Abstract
In friction stir welding (FSW) process, material flow is the most important aspect which affect the mechanical properties and microstructure of the welded joints. The good plasticized material flow reduces the formation of defects in the welded joint. In the present study, a three-dimensional volume of fluid (VOF) model based on ANSYS 14.5 FE software package was developed to predict the effect of traverse speeds (i.e. 90, 132 and 180 mm/min) on material flow behaviour during FSW of low carbon steel. Stain and temperature-dependent material properties were incorporated in developed material flow model. It is observed that the tool traverse speed strongly influenced the mixing of plasticized material in FSW of low carbon steel. The velocity of material flow was reduced as the distance increases away from the rotating axis of the probe or weld zone. The velocity vector of plasticized material was different at different planes throughout the welded joint. The material in plane nearby the top surface exhibited the maximum velocity than the plane close to the bottom surface. Experiment was also carried out using tungsten carbide tool to validate the material flow model. The transient thermal profile obtained from FE analysis and experiment was agreed properly well for peak temperature with a maximum percentage error of 6.72%.
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