Research Article – IJAAT – 2017 – 19

International Journal of Advances on Automotive and Technology http://dx.doi.org/10.15659/ijaat.17.07.542

Manuscript Received October 14, 2016; Accepted April 24, 2017.
Promech Corp. Press, Istanbul, Turkey
Vol.1, No. 3, pp. 114-118, July, 2017

This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Co-Editor Yasin Karagoz

FRICTION STIR SPOT WELDING FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

*Necdet ÇAPAR Utku KUMRU

Coşkunöz Kalıp Mak San ve Tic A.Ş Tofaş Türk Otomobil Fabrikası A.Ş
Bursa/Nilüfer/TURKEY Bursa/Osmangazi/TURKEY

Tanya A. BAŞER Gökhan TEKİN Onur SARAY

Tofaş Türk Otomobil Fabrikası Coşkunöz Kalıp Mak San. ve Bursa Teknik Üniversitesi
A.Ş Tic. A.Ş Bursa/Yildirim/TURKEY
Bursa/Osmangazi/TURKEY Bursa/Nilüfer/TURKEY

Keywords: Laser welding, parameter effect, focal point position, microstructural examination, friction stir welding, friction welding
,friction stir spot welding
*Corresponding author: Phone [+90 531] 104 55 30,Fax:[+90 224] 280 06 56
E-mail address:ncapar@coskunoz.com.tr

ABSTRACT
Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is derived as a variant
process of friction stir welding (FSW), allowing industry
discovering new solid state solutions for joining purposes of
similar and dissimilar materials. In terms of application, it is
profoundly environmental-friend and remarkably cost efficient.
Considering rising automotive market challenges, FSSW is
gaining it’s ground with each passing year as to being a new
emerged technology with respective advantages. This paper
focuses on summarizing many favorable aspects of FSSW by
demonstration of dissimilar applications such as Al-Mg and Al-
Steel, while uncovering the process advantages of the bonding
characterization where design freedom and lightweight
purposes recognized as priority in the near future.
INTRODUCTION
Friction stir welding (fsw) is a solid-state joining process that
uses a non-consumable tool to join two facing work-pieces
without melting the work-pieces material [1] which is applied
by the tool, much like joining clay, or dough. it is primarily used
on joining dissimilar materials. friction stir spot welding fssw)
is similar to friction stir welding. both techniques use a rotating
tool with a pin. however, in friction stir welding, the tool
traverses along a seam between two metal plates, while in
friction spot joining, the tool keeps to one spot. because of non-
consumable characteristics , fssw is also more cost-effective
than fasteners, such as rivets or clinch nuts [2]. fasteners also
add weight to the assembly, moreover they can increase the risk
of galvanic corrosion. When you compare the economics,
friction spot joining is one-fourth to one-third the cost of other
methods, like resistance welding, riveting or clinching [2].
joining of dissimilar materials is becoming important for light
weight applications fssw has already been adopted extensively
for joining aluminum alloys in automotive, rail, aircraft,
aerospace, and shipbuilding industries.the combination of
dissimilar materials, such as aluminum to steel, aluminum to
magnesium, and steel to magnesium alloys, enables an optimum
exploitation of the best properties of both materials [3]. it has
been used in the production of aluminum doors, engine hoods,
and deck lids in the automotive industry [4]. steels, owing to
their strong properties, recyclability, relatively low cost have
been the preferred for structural application in automotive
industry. However, it is becoming clear that not a single
material can fit all applications. The multi-material concept
including a hybrid of light metals is now a trend for the
automotive industry. Therefore, FSW and FSSW joining
techniques play important role to join dissimilar materials for
lightweight applications.
This paper focuses on the importance of the use of FSSW in the
automotive industry and overviews advantages of FSSW on
light weight applications.

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Various techniques are used to join dissimilar materials e.g.

mechanical fastening and fusion welding. The main
disadvantages of mechanical fastening is the usage of additional
material brings cost-up concerns which is not desired.
The major problems identified in fusion welding related to
solidification process and structure, including loss of alloying
elements and presence of segregation and porosities, blow hole,
crack formation in the weld joint. These problems can be solved
by FSSW which offers an alternative through solid-state
bonding with high joint efficiency, which eliminates all these
problems of solidification associated with the conventional
fusion welding processes. It is quite imposible to weld different
materials due to their thermal characteristics as different
melting point, thermal expansion and thermal conductivity.
Advantages of FSSW compare to fusıon weldıng for dissimilar
materials are summarised in Table 1.
FSSW process uses a tool, similar to the FSW tool [8]. The
shoulder generates bulk of the frictional or deformational heat
whereas; the pin assists in material flow between the work
pieces [7]. Besides the tool, the other parameters involved in
FSSW are, the tool rotation speed; tool plunge depth and the
dwell period. These parameters determine the strength and the
surface finish of the welded joints [7]. A nomenclature is
required to accurately describe the different microstructural
regions present after FSSW. The cross section of the spot weld
shows the five characteristics including the Parent Material
(PM), the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), Thermomechanically
Affected Zone (TMAZ), The Stir Zone (SZ) and the hook as
shown in Fig. 2.

Table 1. Advantages of FSSW compare to conventional welding

Technologies [5].
Metallurgical Enviromental
• Solid-phase process
• Low distortion
• Good dimensional stability
and repeatability
• No loss of alloying
elements Excellent
mechanical properties in
the joint area.
• Fine recrystallized
microstructure
• Absence of solidification
cracking
• Replace multiple parts
joined by fasteners
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Energy
• No shielding gas • Reduction in
required weight
• Minimal surface • Only 2.5% of
cleaning required the energy
needed for a
laser weld Fig.2. Cross-sectional appearance of a typical FSSW [7].
• Eliminates grinding • Decreased
wastes fuel
consumption In automotive industry, the groups of materials can be joined by
in FSSW are Al to steel alloys, Al to Mg and Mg to steel alloys as
• Eliminates solvents summarised below respectively;
required for
degreasing
1.1 Al To Steel Alloys
• Consumable materials
saving, such as rugs, Fig 3. shows the ease of joining aluminium to other metals by
filler wire, or any
other gases fusion welding processes. It indicates that aluminium is, in
• No harmful emissions general, difficult to weld to other materials. In Fig 3., Fusion
welding between Al alloys and steels is difficult where metallic
• No radiant energy as materials being joined are not only different from each other in
in fusion welding;
hence simple safety
terms of base materials but also have very different thermo-
glasses enough physical properties such as melting points. In such scenario, the
welding between such disparate combinations of materials
become very difficult and requires special joining strategies. [9]

1.Friction Stir Spot Welding Of Dissimilar Materials

A schematic illustration of the FSSW process is shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 3. The ease of joining aluminium to other metals by fusion

welding processes [9].
Joining of Al to steel can be done using 2 different welding
positions; butt welding and overlap welding.

Fig.1. Schematic illustration of FSSW process [6].

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During butt welding, huge gap in between melting points of Al
alloy and steel combination, the welding tool cannot be plunged
symmetrically into the joint line. It will result in excessive
heating of steel which will cause melting of the Al alloy. This,
of course, will result in a defective weld. Hence, for joining Al
alloys and steels, the offset method is used during FSSW. In
offset method, the rotation center of the tool is biased toward
the low-melting-temperature material, and in some cases to the
extent that it almost plunges inside the Al alloy.[10]
During overlap welding, it is preferred that weld should be
started from the aluminium side through the steel side. High
thermal conductivity of aluminum regarding to steel, prevents
the excess heating of the welded materials thus ensures the
welding operation is completed in the solid-state, without the
melting of aluminium.
Fig.4. Overlap welding of aluminium to ferrous material [14].
1.2 Mg To Steel Alloys
Mg alloys as the lightest structural metals are promising
candidates to replace some of the steels in automotive
application to realize weight reduction. This brings in the
challenge of joining or welding two dissimilar materials with
quite different melting temperatures, flow strengths,
immiscibility in both solid and liquid states, and absence of any
congruent melting phases. So strong bonding between Mg and
steel is problematic. Recently, FSW has been tried on dissimilar
Mg to steel mainly in lap configuration to explore the feasibility
on forming metallurgical bonding or mechanical interlocking
for structural application. Intermetallics between Mg and steel
is not likely during dissimilar welding, formation of other
intermetallics between Al and steel The influence of these
intermetallics on mechanical properties of dissimilar Mg and
steel has been explored and discussed.
Figure 5 shows cross section and microstructures of friction stir
spot-welded Mg alloy AM60 to dual phase steel DP600. The
thickness of AM60 was 1.2 mm and 1.8 mm for DP600. The
DP600 was coated with a Zn layer. Mg alloy was placed on top
of steel during welding with a tool rotation rate of 3000 rpm
and a plunge speed of 1 mm/s. A tool made of W-25Re alloy
was employed. It had a shoulder diameter of 10 mm, a pin
diameter of 4 mm, and a pin length of 1.7 mm. Crossectional
view indicates upward flow of the lower steel into the upper Mg
alloy and formation of bonding or interlocking between them. A
clear boundary can be seen due to the contrast. High-
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magnification views of the boundary show a sharp transition
between the Mg and steel without any sign of intermetallic
phases. However, a cast structure was observed which was
further identified as an Mg_Zn eutectic structure. The eutectic
reaction occurs at a relatively low temperature of 3390C [11].
Fig.5. Cross section and local microstructures of friction stir
spot-welded Mg alloy AM60 to dual phase steel. DP600 made
at 3000 rpm, 1 mm/s plunge speed, and 0.55 mm pin
penetration into bottom steel [11].
1.3 Al to Mg Alloys
Welding of dissimilar Al and Mg alloys has been paid
increasing attention recently due to their lightweight characters
and high specific strengths for structural applications in
transportation industries. Al and Mg alloys have very similar
melting points, not quite different coefficient of thermal
expansion and thermal conductivity, but different formability
due to different crystal structures.
Welding of dissimilar Al and Mg alloys is challenging due to
the formation of liquation and brittle intermetallic phases,
Mg17Al12 and Al3Mg2 through diffusion process. As shown in
the Al_Mg phase diagram (Figure 6), two eutectic reactions can
occur at much lower temperatures compared to the melting
temperatures. Even with friction stir welding (FSW), the peak
temperature in the stir zone is generally above these eutectic
points. Welding between Al and Mg using FSW typically leads
to the formation and growth of intermetallic layers at the
interface. Mg17Al12 and Al3Mg2 are typically present in the
intermetallic layers which can be in various morphologies
depending on the alloy systems and welding conditions
adopted. Due to the brittle characters of these intermetallic and
easy formation of cracks in the intermetallic layers, strength of
the welds is always degraded when a thicker intermetallic layer
is formed accompanied by the solidification cracking. In order
to increase the weld strength, reducing the Al_Mg intermetallic
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reaction layer thickness as well as the solidification cracking is
necessary [12].
Among available literature on FSW of Al to Mg alloys,
regardless the use of various alloy systems, welding parameters,
or configurations, one common feature is the formation of
intermetallics at the interface between Al and Mg alloys. Figure
6 is just one example showing high magnification view at
interface intermetallic layers between Mg alloy AZ31 and Al
alloy AA5083. The welds were produced in a butt configuration
with Al alloy on the advancing side. A tool rotation rate of 500
rpm was employed in Figure 7A and 450 rpm for Figure 7B
with same tool traverse speed of 100 mm/min.
In both cases, intermetallics including Al12Mg17 and Al3Mg2 are
distributed regularly within the intermetallic layer which is
about 0.8 μm thick for the former and 1.8 μm thick for the
latter. The difference in thickness of intermetallic layer is
related to the different frictional heat inputs due to tool offset,
which has been discussed later in this section. Comparing these
two figures, one can also realize that the thickness of Al12Mg17
is less than that of Al3Mg2 in both welding conditions, which
indicates different growth kinetics for these two intermetallics
[13].
Fig.6. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) images
showing formation of intermetallics at the interface between Mg
alloy AZ31 and Al alloy AA5083 in a butt welding
configuration (A) without tool offset and (B) with tool offset of
1.5 mm to Al alloy [13].
CONCLUSION
FSSW and variations are lean technologies that offers numerous
benefits for joining of dissimilar materials on (Al –St , Mg-St
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and Mg-St ) competing processes basis. The Industry of
transportation (automotive, trucks, boats, airplanes, trains, etc.)
and the general market have numerous applications of FSW.
Some applications can have FSSW substituted readily while
others may require design changes to take full advantage of
FSSW. More of design for manufacturing (DFM) studies
carried out , higher chances for success transition will be gained
organizations exploiting FSW have found that the
implementation of FSSW is well worth any changes that may
be required, and that costs can be dramatically reduced beyond
what was originally envisioned.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This project partly supported by TUBITAK under TEYDEB
1501-3151097.
NOMENCLATURE
FSSW: Friction Stir Spot Welding
FSW: Friction Spot Welding
PM: Parent Material
HAZ: Heat Affected Zone
TMAZ: Thermo Mechanically Affected Zone
SZ: The Stir Zone
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