Abstract
Refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW) is a solid state joining technology that has the potential to replace processes such as the open-air fusion bonding technique and rivet technology in aerospace applications. Selection of proper RFSSW parameters is a crucial task which is important to ensure the mechanical strength of the joint. The aim of this paper is to undertake numerical modelling of the RFSSW process to understand the physics of the welding process, which involves large deformations, complex contact conditions and steep temperature gradients. Three-dimensional fully coupled thermo-mechanical models of RFSSW joints between Alclad 7075-T6 aluminium alloy sheets have been built in the finite-element-based program Simufact Forming. The simulation results included the temperature distribution and the stress and strain distributions in the overlap joint. The results of numerical computations have been compared with experimental ones. The numerical model was able to predict the mechanics of material flow during the joining of sheets of Alclad aluminium alloys using RFSSW. The predictions of the temperature gradient in the weld zone were in good agreement with the temperature measured experimentally. The numerical models that have been built are capable of simulating RFSSW to reduce the number of experiments required to set optimal welding parameters.
Highlights
Refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW) is a solid-state joining technology which was developed in Germany in 2002 by GKSS-GmbH [1] as a variety of conventional friction stir spot welding (FSSW)
A literature review of existing published research on the RFSSW topic revealed that most research was focused on experimental analysis of this process
This paper only presents the possible applications of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method in simulating
Summary
Refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW) is a solid-state joining technology which was developed in Germany in 2002 by GKSS-GmbH [1] as a variety of conventional friction stir spot welding (FSSW). In RFSSW technology, the rotational tool consists of an external stationary holder and rotary elements (pin and sleeve) designed to plasticise the material to be joined using friction. The construction of the tool allows independent vertical movement of the pin and sleeve. This allows the production of spot welds without an exit hole. The basic advantage of RFSSW is to replace. An understanding of the physical and mechanical aspects of material flow in RFSSW could help to set optimal welding parameters which improve weld strength. A literature review of existing published research on the RFSSW topic revealed that most research was focused on experimental analysis of this process
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