Proceedings of AEROQRO-2010 Conference
Paper 10AIQ-0004
Material Motion Simulation in Friction Stir Welding (FSW)
Using an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) Approach
West Virginia University, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, USA
National Polytechnic Institute, CICATA-Queretaro, México
ABSTRACT
Material flow in the solid-state Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is
quite a complex process. Research on material flow can be
carried out either by experimentation or by numerical
simulation. However, while numerical simulation is
inexpensive, efficient and convenient, it is quite challenging.
This paper deals with a numerical method for efficient and
reliable simulation of the material flow during FSW. The
objectives of this work are twofold: to develop a numerical
approach for simulating large deformations of the workpieces
during FSW, and to assess the material flow behavior during
the FSW process allowing the use of welding process
parameters and material models.
An Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation is used to
model the process. The basic idea of the ALE approach is that
the mesh is not obliged to follow the material flow. Thereby the
excessively distorted elements can be avoided. An important
consideration in applying the ALE approach is an advection
approach which determines the mesh motion in every step of
the analysis. Due to the characteristics of FSW, a moving
mesh approach is used for the simulation of the FSW process.
Results show material motion characteristics on the top
surface and through the depth (volume) of friction stir welds for
the advancing and retreating sides. The motion trends are
consistent with the reported experimental evidence. The case
studies demonstrate the capabilities and potential of the
moving mesh scheme in simulating the FSW process.
INTRODUCTION
Although extensive work with FSW has been done on
various materials [1-2], material flow patterns in a friction
stir weld are not yet fully understood. As the welding tool
translates along the joint line, the shoulder and pin rotate
and make a mixing of the workpiece materials around
the welding tool. The mixing and the forging force create
the joint between the two workpieces. Welding
_____________________
*Former Ph.D. Student at WVU
Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, CICATA-Querétaro
October 7-8, 2010. Queretaro, Mexico.
Víctor H. Muciño, Hua Zhao *
Alejandro Lozano Guzman
parameter (translational and rotational velocities, forging
force) and tool geometry variations (especially for the pin
shape) will change this flow behavior. Therefore, fully
understanding the material flow pattern in a friction stir
weld will help design the complex welding tool and
effectively control the welding process parameters in
order to produce a high quality weld.
Some experimental studies [3-4] have been conducted
to track the material flow in a friction stir weld. The
method employed in such studies is based on the use of
a marker material which is different from the workpiece
material being welded and redistributed during welding.
The markers are placed in strategic locations within the
weld in order to document material flow associated with
that particular region. It is obvious that such an
experiment is a direct method to understand the material
flow pattern. To perform such an experiment, however,
extensive background work with different marker
materials is needed in order to select an appropriate
marker material used in the subsequent experiments. In
addition, different types of tools need to be prepared in
the experimental tests corresponding to the workpiece
material variation. So, it is very costly and time-
consuming to conduct the experimental tests.
OBJECTIVES AND MODELING APPROACH
The objectives of this work are twofold; first to device a
mesh motion scheme appropriate for the simulation of
the large deformations of workpieces during the FSW
process and second, to study the elasto-plastic material
flow behavior of the FSW region using the moving mesh
scheme. Process simulations are based on solid
mechanics finite element formulations and carried out
using the general-purpose software LS-DYNA [5, 6].
Three conservation laws relevant to the problem of FSW
are considered here: The conservation of mass, which
states that the mass of any material body is constant,
since no material flows through the boundaries of a
material body, the conservation of momentum, which
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Proceedings of AEROQRO-2010 Conference October 7-8, 2010. Queretaro, Mexico.

states that the material time derivative of the momentum ∂ρ n

equals the net force and is equivalent to Newton’s ρ nL+1 = ρ n + ∆t with
∂t
X
second law and the conservation of energy, which states
that the rate of change of the total energy (the internal ∂ρ n
= −(M nρ ) -1 K nρ ρ nL (3)
∂t
plus kinetic energies) in the body is equal to the work X

done by the external forces and rate of work provided by

heat flux and heat sources.
∂v n
The conservation laws are usually expressed as partial v nL+1 = v n + ∆t with
∂t
X
differential equations (PDEs). Three PDEs of mass,
∂v n
momentum and energy are expressed by Equations (1), = M −n1 (f next - f nint ) (4)
∂t
X
(2) and (3), respectively. Mass conservation, Momentum
conservation and Energy conservation are respectively:
∂ρ ∂v ∂σ n
= −ρ j , σ nL+1 = σ n + ∆t with
∂t ∂x j ∂t
X

∂vi ∂σ ji ∂σ n
ρ = + ρbi & (1) = −(Mσn ) -1 z n (5)
∂t
X
∂t ∂x j
∂wint ∂q Advection step:
ρ = D jiσ ji − i + ρs
∂t ∂xi ∂ρ nL+1
→ ρ n+1 = ρ nL+1 + χ ∆t (6)
To obtain the ALE differential form of the conservation ∂t
equations for mass momentum and energy, the material ∂v L
time derivative in the equations above is replaced by the → v n+1 = v nL+1 + n+1 χ ∆t (7)
ALE form of material time derivative. For example, ∂t
∂ρ ∂ρ ∂ρ ∂σ L
replacing with ( + c j ) the ALE form of → σ n+1 = σ nL+1 + n+1 χ ∆t (8)
∂t ∂t
χ
∂x j ∂t
mass conservation is obtained as follows:
The explicit method is computational fast and
conditionally stable, but the time step size ∆t must be
∂ρ ∂ρ ∂v j
χ + c j = −ρ , less than a critical value ∆tcrit otherwise computational
∂t ∂x j xj
errors will grow resulting in a spurious solution. A time
∂vi ∂vi ∂σ ji
ρ( χ + cj ) = + ρbi & (2) step size during the solution is determined by
∂t ∂x j ∂x j ∆t = α ⋅ ∆tcrit , where α is a reduction factor, for
∂wint ∂wint ∂q stability reason, which is typically set to a value of 0.90
ρ( + c j ) = D jiσ ji − i + ρs
∂t
χ
∂x j ∂xi (default in LS-DYNA) or some smaller value; ∆tcrit is the
length of time it takes a signal traveling at the speed of
Where ρ is the mass density, v is the material velocity,
 sound in the material to transverse the distance between
σ is the Cauchy stress; b is the body force per unit of the closest nodal points. ∆tcrit for this problem can be
int
volume, w is the internal energy per unit volume, D is calculated by
the rate of deformation tensor, q is the heat flux per unit 2 2 Le
area, and ρ s is the heat source per unit volume. ∆t crit = ≤ min = min ,
ω max e, I ω e
I
e ce
(6)
EXPLICIT TIME INTEGRATION AND v
ADVECTION where Le = e
Ae max
The term “explicit” refers to the fact that the sate at the
end of the time step is based solely on the stat at the Here, ωmax is the largest natural circular frequency, ce is
beginning of the time step. By the use of this method, the sound speed in element e, Le is a characteristic
the solutions to the governing equations are given in two
steps (Lagrangian and advection) as follows: length of element e, ve is the element volume, Ae max is
the area of the largest side.
Lagrangian step:

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Proceedings of AEROQRO-2010 Conference October 7-8, 2010. Queretaro, Mexico.

In the FSW process, the interface between the

workpieces and the welding tool experience frictional
(Coulomb) contact, the friction stress is equal to the
product of the friction coefficient, µ and the contact
pressure. The geometry, all reference values, and the
chosen material properties are for aluminum (workpiece)
and steel (for the tool), respectively. The workpiece
material is treated as an elastic-perfectly plastic model,
and the pin and shoulder are assumed rigid.
A full description of the numerical procedures used to
perform this simulation are fully described by co-author
Hua in reference [7].
The advection process allows the strain field of a slightly
deformed element to be mapped back to the initial
element geometry as illustrated in Fig. 1, in such a way
that the mesh stays put while the material; flows through Fig. 2 The "moving mesh"
the mesh. It is possible then to maintain the mesh in the
weld region unchanged letting the workpiece advance SIMULATION AND RESULTS
through the weld zone, Fig. 2. The Model (with only one
half of the workpiece) is hown in Fig. 3 below. Several The volume fraction contours for two different friction
elato-plastic material models can now be studied using coefficients with the same forging forces at t = 0.2 s are
exactly the same model, producing results that can presented in Figs. 4-5 below. The differences can be
illustrate the differences in behavior, including variations observed for the advancing side and retreating sides
in the welding process parameters, as shown in the Fig. respectively. The material flow in the model with µ= 0.61
4-6 below. is greater than that in the model with µ= 0.47. Similarly
the material flow in the model with forging force = 0.005
in is greater than that in the mode with forging force =
0.001 in (not shown). That is because larger friction
coefficient and forging force yields larger friction which
produces larger strains. From simulation results, it is
shown that the increasing friction results in the increase
of plastic strain and increases the mobility of material in
the weld. As expected, friction plays an important role in
determining the material flow pattern during FSW.

Fig. 1 Advection of an element

Fig. 3 FE Mesh of tool (pin and shoulder) and one half of

the workpiece

Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, CICATA-Querétaro 3
Proceedings of AEROQRO-2010 Conference October 7-8, 2010. Queretaro, Mexico.

Advancing

Advanci
Retreatin

Fig. 4 µ = 0.47 Forging Displacement = 0.005 in Fig. 8 Power Law Plastic Model Material flow

Advancin
Retreati
Fig. 9 Perfectly-elastic Plastic Model Material flow

Fig.5 µ = 0.61, Forging Displacement = 0.005 in

Fig. 6 Top view for particle tracing during welding

Fig. 10 Power Law Plastic strain history

Fig. 7 Altitude tracing of particles vs. time

Figs. 6-7 illustrate the particle tracing around the weld

and the up-down motion across the depth of the weld.
Fig. 11 Perfectly-elastic Plastic strain history
Finally Figs. 8 to11 below illustrate the behavior of
various material models tracing material flow and strain
energy.

Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, CICATA-Querétaro 4
Proceedings of AEROQRO-2010 Conference October 7-8, 2010. Queretaro, Mexico.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

In the ALE approach, two sets of coordinate systems are

defined: one attached to a material point and moving
with material deformation, and another for the
corresponding computational point which moves
independently according to a user-defined mesh motion.
Therefore, the ALE mesh does not tangle under intense
shear. An advection procedure was developed to allow
the material flow through the mesh for the simulation.
The forging action combined with the stir action of the
tool produces a secondary, down-and-up motion under
the welding tool. The ALE approach (with a moving
mesh) is proved to be an effective tool for the simulation
of the FSW process for the study of process parameters
and appropriateness of material models.

REFERENCES

1. W.M Thomas, E.D. Nicholas, J.C. Needham, M.G.

Murch, P. Templesmith, and C.J. Daws, “Friction Stir
Butt Welding”, GB Patent Application No.
9125978.8, Dec. 1991, U. S. Patent No. 5460317,
Oct. 1995.
2. K. Colligan, “Material Flow Behavior during Friction
Stir Welding of Aluminum”, Welding Journal
Research Supplement, 1999, pp.229s-237s.
3. T.U. Seidel, A.P. Reynolds, “Visualization of the
Material Flow in AA2195 Friction-Stir Welds Using a
Marker Insert Technique”, Metallurgical and
Materials Transactions A, 2001, 32A, pp. 2879-
2884.
4. T. Dickerson, H.R. Shercliff, H. Schmidt, “A Weld
Marker Technique for Flow Visualization in Friction
Stir Welding”, 4th Int. Symposium on Friction Stir
Welding, Park City, Utah, U.S.A, May 14-16 2003.
5. LS-DYNA User’s Manual, Livermore Software
Technology Corporation, 2003.
6. J. O. Hallquist, LS-DYNA Theoretical Manual,
Livermore Software Technology Corporation, 1998
7. Zhao Hua, "Finite Element Simulation of the Friction
Stir Welding Process", Ph.D. Dissertation, West
Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, May 2005.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Víctor H. Muciño (vhmucino@mail.wvu.edu), WVU, P.O.
Box 6106, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.

Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro de Investigación en Ciencia Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, CICATA-Querétaro 5