is proposed to investigate the effect of tool eccentricity on the coupled thermal and material flow characteristics in friction stir welding(FSW) process.An asymmetrical boundary condition at the tool-workpiece interface,and the dynamic mesh technique are both employed for the consideration of the tool eccentricity during tool rotating.It is found that tool eccentricity induces the periodical variation of the heat densities both at the tool-workpiece interface and inside the shear layer,but the fluctuation amplitudes of the heat density variations are limited.However,it is demonstrated that tool eccentricity results in significant variation of the material flow behavior in one tool rotating period.Moreover,the material velocity variation at the retreating side is particularly important for the formation of the periodic characteristics in FSW.The modeling result is found to be in good agreement with the experimental one.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of stationary shoulder friction stir welding joint of 2A14-T62 aluminum alloy

2A14-T62 butt joint was successfully welded by stationary shoulder friction stir welding(SSFSW)method.The results showed that using a pin with small shoulder could broaden the process window,and under a rotation speed of 2000 r/min and welding speed of 30 mm/min,joint with smooth surface,small reduction in thickness and little inner defects was obtained.The weld nugget zone was approx-imately circular,which was a unique morphology for SSFSW.The heat-affected zone(HAZ)and thermo-mechanically affected zone(TMAZ)were both quite narrow due to the lower heat input and slight mechanical action of the stationary shoulder.The fraction of high angle grain boundaries(HAGBs)exhibited a“W”shape along horizontal direction(from advancing side to retreating side),and the minim-um value located at HAZ.The average ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the joint were 325 MPa and 4.5%,respectively,with the joint efficiency of 68.3%.The joint was ductile fractured and the fracture surface contained two types of dimples morphology in different re-gions of the joint.Microhardness distribution in the joint exhibited a“W”shape,and the difference along the thickness direction was negli-gible.The joint had strong stress corrosion cracking susceptibility,and the slow stain rate tensile strength was 139 MPa.Microcrack and Al2O3 particulates were observed at the fracture surface.

Analysis of defects in clean fabrication process of friction stir welding

Striving for cleaner production is a sought-after manufacturing philosophy.Friction stir welding(FSW)is a joiningtechnique with par excellence and far less invasive to the environment than even best conventional welding processes.It is energyefficient and free from consumables,affluent and radiations.It is,thus,accepted as a clean welding process that can produceacceptable quality joints.It suffers from some major challenges of defects of its own kind that subject the process open toimprovements so as to prove itself a reliable production process.This study presents a holistic characterization of defects commonlyfound in FSW joints.The finding of the present study reveals that most defects are caused by inadequate heat generation,impropermaterial movement around the pin and inadequate material consolidation behind the pin.The amount of heat generation andmaterial stirring depends on several FSW parameters which may lead to the defect formation,if not selected properly.The resultsreported in this work are derived from sound literature support and experimentation.Prescriptions are made in the form ofcharacteristics of defects such as likelihood of their location,main responsible parameters along with the recommendations forminimizing them.

Analysis of vibration signal responses on pre induced tunnel defects in friction stir welding using wavelet transform and empirical mode decomposition

Among many condition-monitoring systems in welding operation,Defect identification is an important method to ensure the precision in finishing operation.Friction stir welding is a solid state welding process used to join two metals without the use of electrode at lower temperatures.The aim of this present work is to identify and localize the tunnel defect in aluminum alloy and measure the distance of the defect zone in the time domain of the vibration signal during Friction stir welding.The vibration signals are captured from the experiments and the burst in the vibration signal is focused in the analysis.A signal-processing scheme is proposed to filter the noise and to measure the dimensional parameters of the defect area.The proposed technique consists of discrete wavelet transform(DWT),which is used to decompose the signal.The enveloping technique is applied on the decomposed zero padded signal.The continuous wavelet transform(CWT) has been implemented on detailed signal followed by a time marginal integration(TMI) of the CWT scalogram.Empirical mode decomposition(EMD) is used to replace the detailing coefficients from DWT with Intrinsic Mode Function(IMF).Statistical parameters such as mean,kurtosis,S.D and crest factor have been extracted from the final filtered signal for validating the defect welds from the control defect free welds.Results produced were found to be that kurtosis is 7.4402 for tunnel defect induced weld and 3.3862 for defect free welds.As the increase in kurtosis value predicts the defect zone impact in the signal.The measurement of the defect zone of the cut 1(voids) and cut 2(tunnel grooves) in correlation with the processed signal is found to produce a much redundant results with an error rate of 0.02.

Friction heat production and atom diffusion behaviors during Mg-Ti rotating friction welding process

An innovative physical simulation apparatus, including high speed camera, red thermal imaging system, and mechanical quantity sensor, was used to investigate the friction heat generation and atom diffusion behavior during Mg-Ti friction welding process. The results show that the friction coefficient mainly experiences two steady stages. The first steady stage corresponds to the Coulomb friction with material abrasion. The second steady stage corresponds to the stick friction with fully plastic flow. Moreover, the increasing rates of axial displacement, temperature and friction coefficient are obviously enhanced with the increase of rotation speed and axial pressure. It can also be found that the there exists rapid diffusion phenomenon in the Mg-Ti friction welding system. The large deformation activated diffusion coefficient is about 105 higher than that activated by thermal.

Visualization and simulation of plastic material flow in friction stir welding of 2024 aluminium alloy plates

Thin copper sheets as marker material were embedded into weld path of 2024 aluminium alloy plates and their final position after friction stir welding was examined by metallographic techniques. Referring to the visualized material flow patterns, a three-dimensional model was developed to conduct the numerical simulation of the temperature profile and plastic material flow in friction stir welding. The calculated velocity contour of plastic flow in close proximity of the tool is generally consistent with the visualized results. As the tool rotation speed increases at a constant tool travel speed, the material flow near the pin gets stronger. The predicted shape and size of the weld nugget zone match with the experimentally measured ones.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar pure copper/1350 aluminum alloy butt joints by friction stir welding

The dissimilar friction stir welding of pure copper/1350 aluminum alloy sheet with a thickness of 3 mm was investigated. Most of the rotating pin was inserted into the aluminum alloy side through a pin-off technique, and sound welds were obtained at a rotation speed of 1000 r/min and a welding speed of 80 mm/min. Complicated microstructure was formed in the nugget, in which vortex-like pattern and lamella structure could be found. No intermetallic compounds were found in the nugget. The hardness distribution indicates that the hardness at the copper side of the nugget is higher than that at the aluminum alloy side, and the hardness at the bottom of the nugget is generally higher than that in other regions. The ultimate tensile strength and elongation of the dissimilar welds are 152 MPa and 6.3%, respectively. The fracture surface observation shows that the dissimilar joints fail with a ductile-brittle mixed fracture mode durin~ tensile test.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of dissimilar Al-Cu joints by friction stir welding

Dissimilar friction stir welding between 1060 aluminum alloy and annealed pure copper sheet with a thickness of 3 mm was investigated. Sound weld was obtained at a rotational speed of 1050 r/min and a welding speed of 30 mm/min. Intercalation structure formed at the crown and Cu/weld nugget （WN） area promotes interracial diffusion and metallurgical bonding of aluminum and copper. However, corrosion morphology reveals the weak bonding mechanism of internal interface, which causes the joint failing across the interface with a brittle-ductile mixed fracture mode. The tensile strength of the joint is 148 MPa, which is higher than that of the aluminum matrix. Crystal defects and grain refinement by severely plastic deformation during friction stir welding facilitate short circuit diffusion and thus accelerate the formation of A14Cu9 and A12Cu intermetallic compounds （IMCs）. XRD results show that A14Cu9 is mainly in Cu/WN transition zone. The high dislocation density and formation of dislocation loops are the major reasons of hardness increase in the WN.

Interface characteristic of friction stir welding lap joints of Ti/Al dissimilar alloys

Lap joints of TC1 Ti alloy and LF6 A1 alloy dissimilar materials were fabricated by friction stir welding and corresponding interface characteristics were investigated. Using the selected welding parameters, excellent surface appearance forms, but the interface macrograph for each lap joint cross-section is different. With the increase of welding speed or the decrease of tool rotation rate, the amount of Ti alloy particles stirred into the stir zone by the force of tool pin decreases continuously. Moreover, the failure loads of the lap joints also decrease with increasing welding speed and the largest value is achieved at welding speed of 60 mm/min and tool rotation rate of 1500 r/min, where the interracial zone can be divided into 3 kinds of layers. The microhardness of the lap joint shows an uneven distribution and the maximum hardness of HV 502 is found in the middle of the stir zone.

Friction stir keyholeless spot welding of AZ31 Mg alloy-mild steel

Friction stir keyholeless spot welding（FSKSW） using a retractable pin for 1.0 mm thick galvanized mild steel and 3 mm thick AZ31 B magnesium alloy in a lap configuration was investigated.The process variables were optimized in terms of the joint strength.The effects of the stacking sequence on joint formation and the joining mechanism of FSKSW AZ31B-to-mild steel joints were also analyzed.It shows that the process window and joint strength are strongly influenced by the stacking sequence of the workpieces.While the process window is narrow and unstable for FSKSW of a magnesium-to-steel stack-up,a desirable process was established for the steel-to-magnesium stacking sequence,a desirable process and higher strength joint can be got when the steel-to-magnesium stacking sequence.XRD phase and EPMA analyses of the FSKSW joint showed that the intermetallic compounds are formed at the steel-to-magnesium interface,and the element diffusion between the mild steel and AZ31 B magnesium alloy revealed that the joining methods for FSKSW joints is the main mechanical joining along with certain metallurgical bonding.

Effect of welding heat input and post-welded heat treatment on hardness of stir zone for friction stir-welded 2024-T3 aluminum alloy

The microstructure and hardness of the stir zone （SZ） with different welding heat inputs were investigated for friction stir-welded 2024-T3 aluminum by transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimeter and Vickers micro-hardness test. The results show that welding heat input has a significant effect on the hardness of the SZ. Under high welding heat input condition, a higher welding speed is beneficial for improving the hardness of the SZ. However, when the welding heat input is low, the hardness of the SZ elevates with increasing the rotation speed. The hardness of the SZ decreases after post-welded heat treatment due to overaging. The joints welded at 500 r/min and 100 mm/min show a high resistance to overaging. The reduction of hardness in the SZ is only 3.8%, while in other joints, the reduction is more than 10%. The morphology of strengthening precipitates plays important roles for the improvement of hardness.

Internal residual stress measurement on linear friction welding of titanium alloy plates with contour method

The internal residual stress within a TC 17 titanium alloy joint welded by linear friction welding （LFW） was measured by the contour method, which is a relatively new and destructive technique to obtain a full map of internal residual stress. The specimen was first cut into two parts; the out-of-plane displacement contour formed by the release of the residual stress was then measured; finally, taking the measured contour of the cut plane as the boundary conditions, a linear elastic finite element analysis was carried out to calculate the corresponding distribution of residual stress normal to the cut plane. The internal stress distribution of the TC 17 titanium alloy LFWjoint was also analyzed. The results show that the tensile residual stress in the TC17 LFW weld is mainly present within a region about 12 mm from the weld centerline; the peak tensile residual stress occurs at the weld centerline and reaches 360 MPa （about one third of the yield strength of TC17 alloy）; within the weld zone of the TC17 LFW weld, the through-thickness stress is not uniform, and the internal stress is larger than that near the top or bottom surface.

Thermal modeling of underwater friction stir welding of high strength aluminum alloy

The thermal modeling of underwater friction stir welding （FSW） was conddcted with a three-dimensional heat transfer model. The vaporizing characteristics of water were analyzed to illuminate the boundary conditions of underwater FSW. Temperature dependent properties of the material were considered for the modeling. FSW experiments were carried out to validate the calculated results, and the calculated results showed good agreement with the experimental results. The results indicate that the maximum peak temperature of underwater joint is significantly lower than that of normal joint, although the surface heat flux of shoulder during the underwater FSW is higher than that during normal FSW. For underwater joint, the high-temperature distributing area is dramatically narrowed and the welding thermal cycles in different zones are effectively controlled in contrast to the normal joint.

Numerical studies of effect of tool sizes and pin shapes on friction stir welding of AA2024-T3 alloy

Coupled thermo-mechanical model was used to investigate the effects of the pin diameter, the shoulder diameter and the in conical angle on the heat generations, the material deformations and the energy histories in friction stir welding（FSW） of AA2024-T3 alloy. Results indicate that the shoulder-plate contact area takes more important contribution to the heat generation than the pin-plate contact area. The increase of the shoulder diameter or the decrease of the pin diameter can lead to the increase of the welding temperature in FSW, but the change of shoulder size is more important. Compared to the cases in FSW of AA6061-T6, the input power is obviously increased in FSW of AA2024-T3 and the ratio of the plastic dissipation to the friction dissipation becomes decreased.

A new weld repair technique for friction stir welded aluminium structure:inertia friction pull plug welding

The paper gives an analysis on technical characteristics of repair techniques for friction stir welding defects. To overcome the defects,a new repair technique, inertia friction pull plug welding( IFPPW), was researched and its equipment was developed as well. Elementary datum was achieved by investigating the influences of technological parameters on mechanical properties and by analyzing the structural characteristics of repair joint with IFPPW. The study shows that the stability and reliability of welding process of IFPPW can be guaranteed through the constant energy from the flywheel.Integrated with the advantages of friction pull plug welding,the IFPPW,free from back anvil,is considered as a promising technique in repair of termination keyhole of bobbin tool friction stir welding and point-like defects in aluminum alloy welding.

Materials flow and phase transformation in friction stir welding of Al 6013/Mg

Material flow and phase transformation were studied at the interface of dissimilar joint between Al 6013 and Mg, produced by stir friction welding （FSW） experiments. Defect-free weld was obtained when aluminum and magnesium were placed in the advancing side and retreating side respectively and the tool was placed 1 mm off the weld centerline into the aluminum side. In order to understand the material flow during FSW, steel shots were implanted as indexes into the welding path. After welding, using X-ray images, secondary positions of the steel shots were evaluated. It was revealed that steel shots implanted in advancing side were penetrated from the advancing side into the retreating side, whereas the shots implanted in the retreating side remained in the retreating side, without penetrating into the advancing side. The welded specimens were also heat treated. The effects of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of the welds and the formation of new intermetallic layers were investigated. Two intermetallic compounds, Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17, were formed sequentially at Al6013/Mg interface.

Friction stir welding of aluminum to copper—An overview

Components made by joining different materials are required in various engineering applications.Fabrication of suchcomponents is a challenging task due to the vast difference in mechanical,thermal and electrical properties of the materials beingused.Friction stir welding(FSW)is capable of joining dissimilar materials such as aluminum(Al)and copper(Cu)and thereforeresearchers have used this novel process for dissimilar joining.Consequently,several works pertaining to dissimilar joining,specifically Al?Cu,are available in the literature but they are scattered in different sources,which makes the task of gatheringinformation about dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu cumbersome.This work has been written with an aim to provide all pertinentinformation related to dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu at one place to ease the problems of researchers.It comprehensively covers andsummarizes the topics such as the effect of tool design and geometry,FSW process parameters,FSW strategies on mechanicalproperties,microstructure and formation of defects during dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu.In addition,it also presents and discussesseveral variants of dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu.Finally,this work not only puts forth major findings of the previous researchers but alsosuggests future recommendations for dissimilar FSW of Al?Cu.

Experimental and numerical investigation on under-water friction stir welding of armour grade AA2519-T87 aluminium alloy

Friction stir welding(FSW) is a promising welding process that can join age hardenable aluminium alloys with high joint efficiency. However,the thermal cycles experienced by the material to be joined during FSW resulted in the deterioration of mechanical properties due to the coarsening and dissolution of strengthening precipitates in the thermo-mechanical affected zone(TMAZ) and heat affected zone(HAZ). Under water friction stir welding(UWFSW) is a variant of FSW process which can maintain low heat input as well as constant heat input along the weld line. The heat conduction and dissipation during UWFSW controls the width of TMAZ and HAZ and also improves the joint properties. In this investigation, an attempt has been made to evaluate the mechanical properties and microstructural characteristics of AA2519-T87 aluminium alloy joints made by FSW and UWFSW processes. Finite element analysis has been used to estimate the temperature distribution and width of TMAZ region in both the joints and the results have been compared with experimental results and subsequently correlated with mechanical properties.? 2016 China Ordnance Society. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Kinematic Sensitivity Analysis and Dimensional Synthesis of a Redundantly Actuated Parallel Robot for Friction Stir Welding

Friction stir welding(FSW)has been widely applied in many fields as an alternative to traditional fusion welding.Although serial robots can provide the orientation capability required to weld along curved surfaces,they cannot adequately support the huge axial downward forces that FSW generates.Available parallel mechanism architectures,particularly redundantly actuated architectures for FSW,are still very limited.In this paper,a redundantly actuated 2 UPR-2 RPU parallel robot for FSW is proposed,where U denotes a universal joint,R denotes a revolute joint and P denotes a prismatic pair.First,its semi-symmetric structure is described.Next,inverse kinematics analysis involving an analytical representation of rotational axes is implemented.Velocity analysis is also conducted,which leads to the formation of a Jacobian matrix.Sensitivity performance is evaluated utilizing level set and convex optimization methods,where the local sensitivity indices are unit consistent,coordinate free,and of definite physical significance.Furthermore,global and hierarchical sensitivity indices are proposed for the design process.Finally,dimension synthesis is conducted based on the sensitivity indices and the optimal link parameters of the parallel robot are obtained.In summary,this paper proposes a dimensional synthesis method for a redundantly actuated parallel robot for FSW based on sensitivity indices.