Modelling of friction stir spot welding
type: CreativeWork
description: Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a solid-state welding process which is especially useful for joining precipitation-hardened aluminium alloys that undergo adverse property changes during fusion welding. It also has potential as an effective method for solid-state joining of dissimilar alloys. In FSSW, heat generation and plastic flow are strongly linked, and the scale of the process in time and space is such that it is difficult to separate and control the influence of all the relevant input parameters. The use of modelling is well-established in the field of welding research, and this thesis presents an analysis of the thermal and mechanical aspects of FSSW, principally using the finite element (FE) technique. Firstly, a thermal FE model is shown, which is subsequently validated by reference to experimental temperature data in both aluminium-to-aluminium and aluminium-to-steel welds. Correlations between high-quality welds and temperature fields are established, and predictions are made for peak temperatures reached under novel welding conditions. Deformation and heating are strongly linked in FSSW, but existing modelling tools are poorly suited to modelling flow processes in the conditions extant in FSSW. This thesis discusses the development and optimisation of two novel techniques to overcome the limitations of current approaches. The first of these uses greatly simplified constitutive behaviour to convert the problem into one defined purely by kinematics. In doing so, the boundary conditions reduce to a small number of assumptions about the contact conditions between weld material and tool, and the model calculation time is very rapid. This model is used to investigate changes in the slip condition at the tool to workpiece interface without an explicit statement of the friction law. Marker experiments are presented which use dissimilar composition but similar strength alloys to visualise flow patterns. The layering behaviour and surface patterns observed in…
abstract: Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a solid-state welding process which is especially useful for joining precipitation-hardened aluminium alloys that undergo adverse property changes during fusion welding. It also has potential as an effective method for solid-state joining of dissimilar alloys. In FSSW, heat generation and plastic flow are strongly linked, and the scale of the process in time and space is such that it is difficult to separate and control the influence of all the relevant input parameters. The use of modelling is well-established in the field of welding research, and this thesis presents an analysis of the thermal and mechanical aspects of FSSW, principally using the finite element (FE) technique. Firstly, a thermal FE model is shown, which is subsequently validated by reference to experimental temperature data in both aluminium-to-aluminium and aluminium-to-steel welds. Correlations between high-quality welds and temperature fields are established, and predictions are made for peak temperatures reached under novel welding conditions. Deformation and heating are strongly linked in FSSW, but existing modelling tools are poorly suited to modelling flow processes in the conditions extant in FSSW. This thesis discusses the development and optimisation of two novel techniques to overcome the limitations of current approaches. The first of these uses greatly simplified constitutive behaviour to convert the problem into one defined purely by kinematics. In doing so, the boundary conditions reduce to a small number of assumptions about the contact conditions between weld material and tool, and the model calculation time is very rapid. This model is used to investigate changes in the slip condition at the tool to workpiece interface without an explicit statement of the friction law. Marker experiments are presented which use dissimilar composition but similar strength alloys to visualise flow patterns. The layering behaviour and surface patterns observed in…
author: Reilly, Aidan
language: en
keywords: friction, welding, numerical modelling, fssw, fsw, friction stir spot welding, modelling, friction stir welding, finite element, FE, FEA, sequential small-strain analysis, kinematic, SSsA
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/07934d58-0cb6-47e1-842c-d086a5415178/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2013-07-09
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:32Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.14055