Condition monitoring of first mode of metal transfer in friction stir welding by image processing techniques

Abstract

This paper discusses a method for online condition monitoring of the friction stir welding (FSW) process using image processing techniques. Many FSW experiments are carried out at different process parameters and images of the first mode of the weld zone are captured. They are subsequently digitally processed and analysed using MATLAB to study the variations in the quality of weld, subjected to various conditions such as pin failure, and pin depth. This facilitates development of a methodology for online condition monitoring.