Metal Cutting theory applied to Thermal Mapping of the Friction Stir Welding Process

Vishnu Vardhan Chandrasekaran

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Auburn University
Contact author: Dr. Lewis N. Payton, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Auburn University

Introduction
Solid state welding process Green technique

Developed by The Welding Institute, UK

Advantages
Does not generate fumes of any type Quickly train operators (In hours) Easily automated Does not use any filler materials and hence adds no additional weight Does not change alloy content Interlaces alloys without melting Better mechanical properties (more ductile and tougher)

FSW Tool
Most referred tool in the literature, called the Shouldered Pin Tool

Shoulder

Pin

FSW process

Basic FSW process

Work pieces to be joined are placed together either overlapping or like butt joint. A rotating pin tool is inserted at one end and moved transversely at a uniform feed. The pin dislocates the material without melting it forming a weld pattern. The shoulder helps in containing the dislocated material within the cavity to form the weld.

FSW Nomenclature

Importance of temperature
As the tool passes through, the material flows around the tool

without melting involving a large amount of deformation.

Deformation at high strain rates, temperature (heat generated) and grinding lead to changes in the grain structure

Improper grain structure leads to defects in welds

Thermal Studies So Far

Objectives
Gain better understanding of the thermal field surrounding the FSW To develop a thermal mapping device to map thermal fields To statistically validate the thermal data thus obtained Compare the thermal data with the existing thermal models Simulate the thermal field using physics based simulation techniques and compare it with the real world data obtained

Initial Experiments

Draw backs of Initial Experiments

Attaching and positioning of thermocouples is tiring and time consuming Precise and accurate location of holes had to be drilled every time a sample was prepared every time Lead to higher standard deviation of observations and

not a statistically sound process

Work Holder

Statistical validation

The work holder was statistically validated for

Sensitivity Repeatability Reliability Capable of detecting difference in temperature measurements up to +/- 2 C for up to 5 replicates with a statistical power of 95%

Temperature measurement
Thermocouples were used to measure the temperature at each point of interest.

Labview software was used to read, convert and plot the

thermocouple input into real world temperature data

Placement of thermocouples

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Shoulder S1 (Ad) Shoulder S2 (Re) Pin P3 (Ad) Pin P4 (Re) Bottom of pin (P Under)

Placement of thermocouples

Temperature data collection

Temperature data collection

Start Up experimental setup

RPM: 350 and 450 Shoulder size: 0.9, 0.7 and 0.5 Traverse speed: 4/min and 7/min 12 Factor level combinations 7 experiments were done for each factor level combinations. A total of 84 experiments done. Shoulder Material: Titanium (AMS 4928N by TIMETAL) Work piece Material: AL 6061 Holder Material : Steel 1018

Experimental setup

Experimental setup

Experimental setup

Results (sample shoulder temperatures)

S9 Vs S10
400

300

Temperature (Celsius)

200

S9 S10

100

0 1 100 199 Time (Secs) 298 397

S10-Advancing side S9-Retreating side Peak Temperature of S10> Peak temperature of S9

Results (sample Pin temperatures)

P3 Vs P4
400

Temperature (Celsius)

300

200

P3 P4

100

0 1 100 199 Time (Secs) 298 397

P4-Advancing side P3-Retreating side Peak Temperature of P4> Peak temperature of P3

Results
Distribution of Temperature recorded by 5 thermocouples located at each of the 7 stations along the length of weld under consideration.

Statistical validation
Advancing (Shoulder and pin) was hotter than retreating side with a statistical power of 90% Results from the analysis of variance done on the factors

involved shows that

Shoulder size has more impact during the entry of the tool Traverse speed has more impact during the traverse of the tool

Need for thermal field models Helps, operators to chose the running parameters (milling parameters like feed, RPM etc.,) in order to target a sweet spot or temperature range for alloy considered.

Previous thermal field models

All researchers have the same heat equation for both sides of the tool(Advancing and Retreating) for their thermal models. Payton developed a thermal model for FSW based on Shaws

metal cutting equations for a slot milling operation

In the history of FSW, only Paytons model best describes the process as an asymmetric process

Comparison of FSW with Slot Milling

FSW Slot Milling

Paytons model
In Machining theory, the leading side or the up milling side of the work piece would be hotter than the trailing or down milling side. This is due to the velocity of the tool tip being maximum on the leading side and minimum on the trailing side. In FSW, the leading side is the advancing side and the trailing side is the retreating side.

Paytons model
Equations
T [16,148.58]HPs V *t k *( pc)
1 2

Nomenclature
HP - Specific Horsepower V - Cutting speed k - Coefficient of thermal conductivity pc - Volume specific heat of the work material n RPM R - Radius of the tool r - Radius of Pin y - Depth of cut.

V 2 n[{R r}2 2ry ]

Physics based Simulations

In the past due to computational power constraints, study of only one physical behavior at an instance like structural integrity, aerodynamic behavior etc., was possible.

With the advent of high power computing software, it is now

possible to model and study the Multiphysics behavior at a time for any problem under consideration. Software used here are COMSOL and ANSYS

Simulations done with COMSOL

Simulations done with ANSYS

Simulations done with ANSYS

Comparison of Results

Conclusions
The highest temperatures of the friction stir welding process occur during the relatively long insertion into the specimen.

Once the transit starts, temperatures fall and reach as

lower steady state transient temperature. For aluminum 6061-T6, this occurs within 2 diameters of the tool shoulder (on average).

Conclusions
The advancing side of the tool is always hotter than the retreating side of the tool, with a statistical power of at least 90% for all the experiments and factor level combinations done. The temperature always peaks following passage of the trailing edge of the shoulder. This is an important consideration in applications where a run out tab is not used. The weld properties at the extraction point may be very different because of the lower temperatures at that point.

Conclusions
Temperature rose linearly as RPM and shoulder diameter increased. Temperature decreased inversely as the traverse speed increased. Temperature changed with material being welded, all other things constant.

Conclusions
Paytons model, being the only model in the literature which describes the asymmetric nature of the temperature field, was used to simulate the process using a multi

physics finite element analysis tool.

The results obtained were compared to the real world data for the shoulder with excellent results. Software limitations

precluded a good simulation of the pin tool area

Future work
Can rapidly collect large amount of statistically reliable thermal data on a new alloy combination with standard inexpensive stocks Classic metal cutting theory from the 1950s and 1960s has been successfully applied to a joining process. This suggests that classic extrusion theory and software such as DEFORM 3D might also be very beneficially applied to Friction

Stir Welding.

DATA AVAILABLE AT WWW.ENG.AUBURN.EDU/~PAYTOLN

Contact author: Dr. Lewis N. Payton Director, Design and Manufacturing Laboratory Department of Mechanical Engineering 270 Ross Hall Auburn University, AL 36849 payton@auburn.edu Telephone 1-334-844-3315 Fax 1-334-844-3422

Thank You