INALCO 2007

October 24-26
Tokyo
Japan

Friction stir welding – process variants – an update

By W M Thomas, G Verhaeghe J Martin, D G Staines and C Stanhope

wayne.thomas@twi.co.uk
geert.verhaeghe@twi.co.uk
jonathan.martin@twi.co.uk
david.staines@twi.co.uk
chris.stanhope@twi.co.uk

TWI Ltd,,
Granta Park,
Great Abington,
Cambridge,CB21 6AL
United Kingdom

Abstract

Friction stir welding (FSW) is now extensively used in aluminium industries for joining and material
processing applications. The (FSW) technology has gained increasing interest and importance since
its invention at TWI almost 16 years ago. Recent applications are reviewed and some of the variants
of FSW are introduced. Furthermore, this paper describes some of the feasibility work that has been
carried out to develop self-reacting, (bobbin) stir welding for welding 25 mm thick aluminium alloy
material.

Keywords: Friction stir welding, aluminium alloys, butt welds, lap welds, bobbin stir welding,
and variant techniques.

Introduction

The systematic development of Friction stir welding (FSW) has led to a number of variants of the
technology. The following describes preliminary studies being carried out on Bobbin stir and Friction
stir-lock (1-7).

Currently, FSW is used particularly for joining aluminium alloys in shipbuilding, marine industries,
aerospace, automotive and the rail industry. Furthermore, the technology provides significant
advantage to the aluminium extrusion industry. Automotive suppliers are already using the technique
for wheel rims and suspension arms. Fuel tanks joined by FSW have already been launched in
spacecraft, and many other space advances are under development; commercial jets welded by
FSW have successfully completed flying trials, with high volume commercial production forthcoming.
Aluminium panels for high speed ferries and panels for rail vehicles are also produced. Furthermore,
friction stir welding is making an impact as a material processing technique.

Bobbin stir welding

Self-reacting FSW has been shown to be effective for joining hollow extrusions and lap joints.
Essentially there are two types of self-reacting techniques one known as the ‘bobbin tool’ (1) and
one known as the ‘adaptive technique’ (AdAPT) (5 and 7). The bobbin technique provides a fixed
gap between two shoulders, while the adaptive technique enables adjustment of the gap between
the shoulders during the welding operation. Figure 1 shows a fixed bobbin tool with three-sided
tapered probe.

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Figure1 Basic principle of the self-reacting ‘bobbin tool’

The self-reacting principle of the bobbin technique means that the normal down force required by
conventional FSW is reduced. The reactive forces within the weld are contained between the bobbin
shoulders (Figure 2).

Figure 2 Bobbin tool showing self-contained reactive forces

Trials in 25mm thick 6082-T6 aluminium using the above arrangement produced good quality welds.
Metallurgical sections showing the width of the larger diameter (drive side) shoulder and the smaller
opposed shoulder are shown in Figure 3a. Higher magnification sections are shown in figure 3 b and
c. Unlike single sided stir welds the weld profile revealed is narrower in the mid-thickness than at the
shoulder regions. Several flow features within the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) are
shown in Figure 3a.

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 Retreating side Advancing side

a)

b)

c)

Figure 3 Bobbin weld in 25 mm thick 6082-T6 aluminium

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a) Macrosection
b) Detail of retreating side at mid thickness (with hardness indents)
c) Detail advancing side at mid thickness (with hardness indents)

The hardness distribution across the transverse direction in the 25mm thick 6082-T6 aluminium weld
is shown in Figure 4. The minimum hardness is located in the HAZ near the interface between the
TMAZ and the HAZ.

Figure 4 Hardness survey mid-thickness in 25mm thick 6082-T6 aluminium weld

Three point bend testing confirmed that the weld provided good mechanical integrity (Fig 5).

Figure 5 Three point bend test on 25 mm thick 6082 T6 aluminium alloy bobbin weld

Bobbin type tools, are similar to other standard FSW tools that are driven from one side, in that the
tool behaves as a rotating cantilever. The use of a tapered probe provides for a more uniformly
stressed tool which displaces substantially less material during welding than a cylindrical pin type
probe. The use of a tapered probe for the bobbin tool enables a proportional reduction in the
diameter of the lower shoulder of the bobbin tool. A reduction in the lower shoulder diameter results
in lower frictional contact and resistance, therefore less torque and bending moment on the tool. The

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additional frictional contact provided by the lower shoulder and the absence of a backing anvil, which
acts as a heat sink, means that the operating temperature will be higher than that of similar
conventional welds (6). Tool design and process conditions will need to be adjusted to allow for the
welding travel speed to be increased benefiting from this additional heat generation.

Bobbin welds essentially eliminate partial penetration, lack of penetration or root defects. Preliminary
trials have shown that lap welds produced by the bobbin technique have less problems with the
adverse orientation of the notch at the edge of the weld. This work is continuing at TWI and will be
reported later.

Certain bobbin welds can reveal a mid-thickness ’blip’ (3). Non-optimised welds can also be
characterised by imperfections that appear in the mid-thickness of the weld on the advancing side
see Figure 6. The latter is usually caused by insufficient static and dynamic volume ratio of the probe
to provide an adequate flow path.

Figure 6 Non-optimised bobbin welds showing a mid-thickness ‘blip’ and imperfections. 25mm thick
6082-T6 aluminium alloy.

Double driven bobbin techniques (DDB)

For certain applications bobbin tools that are driven from both ends are envisaged (Figure 7a and b).

a)

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 b)

Figure 7 Bobbin tool

a) Driven from both ends
b) Driven from both ends and reactive force applied from both ends

With both sides of a fixed gap bobbin tool driven, the probe part of the tool no longer behaves as a
rotating cantilever. A bobbin tool that is driven from both ends and designed for uniform stress,
means that the aspect ratio of the probe can be altered (decrease in cross-section area and/or
increase in length) to provide an improved flow path. However, while the torque and bending forces
can be shared between both ends, the cross-section of the probe must be able to accommodate the
reactive forces that tend to push the shoulders apart.

Double driven and double adaptive bobbin techniques (DDDAB)

The concept of a double driven bobbin also includes for the use of a double adaptive technique
whereby both shoulders can be adjusted and a load applied from both ends see Figure 7b . The
latter arrangement will reduce the reactive forces transmitted through the probe and enable FSW to
tackle thicker plate material than currently possible. The (DDDAB) concept is expected to be able to
increase the welding speed significantly above that which is possible using conventional bobbin
techniques and may even provide welding speeds faster than conventional FSW for thick plate
welding.

The use of bobbin type techniques require run on and off regions for the tool to be exited from the
work piece. Bobbin techniques are best suited to flat two-dimensional applications but could be
developed for more complex shapes.

STIR-LOCK

Stir-lock is an ‘in-process’ forge/forming seam joining technique. One side of the Stir-lock joint
can be compared with riveting, whereby a rivet head is formed into a countersunk hole, for example,
to provide a mechanical interlock between two or more plates. The countersunk holes are made in
the comparatively harder sheet or plate material. However, the material that forms the interlock or
‘rivet head’ remains integrally part of the comparatively softer, more easily formable sheet or plate
material. The Stir-lock™ technique can also be applied to any perforated material. Figure 8 shows a
possible application for steel-to-aluminium joining in a T-joint configuration.

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Figure 8. Stir-lock technique for joining dissimilar metals

Demonstration examples of steel to aluminium transition joints are shown in Figures 9 and 10.

Aluminium

Steel

Figure 9. Double transition joint showing hole cross-section

a)

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b)

Figure 10 Single sided, Stir-lock™ aluminium-to-steel transition joint.

a) Friction treated near-side, continuous weld track;

b) Far-side showing aluminium extruded into re-entrant holes.

A simple tensile test on initial samples showed promising results and failed in the steel along the line
of holes. In this respect, the joint can be designed to fail in the steel or in the aluminium material,
depending on the hole pattern.

Composite Transition Joints Using Stir-Lock™

Transition joints between metals and composite materials are also becoming increasingly important
in the aerospace, marine and automotive industries. Using the Stir-lock™ technique, reinforcement
transition joints can also be produced for composite/metal applications. Figure 11 shows a stainless
steel mesh joined to aluminium sheets by friction. The mesh provides a skeleton reinforcement for
the application of resin based, polymer or rubber materials. This technique differs from other
transition jointing techniques in that the reinforcement itself can provide a degree of flexibility, which
can be important for certain applications e.g. for polyurethane or rubber-to-metal composite
applications, where appropriate compliance and flexibility is required.

Figure 11 Stainless steel mesh reinforcement joined to aluminium sheets by the Stir-lock™
technique

Peel tests were carried out on initial welded samples, which showed that the mesh was substantially
joined to the aluminium sheet material. Figures 12a and b show the mode of failure of the peel
tested sample in which both the aluminium sheet material and stainless steel mesh have undergone

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significant deformation prior to joint failure. The results of test show that the weld region remained
attached to one side of the sheet, and pulled material out of the other sheet.

a)

b)

Figure 12 Transition joint between stainless steel mesh and aluminium sheets

a) Weld region pull-out with embedded and part ruptured mesh

b) Weld region attached with some embedded mesh

Different forms of material, such as perforated metal or other non-solid forms could be welded as an
alternative to mesh. Furthermore, different steels, uncoated and coated could be welded, depending
on the application and other weldable materials could also be considered.

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

The basic principles and the continuing development of the FSW technology such as Bobbin stir,
and friction stir-lock have been described in the paper and the following concluding remarks are
made:

The bobbin technique shows promise for welding 25 mm thick aluminium plate material, using
extremely low axial load.

The bobbin technique provides full penetration welds free from lack of penetration and associated
root defects.

The investigation of transition joints has demonstrated the potential for using FSW for producing
mechanical joints between dissimilar metals and for providing skeletal reinforcement for composite
materials.

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Development work will continue at TWI to ensure these techniques can be used commercially.

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Acknowledgements

The Authors wish to thank C S Wiesner, I M Norris, S Smith, P J Oakley, P Evans, M J Russell, A
Duncan and D Saul for their support and contributions.

References

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'Improvements relating to friction welding'. European Patent Specification 0 615 480 B1.
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Tool,” Friction Stir Welding and Processing III, eds. K.V. Jata, M.W. Mahoney, R.S. Mishra, and
T.J. Lienert, TMS Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 2005, pp. 161-170.
3. Graham L D: ‘Low Cost Portable Fixed-Gap Bobbin Tool FSW Machine’, poster presentation at
the 86th Annual AWS Convention/2005 Welding Show.
4. Stol I and Cobes W.J: ‘Multi-shoulder fixed Bobbin tools for simultaneous friction stir welding of
multiple parallel walls between parts’. United States Patent US 7,198189B2, April 3rd 2007.
5. Thomas W M, Sylva G: ‘Developments in Friction Stir Welding’, ASM Materials Solutions 2003,
Conference & Exposition, 13-15 October 2003 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
6. Marie F, Allehaux D, and Esmiller B, ‘Development of the Bobbin Tool technique on various
aluminium alloys’ TWI’s Fifth International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding, Metz, France,
14-16 September 2004.
7. Sylva G, and Edwards R, ‘A Feasibility study for self Reacting Pin Tool Welding of Thin section
Aluminium’, TWI’s Fifth International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding, Metz, France, 14-16
September 2004.

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