Kinya Aota

Development of friction stir spot welding using rotating tool without probe and its application to low-carbon steel plates

A friction stir spot welding process, in which a rotating tool without a probe was employed, was applied to a lap joint of low carbon steel plates with 0.5 mm thickness. In this process, the rotating tool of 3.6 mm diameter, rotating at 18,000 rpm, was plunged into the upper plate at a rate of 0.2 mm/s, and then kept at a maximum plunged depth of 0.05–0.25 mm for 0–1 s (dwell time). In the weld obtained by this process, a hole due to the impression of the plunged tool probe was not formed, although a slight depression by the tool plunging remained. At tool plunge depths of 0.05 mm or less, it was impossible to weld the plates. At tool plunge depths from 0.1 to 0.14 mm, joints were fractured at the interface in tensile test, and the failure load increased with tool plunge depth. At tool plunge depths from 0.16 to 0.22 mm, joints were fractured at an almost constant load along the periphery of the depression, leaving a part of the upper plate on the bottom plate surface. The maximum tensile failure load of 1.8 kN was obtained at a plunge depth of 0.2 mm. Based on the observation of the weld microstructure and measurement of the thermal cycle at various spots in the weld, controlling factors of the joint strength are discussed.

Friction stir spot welding of aluminium to steel by rotating tool without probe

A friction stir spot welding process, in which a rotating tool without a probe was employed, was applied to a lap joint of an aluminium plate to a low carbon steel plate. The thicknesses of both plates were 0.5 mm. In this process, the rotating tool of 5 mm diameter, rotating at 18,000 rpm, was plunged into the aluminium plate at a rate of 2 mm/s, and then kept at a maximum plunged depth of 0.05–0.35 mm for 0–2 s (dwell time). In the weld obtained by this process, a hole due to the impression of the penetrated tool probe was not formed, although a slight depression by the tool plunging remained. At tool plunge depths of 0.1 mm or over, it was possible to weld the two plates. The maximum tensile failure load of 454 N was obtained at a plunge depth of 0.1 mm and a dwell time of 1.5 s. Its joint was fractured at an almost constant load along the periphery of the depression, leaving a part of the aluminium plate on the steel plate surface. Based on the observation of the weld interface microstructure and metal flow of aluminium in the weld, controlling factors of the joint strength were discussed.

Metallurgical and Mechanical Properties of Friction Stir Welded Ultra Fine Grained Steel

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has been applied to ultra fine grained (UFG) steel which is the plane carbon steel with the average grain size of 1mm. The plates of 5mm thickness was successfully welded using pcBN tool (polycrystalline cubic boron nitride) and the metallurgical and mechanical properties of the joint were evaluated. In the stir zone, Bainite has been formed which shows the highest harness in the joint. On the other hand, grain growth is observed in the heat affected zone. The joint effect of 88% has been obtained for UFG steel by FSW process.

Friction stir welding of aluminium lap joint by tool without probe

A friction stir welding process, with a rotating tool without a probe, was employed and applied to a lap joint of aluminium plate. The thickness of the aluminium plates was 0.5 mm. New tool shapes were developed. The tops of the tool were dome shaped. In this process, the rotating tool was plunged into the aluminium plate. The tool-rotating axis was vertical to the specimen surface, and then moved in the welding direction at a speed of 20 mm/s. Tool rotation speed was 18,000 rpm. At tool plunge depths of 0.1 mm or over, it was possible to weld the two plates. At tool plunge depth of 0.1 mm, its joint was fractured at the weld interface. At tool plunge depth of 0.2 mm or over, the joints were fractured at the stir zone of the upper plate or the heat affected zone of the lower plate. Based on observation of the hardness profiles and the thickness change of the weld area, controlling factors of the joint strength are discussed.

Basic study of friction stir welding tool life-investigation for increase of FSW reliability

FSW was invented at TWI in England in 1993. Our company reviewed the superior characteristics of FSW just after this and soon started working on joint research and has applied it to the manufacture of double skin body structures for railroad cars made with aluminum alloys. In this report, we describe the problems we have encountered in conjunction with application of FSW products, as well as methods for resolving these problems and, in particular, ensuring the reliability of a welded area with emphasis on our position regarding FSW tool life. Incidentally, there are a lot of double skin structures for railroad cars made with 6N01 alloy, which has superior extrudability, and therefore, we would like to state up front that this report is primarily regarding 6N01 alloy and is therefore knowledge regarding a very limited range of materials and construction.