A Study of Thermal Analysis in Friction Stirs Welding Using Finite Element Analysis

Abstract

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a welding method developed by The Welding Institute (TWI) in England. It is a new concept in solid phase friction stir welding especially suitable for the welding of aluminum and its alloys and offers interesting aspects and can in many cases replace the usual arc welding processes with an advantage. The welding equipment consists of a tool that rotates and moves over the joint of two restrained sheets 2. The joint is produced by the frictional heating of the two sheets, resulting in a pasty/viscous behavior of the material and the corresponding flow between the sheets to be joined. Numerical modeling of the process makes it possible to predict behavior without the need for specific tests, thus speeding up the design process, lowering costs, and optimizing the technological variables to be used 3, 4. In this work, the friction stir welding process is modeled using a general-purpose finite element program, reproducing the heat map and the material flow distribution. Experimental developments are presented with temperature distribution measurements obtained by thermography and their comparative analysis with the numerical results.