N. Dialami

A Computational Model for the Numerical Simulation of FSW Processes

In this paper a computational model for the numerical simulation of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) processes is presented. FSW is a new method of welding in solid state in which a shouldered tool with a profile probe is rotated and slowly plunged into the joint line between two pieces of sheet or plate material which are butted together. Once the probe has been completely inserted, it is moved with a small tilt angle in the welding direction. Here a quasi‐static, thermal transient, mixed multiscale stabilized Eulerian formulation is used. Norton‐Hoff and Sheppard‐Wright rigid thermo‐viscoplastic material models have been considered. A staggered solution algorithm is defined such that for any time step, the mechanical problem is solved at constant temperature and then the thermal problem is solved keeping constant the mechanical variables. A pressure multiscale stabilized mixed linear velocity/linear pressure finite element interpolation formulation is used to solve the mechanical problem and a convection mul...

A novel stress-accurate FE technology for highly non-linear analysis with incompressibility constraint: application to the numerical simulation of the FSW process

In this work a novel finite element technology based on a three-field mixed formulation is presented. The Variational Multi Scale (VMS) method is used to circumvent the LBB stability condition allowing the use of linear piece-wise interpolations for displacement, stress and pressure fields, respectively. The result is an enhanced stress field approximation which enables for stress-accurate results in nonlinear computational mechanics. The use of an independent nodal variable for the pressure field allows for an adhoc treatment of the incompressibility constraint. This is a mandatory requirement due to the isochoric nature of the plastic strain in metal forming processes. The highly non-linear stress field typically encountered in the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process is used as an example to show the performance of this new FE technology. The numerical simulation of the FSW process is tackled by means of an Arbitrary-Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation. The computational domain is split into three different zones: the work.piece (defined by a rigid visco-plastic behaviour in the Eulerian framework), the pin (within the Lagrangian framework) and finally the stirzone (ALE formulation). A fully coupled thermo-mechanical analysis is introduced showing the heat fluxes generated by the plastic dissipation in the stir-zone (Sheppard rigid-viscoplastic constitutive model) as well as the frictional dissipation at the contact interface (Norton frictional contact model). Finally, tracers have been implemented to show the material flow around the pin allowing a better understanding of the welding mechanism. Numerical results are compared with experimental evidence.

3D numerical models of FSW processes with non-cylindrical pin

Abstract Friction stir welding (FSW) process is a relatively recent welding process (patented in 1991). FSW is a solid-state joining process during which materials to be joined are not melted. During the FSW process, the behaviour of the material is at the interface between solid mechanics and fluid mechanics. In this paper, a 3D numerical model of the FSW process with a non-cylindrical tool based on a solid formulation is compared to another one based on a fluid formulation. Both models use advanced numerical techniques such as the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation, remeshing or the orthogonal sub-grid scale method. It is shown that these two formulations essentially deliver the same results.

3D numerical models using a fluid or a solid formulation of FSW processes with a non-cylindrical pin

Friction stir welding process is a relatively recent welding process (patented in 1991). FSW is a solid-state joining process during which materials to be joined are not melted. During the FSW process, the behaviour of the material is at the interface between solid mechanics and fluid mechanics. In this paper, a 3D numerical model of the FSW process with a non-cylindrical tool based on a solid formulation is compared to another one based on a fluid formulation. Both models use advanced numerical techniques such as the Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian formulation, remeshing or the Orthogonal Sub-Grid Scale method. It is shown that these two formulations essentially deliver the same results.

Numerical Simulation and Visualization of Material Flow in Friction Stir Welding via Particle Tracing

This work deals with the numerical simulation and material flow visualization of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) processes. The fourth order Runge- Kutta (RK4) integration method is used for the computation of particle trajectories. The particle tracing method is used to study the effect of input process parameters and pin shapes on the weld quality. The results show that the proposed method is suitable for the optimization of the FSW process.