Welding International

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Friction stir welding (FSW) process

T Fukuda

To cite this article: T Fukuda (2001) Friction stir welding (FSW) process, Welding International,
15:8, 611-615, DOI: 10.1080/09507110109549412

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09507110109549412

Published online: 09 Dec 2009.

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Welding International 2001 15 (8) 611-615
Selected from Journal of Japan Welding Society 2000 69 (7) 6-10; Reference JJ/00/7/6; Translation 2785

Friction stir welding (FSW) process

T FUKUDA
TWI Japan/UK Dodwell

Principles and characteristics of friction stir conditions are kept confidential as an industrial secret by
welding the companies using this process.
Using aluminium butt welding as an example, the FSW
Principles of friction stir welding process will be explained below and a cross section of an
Rotating friction welding is representative of friction FSW weld joint is shown in Fig. 2. Both materials are
welding processes which make use of the friction heat clamped together firmly onto a table so that they will not
generated from rubbing two objects against each other. In be separated when the probe is pushed into them. The
recent years, friction processes have been the focus of a probe, which is a part of the rotating tool, is pressed in
variety of application and development schemes, among until it touches the joining line of the materials and the
which is the friction stir welding process, the theme of this shoulder touches the materials which are softened owing
paper, which drew most attention in the 1990's. The to the pressure friction heat. The temperature at the joint
friction stir welding process (abbreviated as FSW from
now on) derived from friction welding is a fairly new Sufficient downward force to
maintain registered contact
unique friction solid-phase welding method which was
made public in 1991 by TWI, and has been granted an
International Patent. This process can be applied to
metallic as well as non-metallic materials, but increasing- Advancing
of weld
side

ly, studies of applications have been centred on alumin- Shoulder Leading edge
of the rotating
ium which has been attracting a high demand for the tool
development of welding technology. For the time being,
target combinations of materials tested for the applica-
tions of this process are in principle the ones subjected to
the rotating friction welding process. At present, apart
Probe
from aluminium, this process has been found to be
Trailing edge
applicable not only to fairly soft metals such as copper, the rotating tool of
Retreating side of weld
magnesium, titanium, zinc and lead but also different
metal alloys made from these metals, casting and casting
alloys and plastic materials. Recently, the feasibility of
applying the process to ferrous materials is in sight and
much greater opportunities are opening up in the devel-
opment of new products, new designs, production tech-
nology and other fields of special applications. The FSW
process appears to be very simple as shown in Fig. 1, but
there are many features such as transitional phenomena
which need to be made clear in future studies. The TrsBng «d0* Ot th«ratUinetod
(l I » * pk»t« «Will
principle of the process can be roughly explained: As the
probe of a special tool comprised of the probe and the
shoulder pushes into the butted faying surface, friction
heat is generated and maintained, hence inducing the
material to be softened when the tool is moved along the
faying surface. Accordingly, besides tight clamping of the
members to be welded, the key to success is to select the
optimum conditions for the shape, angle and the rotation
frequency of the special tool, and the power system such as
the sliding speed of the tool. Although welding conditions
for each case differ greatly according to the kind of alloy,
sheet thickness and shape of the joint, tolerance in the
range of conditions is generally greater with materials PUnvtaf

which are easy to extrusion mould. Detailed welding 1 The principles of FSW
612 Fukuda

Table 1 The main FSW machines owned by TWI

Work piece
Machine type Thickness (mm) Speed m/min L x W (m)

FW22 3-15 1.2 3.4x4

FW21 3-15 1.0 2 x 1.2
FW14 5-50 (100) 1.0
2 Cross section displaying typical onion rings FW20 1.2-12 2.6 max 15000 rpm
FW16 Transportable machine for demonstration
CRC Portable and semi-Robotized

width of tool shoulder shown in Fig. 3 to be wide at the surface and taper down
gradually towards the thickness direction. The weld
nugget is schematically made up of about 4 regions and a
typical example of its structure displays a geometry called
Onion Ring. (A) unaffected base material, (B) heat-
affected zone, (C) region with partial re-crystallisation
not to scale
A Unaffected material owing to thermo-mechanical influence, and which may
B Thermally affected
C Thermo-mechanically affected (plastically deformed.
have the lowest strength according to kinds of alloys, and
with some areas of partial recrystallisation) (D) re-crystallised area that is weld nugget.
D Dynamically recrystallised
With respect to machines for the FSW process, many
larger companies have made their own research and
3 Cross-sectional ¡mage of FSW weld joint
developed their own machines in-house according to the
special requirements of their products. The only FSW
reaches 80% of the melting point. The material, softened machine available in the market is that of ESAB Co. in
sufficiently by the friction heat, flows around the probe Sweden but some other machinery manufacturers are
because of the fluid pressure effect created by the shape of planning to join in the market. The main FSW machines
the probe and the drive of the tool. That is, visually, the owned by TWI are shown in Table 1.
materials in front of the probe moves to its back. The tool
is comprised of a probe of a specially designed shape and a
shoulder, and friction heat is generated from the mutual
Mechanical properties of the joint
action between the tool and the material. The shoulder
which rotates while being in contact with the members has The reliability of the joint is key to spreading the
two roles, one preventing the softened material from application of the FSW process. Although the number of
flying out and the other generating and maintaining the samples so far tested is limited, FSW welded alloys of
friction heat by mutual action with the material, hence various kinds showed much better results than those
containing most of the generated heat. Penetration depth obtained in other fusion welding methods, in a variety of
almost coincides with the length of the probe and the mechanical tests for tensile, 180 degree bending, fatigue
tolerance for the gap between the members butted and so on. What should be particularly noted is the fatigue
together is assumed to be about 10% of the sheet strength of the weld. With several kinds of aluminium
thickness. During the process of friction and stirring, the materials, it was suggested to have the strength nearly as
surface oxide of the members to be welded together is high as that of the base metal. This is expected to enable a
presumed to be destroyed into fine pieces and included large reduction in the sheet thickness when designing in
into the weldment. This makes it unnecessary to apply fields such as automobiles, ships, bridges and aerospace.
pre-treatment in the FSW method. The heat-affected zone Examples of mechanical properties with some aluminium
observed in the cross sectional surface of the member is alloys are shown in Table 2.

Table 2 Examples of the mechanical properties for aluminium alloys

0.2% Proof stress Maximum tensile

Alloy Test location M Pa MPa Elongation % Fracture location

2014-T6 Weld 247 378 6.5 HAZ-P

Parent 423 474 12.5 PM
2219-T87 Weld - 305 8 HAZ-P
Parent - 457 14 PM
5083-O Weld 142 299 23 PM
Parent 148 298 23.5 PM
5083-H321 Weld 153 305 22.5 HAZ-W
Parent 249 336 16.5 PM
7075-T7351 Weld 208 384 5.5 HAZ-P
Parent 476 548 13 PM
 Principles of friction stir welding 613

(00

o
O
- O

s.
• I
ff> IQ O

100 :
•
\

A) Oval shape bi Paddle »hap» cl fte-«ntr»nt d) changing spiral

50
"a 5083 plate

"• 5083 welded European recommendations

(ECCS class B3) 6 Ideas for a variety of tools for thick sheets
-o 2014 plate

• 2014 welded
1
20
10' 10 s 10 s 10 7 3*107
Endurance, cycles application are rapidly widening. Main characteristics of
the FSW process are as follows.
4 Fatigue strength vs design curve
• Since it is solid phase welding without fusion, the alloy
elements of the materials are not easily lost and hence
the weld joint has nearly the same strength as the base
metal.
• The degree of freedom in combining different materials
is high and hence has enhanced the possibility of
TV welding materials which have been regarded as being
difficult to weld.
5 Various shapes of FSW welds
• Automated monitoring is feasible in FSW as in machin-
ing and so the result is not easily affected by the skills of
the operator.
Tensile strength is generally superior" to that with fusion • Present approximate service speed is 1-2 m/min (which
welding but the degree of thermal influence differs accord- differs greatly according to conditions), not very fast,
ing to the kinds of thermally refined structures. Mechan- but the pre- and post-treatment of the faying surfaces
ical effects on thermally refined heat treated alloys such as and re-execution are hardly required.
6082-T6 alloy are complex and require further analysis • Shielding gas and welding rod/filler are basically unnec-
and study. essary.
In the 180° bending test, fracture normally occurs in • Owing to small heat input, warping from welding is very
areas other than at weld joint. little and also the top and back surfaces after FSW are
FCGR (Fatigue crack growth rate) is assumed to be extremely smooth.
about the same or slightly lower at the weld joint and heat • The FSW method does not induce spatter and weld gas
affected zone than that at the base metal. production and it does not require much input of
Fracture strength: There is little published data but, as energy. Hence it is environmentally friendly.
an example, with Al 2195 T8, it is assumed to be higher
than that in fusion welding.
Corrosion resistance is assumed to be as high as or Further tasks of the FSW method
higher than that by fusion welding. However, only a little Various tasks remain for research and development since
information has been published. FSW has a much shorter history than say, laser welding
Residual stress at the weld joint is considerably lower and is still in the initial stage despite the fact that service
than that of arc welding. applications have started. They are:
Forced cooling in FSW, thermal management, i.e.
forced cooling including underwater welding, creates a • Deeper understanding, and theoretical and academic
possibility to greatly contribute to the increase in welding clarification of the FSW process
speed, the minimisation of the HAZ, and the improve- • Building up data on aging, corrosion, mechanical and
ment in mechanical strength (see Fig. 4). kinetic properties
• Increase in joining speed, simplification of workpiece
fixing, improvement of the tool for handling keyhole,
The characteristics of FSW
gap, eta, treatment of a hole left at the end, and so on
Owing to the above described basic principle, the FSW • Increase in the degree of freedom and robotisation
method is most suitable for linear butt or lap joint welding • Management and simplification of preheating and heat
of continuous materials (see Fig. 5). In fact, its service input
application has started in the fields where its characteristi- • Joining of dissimilar materials whose combinations are
cs can be fully exploited. Recent development is progress- more difficult to weld
ing into the welding of the circumference, cylinders, Research and development for the above tasks are now in
curvilinear, three-dimensional objects and objects which progress. Some examples of a variety of tools for thick
require finer executing movements. Hence the fields for its sheets under development are shown in Fig. 6 and 7.
614 Fukuda

JE.

LJ
7 Concept for a bobbin tool

State of FSW application in the West

The possibility of the fields where FSW could be applied 8 An example of a tank 36BA120U Lockheed
by making use of the above described characteristics
ranges widely, i.e. the fields such as ocean development,
petroleum chemistry, electric and mechanical sectors,
electric power stations, railways, nuclear power, aero- • Application to the middle part of the body of the Delta
space, automobile, machine tools and metal materials. II rocket
The application started in the areas of linear butt welding
• Rocket fuel tank: With space development as the
of continuous materials where the characteristics of FSW
background, the FSW process is planned to be em-
are used most effectively, and it has developed to the fields
ployed shortly for the Delta IV rocket, space.shuttles
which require the welding of circumference, cylinders,
and so on (see Fig. 8). It is claimed that the results of the
curvilinear joints, three-dimensional joints. The fact that
tests made so far show, compared with conventional
the application of FSW has started in such a short time of
processes, the strength increases by 30%-50%, the
only 8-9 years since its development tells how much
occurrence of defects decreases to nearly one-tenth and
potential it has of leading to a great volume of applica-
the production cost is reduced by 60%.
tions and that it is waiting for further development in
• Doors for landing devices: With A17000 group, a large
various areas. Main reasons for applying FSW are as
number of rivets are cut down.
follows.
• Fairing for the rudders of fighter aircraft: T joints
• Products can become lighter because of the improve- • Parts of wings and bodies of large aircraft: At present,
ment in the mechanical strength of the weld joint studies are progressing about the fatigue strength, aging
• The productivity can be improved owing to the reduc- corrosion, etc. at the weld joint.
tion in the processes of inspection, post-treatment,
re-welding, etc., and accordingly the total costs can be Automobiles: In the automobile field where mass-
reduced. production is assumed, the development of applications
• The combinations of materials which have been difficult has so far been conducted confidentially but the informa-
to weld can be joined. tion is gradually being published. Application to the cars
• New investment on extrusion dies can be replaced by produced in small numbers and their components is
the application of FSW joining. thought to be starting.
• The appearance of the products can be improved owing • Aluminium wheels: Disks and rims
to less warping • Intake manifold: Pipes and die-cast
• Hydraulic lift panel for lorries
Examples of applications • Engine support/mount: Prototype
• Suspension arm: To be mounted on actual cars in
The application of the new process, FSW, is being carried Europe soon
out confidentially to adjust to each company's product • Tailored blank: Under development to correspond to
requirements. For this reason, the examples introduced up to 1:2 in sheet thickness difference
here are the ones extracted from published materials,
including materials from TWI, the FSW International Marine and other fields
Symposium and PR materials from the companies con-
cerned.' • High speed aluminium vessels: as a pre-process for
Aerospace: A large amount of investment is being made, explosive forming of a bow part of a vessel (Australian
expecting a huge economical effect to be brought about shipbuilding company)
from an increase in pay-load which will be induced by • Decks and bulkheads: Joining extrusion moulded mem-
enabling materials to become thinner and lighter owing to bers with T joints
improvement in the strength of the weld joint. It seems • Cooling panels for refrigerating machines for fishing
that research and development is targeting individual vessels: The first application of the FSW process
components which are regarded as being easier to apply • Roofs, panels, boxes for control devices, etc. for railway
FSW to. carriages (see Fig. 9 and 10)
 Principles of friction stir welding 615

Technological transfer of the FSW

TWI owns the international patent on the FSW process.
• Initial patent filed in the UK on 6 Dec, 1991. Granted as
US5, 460. 317 & EP0 615 480.
• Further patent filed by Norsk Hydro in Norway on 28
March, 1994. Hydro patent assigned to TWI on 11 July,
1996. Granted as EP 0 752 926, etc.
Therefore the companies which will carry out research
and development as well as production by using the FSW
method need to acquire the licence (the right to use and
implement) from TWI. At present, about 50 companies
and organisations are using the FSW patent. The present
9 Roof section of a railway carriage licence fee is annually £24,000 per company (17,500
pounds for a TWI member). A separate specific contract is
made with the manufacturers of FSW machines. With
respect to the development of implementing techniques
and application of FSW, TWI provides, for its members,
the following multi-client projects (GSP) in addition to
individually entrusted research and development.
• GSP 5651: Complete volumes for starting to employ the
FSW method, covering standard welding conditions
required to apply the FSW to various aluminium alloys
and including the details of tools, welding speed, data
on mechanical strength, weld shapes combination of
different materials.
• GP/SID/5701: Studies on mechanical properties, aging
and corrosion in the FSW of aluminium alloys.
• GSP 5692: FSW application to automobile compo-
nents, including application to tailored blank material,
development of bobbin tools, application to various
10 Part of a panel
shapes, economical analysis, etc.
• GP/EFP/12030: Research and development for appli-
cation to transport machines and equipment for which
new joint shapes and designs are investigated to employ
• Ultra-precision housing for the core part of a special the FSW method.
laser system • GSP1150-1: Basic research and development for FSW
• Deck for helicopters, bridges, outer walls of buildings, welding conditions for ferrous materials like those for
curtain walls, motor housing aluminium alloys
• GSP 5689: FSW application to titanium
With the development of FSW machines, the challenge
is continuing to more difficult applications such as
At the end
repairing the core facilities of nuclear power stations, and
fuller-scale application to fields such as aerospace and TWI (contract research institute on joining, welding and
automobiles. surface reforming) in Cambridge, U.K., is the only
Incidentally, the author visited Marine Aluminium Co. contract research organisation which deals with technolo-
in Norway in March last year. The company is regarded gies from microwelding, welding of marine structures to
as the first company to introduce the service application joining, cutting and surface reforming of metal and
of FSW, and at present it is employing FSW in diversified non-metal materials, development of joining and welding
aluminium products such as large components, decks and machines and devices, joining and welding software. It is
heliports. The total execution length of FSW was over equipped to provide its opinions on difficult problems of
100 Km at the time of my visit, and is now considered to welding technology and also to exchange ideas.
have reached several more 10's of Km. The tools were said Tel: 03-5826-7375, E-mail: dodwell/dl.dion.ne.jp
to be changed at every 100 m, playing safe. URL: http://www.twi.co.uk