Axel Fehrenbacher

Characterization of Exposures to Airborne Nanoscale Particles During Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum

Friction stir welding (FSW) is considered one of the most significant developments in joining technology over the last half century. Its industrial applications are growing steadily and so are the number of workers using this technology. To date, there are no reports on airborne exposures during FSW. The objective of this study was to investigate possible emissions of nanoscale (<100 nm) and fine (<1 microm) aerosols during FSW of two aluminum alloys in a laboratory setting and characterize their physicochemical composition. Several instruments measured size distributions (5 nm to 20 microm) with 1-s resolution, lung deposited surface areas, and PM(2.5) concentrations at the source and at the breathing zone (BZ). A wide range aerosol sampling system positioned at the BZ collected integrated samples in 12 stages (2 nm to 20 microm) that were analyzed for several metals using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Airborne aerosol was directly collected onto several transmission electron microscope grids and the morphology and chemical composition of collected particles were characterized extensively. FSW generates high concentrations of ultrafine and submicrometer particles. The size distribution was bimodal, with maxima at approximately 30 and approximately 550 nm. The mean total particle number concentration at the 30 nm peak was relatively stable at approximately 4.0 x 10(5) particles cm(-3), whereas the arithmetic mean counts at the 550 nm peak varied between 1500 and 7200 particles cm(-3), depending on the test conditions. The BZ concentrations were lower than the source concentrations by 10-100 times at their respective peak maxima and showed higher variability. The daylong average metal-specific concentrations were 2.0 (Zn), 1.4 (Al), and 0.24 (Fe) microg m(-3); the estimated average peak concentrations were an order of magnitude higher. Potential for significant exposures to fine and ultrafine aerosols, particularly of Al, Fe, and Zn, during FSW may exist, especially in larger scale industrial operations.

Effect of fabrication and processing technology on the biodegradability of magnesium nanocomposites.

Magnesium and its alloys have gained significant attention recently as potential alternatives for biodegradable materials due to their unique biodegradability, biocompatibility, and mechanical properties. However, magnesium alloys tend to have high corrosion rates in biological liquids, thus presenting a potential problem if a magnesium implant/device needs to maintain mechanical integrity for a sufficient period under practical physiological conditions. In this study, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were used to form magnesium based metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNC) through two processes: friction stir processing (FSP) and a two-state nanoprocessing (TSnP) combining liquid state ultrasonic processing and solid state FSP. In addition, laser surface melting (LSM) was carried out for further surface treatment. In vitro immersion tests indicated that the corrosion rate of MMNC decreased by 52% compared with pure Mg through FSP. Potentiodynamic polarization tests showed that the corrosion current of MMNC decreased by 71% and 30%, respectively, by TSnP and LSM when compared with pure Mg or untreated counterparts. This study suggests that fabrication of MMNC and further processing through FSP and LSM can robustly enhance the corrosion resistance of magnesium, which will boost its potential for biological applications.

Measurement of Tool-Workpiece Interface Temperature Distribution in Friction Stir Welding

The objective of this work is to develop an improved temperature measurement system for friction stir welding (FSW). FSW is a solid-state joining process enabling welds with excellent metallurgical and mechanical properties, as well as significant energy consumption and cost savings compared to traditional fusion welding processes. The measurement of temperatures during FSW is needed for process monitoring, heat transfer model verification and process control, but current methods have limitations due to their restricted spatial and temporal resolution. Previous work showed that temperatures at the tool shoulder-workpiece interface can be measured and utilized for closed-loop control of temperature. Adding an additional thermocouple at the tool pin-workpiece interface and performing a calibration of the measurement to gain better insight into the temperature distribution in the weld zone improved the method. Both thermocouples were placed in through holes right at the interface of tool so that the sheaths are in direct contact with the workpiece material. This measurement strategy reveals dynamic temperature variations at the shoulder and the pin within a single rotation of the tool in real-time. It was found that the highest temperatures are at the shoulder interface between the advancing side and the trailing edge of the tool, closer to the advancing side. The temperature distribution was mostly affected by travel speed and the temperature difference within one tool rotation was found to be between 10 °C and 50 °C, depending on the process parameters. The dynamic temperature measurements obtained with the current system are of unmatched resolution, fast, and reliable and are likely to be of interest for both fundamental studies and process control of FSW.

Combined Temperature and Force Control for Robotic Friction Stir Welding

The objective of this research is to develop a closed-loop control system for robotic friction stir welding (FSW) that simultaneously controls force and temperature in order to maintain weld quality under various process disturbances. FSW is a solid-state joining process enabling welds with excellent metallurgical and mechanical properties, as well as significant energy consumption and cost savings compared to traditional fusion welding processes.During FSW, several process parameter and condition variations (thermal constraints, material properties, geometry, etc.) are present. The FSW process can be sensitive to these variations, which are commonly present in a production environment; hence, there is a significant need to control the process to assure high weld quality. Reliable FSW for a wide range of applications will require closed-loop control of certain process parameters.A linear multi-input-multi-output process model has been developed that captures the dynamic relations between two process inputs (commanded spindle speed and commanded vertical tool position) and two process outputs (interface temperature and axial force).A closed-loop controller was implemented that combines temperature and force control on an industrial robotic FSW system. The performance of the combined control system was demonstrated with successful command tracking and disturbance rejection. Within a certain range, desired axial forces and interface temperatures are achieved by automatically adjusting the spindle speed and the vertical tool position at the same time. The axial force and interface temperature is maintained during both thermal and geometric disturbances and thus weld quality can be maintained for a variety of conditions in which each control strategy applied independently could fail.Copyright

Tool-Workpiece Interface Temperature Measurement in Friction Stir Welding

The objectives of this work are to develop an improved temperature measurement system for Friction Stir Welding (FSW). FSW is a novel joining technology enabling welds with excellent metallurgical and mechanical properties, as well as significant energy consumption and cost savings compared to traditional fusion welding processes.The measurement of temperatures during FSW is employed for process monitoring, heat transfer model verification and process control, but current methods have limitations due to their restricted spatial and temporal resolution and have found only few industrial applications so far. Thermocouples, which are most commonly used, are either placed too far away from the weld zone or are destructively embedded into the weld path, and therefore fail to provide suitable data about the dynamic thermal phenomena at the tool-workpiece interface.Previous work showed that temperatures at the tool shoulder-workpiece interface can be measured and utilized for closed-loop control of temperature. The method is improved by adding an additional thermocouple at the tool pin-workpiece interface to gain better insight into the temperature distribution in the weld zone. Both thermocouples were placed in through holes right at the interface of tool and workpiece so that the sheaths are in contact with the workpiece material. This measurement strategy reveals dynamic temperature variations at the shoulder and the pin within a single rotation of the tool in real-time.Due to the thermocouple’s limited response time and inherent delays due to physical heat conduction, the temperature response is experiencing attenuation in magnitude and a phase lag. Heat transfer models were constructed to correct for this issue. It was found that the highest temperatures are between the advancing side and the trailing edge of the tool. Further work is needed to increase the accuracy of the correction. Experimental results show that the weld quality is sensitive to the measured interface temperatures, but that temperature is not the only factor influencing the weld quality.The dynamic temperature measurements obtained with the current system are of unmatched resolution, fast and reliable and are likely to be of interest for both fundamental studies and process control of FSW.Copyright