Numerical modelling of thermal phenomenon in friction stir welding of aluminum plates

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process with potential to join materials that are non weldable by conventional fusion welding techniques. The study of heat transfer in FSW aids in the identification of defects like flash, inadequate heat input, poor material flow and mixing etc. In this paper, transient temperature distribution during FSW of aluminum alloy AA6061-T6 was simulated using finite element modelling. The model was used to predict the peak temperature and analyse the thermal history during FSW. The effect of process parameters namely tool rotation speed, tool traverse speed (welding speed), shoulder diameter and pin diameter of tool on the temperature distribution was investigated using two level factorial design. The model results were validated using the experimental results from the published literature. It was found that peak temperature was directly proportional to tool rotation speed and shoulder diameter and inversely proportional to tool traverse speed. The effect of pin diameter on peak temperature was found to be trivial. (paper)