Abstract
Friction stir welding is a promising solid-state welding technique. However, the issue of tool wear and break restricts its wider industrial application. To avoid the tool wear and break occurring in conventional friction stir welding (FSW), a new modification of the FSW process using a tool made by the identical material as the workpiece has been developed and conducted on pure aluminum. We named this process as Vortex-FSW (VFSW) because it depends on a vortex material flow to realize the welding and joining. The weld macro- and micro-structures are like that in conventional FSW. However, the tool exit-hole in conventional FSW is replaced by a lug boss. The mechanical properties are also equivalent to that in conventional FSW. The principle of this new process is introduced in this paper.
Highlights
The current welding technologies based on friction generally utilize the friction between the workpieces (such as rotary friction welding, and linear friction welding) [1] or between workpiece and tool (such as friction stir welding) [2,3,4,5] to generate heat to soften the material and form plastic material flow
The current welding technologies based on friction generally utilize the friction between the workpieces [1] or between workpiece and tool [2,3,4,5] to generate heat to soften the material and form plastic material flow
At the end of the weld, a lug boss takes the place of the keyhole which inherently exists in the conventional friction stir welding (FSW) [6]
Summary
The current welding technologies based on friction generally utilize the friction between the workpieces (such as rotary friction welding, and linear friction welding) [1] or between workpiece and tool (such as friction stir welding) [2,3,4,5] to generate heat to soften the material and form plastic material flow. Liu et al [18] reported that there exists a rotational flow zone around the tool in conventional FSW.
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