The paper presents the results of theoretical analysis and experimental research on the material’s influence and tool geometry on the welding speed and mechanical strength of Al 2024 thin sheet metal joints. To make the joints, tungsten carbide and ceramics tools with a smooth and modified surface of the shoulder were used. The choice of the geometrical parameters of the tool was adjusted to the thickness of the joined sheet. During welding, the values of axial and radial force were recorded to determine the stability of the process. The quality of the joint was examined and evaluated on the basis of visual analysis of the surface and cross-sections of the joint area and the parent material, and subjected to mechanical strength tests. The test results indicate that both the geometry of the tool shoulder and the tool material have a decisive influence on the quality of the joint and the welding speed, making it possible to shorten the duration of the entire process.

The article contains basic information associated with the impact of the FSW process parameters on the forming of a weld while friction

welding of aluminium casting alloys. Research was conducted using specially made samples containing a rod of casting alloy mounted in

the wrought alloy in the selected area of FSW tool acting. Research has thrown light on the process of joining materials of significantly

dissimilar physical properties, such as casting alloys and wrought alloys. Metallographic testing of a weld area has revealed the big impact

of welding conditions, especially tool rotational speed, on the degree of metal stirring, grain refinement and shape factor of a weld. As the

result of research it has been stated that at the high tool rotational speed, the metals stirring in a weld is significantly greater than in case of

welding at low rotational speeds, however this fails to influence the strength of a weld. Plastic strain occurring while welding causes very

high refinement of particles in the tested area and changing of their shape towards particles being more equiaxial. In the properly selected

welding conditions it is possible to obtain joints of correct and repeatable structure, however in the case of the accumulation of cavities in

the casting alloy the FSW process not always eliminates them.

The aim of the study was to analyse mechanical properties and microstructure of joints obtained using friction stir welding (FSW) technology. The focus of the study was on overlap linear FSW joints made of 1.4541 DIN 17441 steel sheets with thickness of 1.2 mm. Tools used during friction stir welding of steel joints were made of W-Re alloy. The joints were subjected to visual inspection and their load bearing capacity was evaluated by means of the tensile strength test with analysis of joint breaking mechanism. Furthermore, the joints were also tested during metallographic examinations. The analysis performed in the study revealed that all the samples of the FSW joints were broken outside the joint area in the base material of the upper sheet metal, which confirms its high tensile strength. Mean load capacity of the joints was 15.8 kN. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations of the joints did not reveal significant defects on the joint surface and in the cross-sections.

The article discusses the basic issues related to the technology of friction stir welding (FSW). A short description of technology is provided. The following section provides the analysis of effect of technological parameters (tool rotation and welding speed) on the mechanical properties of the prepared joint (strength, ductility, microhardness). In both cases the analysis refers to aluminum alloys (6056 and AA2195-T0). The comparative analysis showed the phenomenon of the increase in weld strength along with the increase in the rotational speed of the tool during welding. Similarly, with the increase in welding speed, an increase in weld strength was observed. Some exceptions have been observed from the above relations, as described in the article. In addition, examples of material hardness distribution in the joint are presented, indicating their lack of symmetry, caused by the rotational movement of the tool. The analyses were performed basing on the literature data.

The paper presents the results of research work on linear FSW (Friction Stir Welding) joining aluminum alloys AA2024-T3 of 0.5 mm in thickness. The study was conducted on properly adapted numerical controlled 3 axis milling machine using a ceramic tool and special designed fastening device. The tool dimensions have been estimated according to the algorithm shown in the literature [4]. All joints were made of end-to end (butt) configuration under different welding speed. The rotational speed of the tool and tool offset was constant. The effect of selected technological parameters on the quality of the joint was analyzed. Produced butt joint have been subjected to a static tensile testing to identify mechanical features of the materials of joints compared to parent materials. Measurements of micro hardness HV in the plastically formed stir zone of joint and in the parent material have been carried out. Axial and radial welding forces in the joining region were recorded during the tests and their dependency from the welding parameters was studied. Based on the results of strength tests the efficiency of joints for sheets of 0.5 mm in thicknesses oscillated up to 96% compared to the parent material. It has been found that for given parameters the correct, free of defects joints were obtained. The paper also presents the results of low-cycle fatigue tests of obtained FSW joints. The use of a ceramic tool in the FSW process allows to obtain welds with higher strength than conventional tools. The results suggests that FSW can be potentially applied to joining aluminum alloys.

This work presents a numerical simulation of aviation structure joined by friction stir welding, FSW, process. The numerical simulation of aviation structure joined by FSW was created. The simulation uses thermomechanical coupled formulation. Th model required creation of finite elements representing sheets, stiffeners and welds, definition of material models and boundary conditions. The thermal model took into account heat conduction and convection assigned to appropriate elements of the structure. Time functions were applied to the description of a heat source movement. The numerical model included the stage of welding and the stage of releasing clamps. The output of the simulation are residual stresses and deformations occurring in the panel. Parameters of the global model (the panel model) were selected based on the local model (the single joint model), the experimental verification of the local model using the single joint and the geometry of the panel joints.

The paper presents the possibility of using FSW technology for joining elements of a landing gear beam of the M28 aircraft. The FSW process was performed on a 4-axis numerical machine under industrial conditions. However, before welding was carried out under industrial conditions, preliminary experimental tests were carried out under laboratory conditions. Preliminary research was carried out for AA2024-T3 aluminum sheets of 1 mm and 3 mm in thickness, joined in a lap configuration. The influence of technological and geometric parameters of the process on the quality and strength of the weld was examined. Sheet metal arrangement was analyzed. Tests were carried out for two configurations. The first of which with 1 mm sheet on the top and 3 mm sheet on the bottom and in reverse order. It has been shown that setting a thicker plate on the top gives a 40% better strength. The microhardness and microstructure of the weld were tested. During the laboratory tests, low-cycle fatigue tests of the FSW lap joint were performed. It has been shown that the FSW method can be an alternative to the riveting process in the production of aviation structure elements.

Friction stir welding is a solid state innovative joining technique, widely being used for joining aluminium alloys in aerospace, marine automotive and many other applications of commercial importance. The welding parameters and tool pin profile play a major role in deciding the weld quality. In this paper, an attempt has been made to understand the influences of welding speed and pin profile of the tool on friction stir welded joints of AA6082-T6 alloy. Three different tool pin profiles (tapered cylindrical four flutes, triangular and hexagonal) have been used to fabricate the joints at different welding speeds in the range of 30 to 74 mm/min. Microhardness (HV) and tensile tests performed at room temperature were used to evaluate the mechanical properties of the joints. In order to analyse the microstructural evolution of the material, the weld’s cross-sections were observed optically and SEM observations were made of the fracture surfaces. From this investigation it is found that the hexagonal tool pin profile produces mechanically sound and metallurgically defect free welds compared to other tool pin profiles.

In the present study, butt joints of aluminum (Al) 8011-H18 and pure copper (Cu) were produced by friction stir welding (FSW) and the effect of plunge depth on surface morphology, microstructure and mechanical properties were investigated. The welds were produced by varying the plunge depth in a range from 0.1 mm to 0.25 mm. The defect-free joints were obtained when the Cu plate was fixed at the advancing side. It was found that less plunging depth gives better tensile properties compare to higher plunging depth because at higher plunging depth local thinning occurs at the welded region. Good tensile properties were achieved at plunge depth of 0.2 mm and the tensile strength was found to be higher than the strength of the Al (weaker of the two base metals). Microstructure study revealed that the metal close to copper side in the Nugget Zone (NZ) possessed lamellar alternating structure. However, mixed structure of Cu and Al existed in the aluminum side of NZ. Higher microhardness values were witnessed at the joint interfaces resulting from plastic deformation and the presence of intermetallics.