Friction Stir Welding

H. K. D. H. Bhadeshia

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
zone (HAZ) is as in conventional welds. The central nugget region containing
the onion-ring flow-pattern is the most severely deformed region, although it
frequently seems to dynamically recrystallise, so that the detailed microstructure
may consist of equiaxed grains. The layered (onion-ring) structure is a
consequence of the way in which a threaded tool deposits material from the
front to the back of the weld. It seems that cylindrical sheets of material are
extruded during each rotation of the tool, which on a weld cross--section give
the characteristic onion-rings.

The thermomechanically-affected zone lies between the HAZ and nugget; the
grains of the original microstructure are retained in this region, but in a
deformed state. The top surface of the weld has a different microstructure, a
consequence of the shearing induced by the rotating tool-shoulder.

Further details of the process can be found in Joining of Commercial Aluminium

Alloys, a paper published in the proceedings of an International Conference on
Aluminium (INCAL 2003).

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.

The Tool
An illustration of some types of tools. Each tool has a shoulder whose rotation
against the substrate generates most of the heat required for welding. The pin
on the tool is plunged into the substrate and helps stir the metal in the solid
state.

The Fixture and Weld

The two halves to be joined must be rigidly fixed before the welding operation
(first picture below). The pin, which is an integral part of the tool, is plunged into
the metal to help stir it up; the shoulder of the tool generates much of the heat.
As the weld is completed, the tool is withdrawn. leaving behind a hole. The weld
is designed so that such regions can be discarded from the component. The
presence of a hole may not be appropriate when welding pipes or storage
vessels. The hole can be avoided by designing the tool such that only the pin
can be retracted automatically and gently into the shoulder, leaving behind an
integral weld.

Movies of FSW

http://www.msm.cam.ac.uk/phase-trans/2003/FSW/aaa.html
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?ArticleID=1170#_Advantages_of_Friction