Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

References:
• R.S. Mishra and Z.Y. Ma, Friction stir welding and processing,
Materials Science and Engineering R 50 (2005) 1–78
•Williams, S.W., Welding of airframes using friction stir, Air & Space
Europe, Volume 3, Issues 3-4, May-August 2001, Pages 64-66 (W)
•Thomas, W.M. and Nicholas, E.D., Friction stir welding for the
transportation industries, Materials and Design, Volume 18, Issues 4-6, 1
December 1997, Pages 269-273 (TN)
•Web Site: http://www.twi.co.uk
•As always - more info on MUSE and in the Library

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

Friction Stir Welding

• Friction stir welding (FSW) was invented and experimentally proven by
TWI (The Welding Institute) in December 1991
• In industrial use within 5 years of invention
• Now licensed to 100+ organisations world-wide
• Applications in marine, aerospace, automotive, rail, and construction
• Developed for: Al, Mg, Cu, Zn, work underway on Steels, Ni, Ti
• FSW is a solid state welding process, i.e. there is no melting

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

The process operates by generating frictional heat between a rotating tool of

harder material than the workpiece being welded.

• The rotating FSW tool is

plunged between two
clamped plates.
•Rotating pin heats up plates
causing them to soften
whereupon the tool is pushed
down leading to the shoulder
being in contact with the
metal

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

The rotating tool is then

traversed, frictionally heating
and plasticising material as it
moves along the joint line.

As the tool moves, a consolidated

solid-phase joint is formed.

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

FSW of 6mm Thick Al Plate

From

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

FSW of 1.2mm Thick Al Sheet

Note – No
distortion in
thin sheet

From

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

Complex geometries

From

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

• Rotational speed about 180 to 300 revolutions per minute, depending on

the thickness of the material.
• Under a pressure of about 5.5 to 11 MPa
• The shoulder has a concave profile so that the tool can hold the material
displaced by the pin
• Shoulder then heats a larger volume of material
• Eventually enough material is hot enough to allow the pin to move
forward
• The rotating pin causes a stirring action of the hot metal (i.e. hot plastic
deformation) which joins the two plates together

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

TOP Root
Surface

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

MX Triflute™ Tools Whorl™ Tools

Complex features have been added to alter material

flow, mixing and reduce process loads.

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

Microstructure

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

Width of tool shoulder

C C
D
A B B A

NUGGET (D)
PM HAZ TMAZ (C+D) HAZ PM

Fine-grained recrystallized nugget (D) is distinct from the un-

recrystallized outer thermo-mechanically affected zone, or TMAZ
(C). Weld surrounded by undeformed HAZ (B).

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

Unaffected material or parent metal: This is material remote from the weld,
which has not been deformed, and which although it may have experienced a
thermal cycle from the weld is not affected by the heat in terms of
microstructure or mechanical properties.
Heat affected zone (HAZ): In this region the material has experienced a
thermal cycle which has modified the microstructure and/or the mechanical
properties.
Thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ): In this region, the material has
been plastically deformed by the friction stir welding tool, and the heat from the
process will also have exerted some influence on the material. Material may or
may not have been recrystallised or gone through a phase transformation
Weld Nugget: This material has been recrystallised and has traditionally been
called the nugget.

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

V. Jata and S. L. Semiatin, Continuous dynamic recrystallization during friction stir welding of high strength
aluminum alloys, Scripta Materialia, Volume 43, Issue 8, 29 September 2000, Pages 743-749

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III

Failure typically
occurs in the HAZ
region

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications FSW of Delta II and IV Fuel Tanks by Boeing

Claimed Advantages of Friction Stir Welding:

• 2.5km of defect free friction stir welds.
• Weld strength up 30% compared to previous method.
• 71% reduction in weld time, 81% reduction in labour.
• For circumferential joints, existing bolted joints cost
$24/foot, FSW costs $0.14/foot.
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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications FSW of Space Shuttle Main Tank by Lockheed Martin

External Tank: 47m

long, 8.4m diameter
Structural backbone of
the shuttle, absorbing
most of the six million
lbs of thrust at launch.
FSW Benefits:
• 0.200 in. (5mm): 10% increase in average UTS
over previous method.
• 0.320 - 0.385 in. (up to 10mm): 22% increase in
average UTS over previous method.
• Significant decrease in weld variability.
• LV barrel production time reduced from 47hrs to
around 19hrs (FSW).

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications FSW of the Eclipse 500 Business Jet

Photographs: www.eclipseaviation.com
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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications Eclipse - Friction Stir Welded Assembly

• Skin, stringers and frames have • FSW exterior - smooth easy to

been joined by FSW to complete paint surface
the cabin right-hand panel

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications FSW of Panels for Fast Ferries by Marine Aluminium

40m Flying cat

from Kvaerner
Fjellstrand AS,
Norway, which
has FSW panels
for decks, sides,
bulkheads and
floors.
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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications FSW of Rail Carriages by Hitachi

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications
Claimed Advantages of FSW by Hitachi:
• “FSW welds equal or better than MIG
welds on tensile strength”
• “FSW Charpy test results 1.7x parent
metal and 2.4x MIG welds”
• “...hardly any distortion or contraction”
• “...hardly any discoloration”
• “welding rods and shielding gas are not
required”
• “… no spatter, no fumes, no UV rays”
• “There are no flaws (blowholes,
cracks)”
• “… distortion is only one twelfth of the
distortion by MIG welds”

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications
Friction Stir Spot Welding for the Production of
the rear doors and bonnet of the Mazda RX-8

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Lecture 5 -Advanced Joining Technologies III
Applications
Mazda’s FSW Shock Cone Al Hood

FSW

FSW

FSW

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Advantages
• Can be used for joining many types of materials and material
combinations, if tool materials and designs can be found which operate at
the forging temperature of the workpieces.
• Minimal preparation required
• Use existing tooling technology
• Low distortion, even in long welds
• Excellent mechanical properties as proven by fatigue, tensile and bend tests
• No fume
• No porosity
• No spatter

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Advantages
• Low shrinkage
• Can operate in all positions
• Energy efficient
• Non-consumable tool
• One tool can typically be used for up to 1000m of weld length in 6000 series
aluminium alloys
• No filler wire
• No gas shielding for welding aluminium
• No welder certification required
• Some tolerance to imperfect weld preparations - thin oxide layers can be
accepted
• No grinding, brushing or pickling required in mass production

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Advantages

Real significant benefit of FSW is that it has significantly fewer process elements to
control. In a Fusion weld, there are many process factors that must be controlled i.e.
purge gas, voltage and amperage, wire feed, travel speed, shield gas, arc gap.
However, in FSW there are only three process variables to control: rotation speed,
travel speed and pressure, all of
which are easily controlled.

Limitations
• Welding speeds are moderately slower than those of some fusion welding
processes
• Workpieces must be rigidly clamped
• Keyhole at the end of each weld

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