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 International Journal of Review in Life Sciences
Research Paper
ISSN: 2231-2935
Volume 5 (2015), Issue 3 (Jul-Sep), Pages 72-75
www.ijrls.com

Friction Stir Welding

Mohammad Amin Bozorgzadeh*

Department of Materials, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia
Mohd Hasbullah Idris
Department of Materials, Manufacturing and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81310, Malaysia

Abstract
Friction Stir Welding is a novel solid-state joining process that is both efficient, environmental friendly and
versatile in its applications. Counted as one of the most significant developments in this age, Friction Stir
Welding is used in the joining of high strength alloys which present difficulties with the conventional fusion
techniques. As one most significant developments as far as metal joining is concerned, Friction Stir Welding is a
green technology that requires less energy as compared to conventional welding methods; no flux or gas is
required hence making the Friction Stir Welding process environmentally safe. Being an efficient method,
Friction Stir Welding process does not involve the use of any filler metal hence any alloy can be joined without
consideration of compatibility of composition as opposed to conventional welding methods where compatibility
is an issue. This paper highlights the fundamentals of Friction Stir Welding and gives a literature review of
studies that have been conducted to improve this technique with a focus on dissimilar materials from brass, steel
to polymers.

Keywords: Friction Stir Welding, Welding, Dissimilar Materials


Corresponding Author
Introduction
Friction Stir Welding can be defined as a solid-
state welding process that is applied in welding
materials that are similar and dissimilar. This
process is advantageous because it leads to sound
welds and does not lead to complications including
cracking which is associated with fusion techniques
of welding. In order to commercialize the process
of friction stir welding, research must be carried
out for characterization and the establishment of
process windows. Hence, many researchers have
been inspired by this process to attempt joining
dissimilar materials (Rai, De, Bhadeshia &
DebRoy, 2011 ; Mubiaya & Akinlabi, 2013).
The researchers of the twenty-first century have
focused their attention to developing technologies
that are environmentally friendly and this includes
the Friction Stir Welding. The Friction Stir
Welding process is a technique of solid-state
joining that was invented by The Welding Institute
in 1991. It is a continuous process involving
plunging a portion a rotating tool that is specially
shaped between the butting faces of a joint. The
relative motion between the substrate and the tool
produces frictional heat creating a plasticized area
around the portion of the tool that has been
immersed (Thomas, 1991). This process employs a
non-consumable rotating tool which consists of a
pin that extends below a shoulder which is forced
into the adjacent mating edges (figure 1).
Figure 1: Friction Stir Welding process (Mubiaya
& Akinlabi, 2013)
The combination of the forging action, the stirring
action, and the heat input produce a flow in the
material which forms a solid-state weld. The joints
of the Friction Stir Welding have different parts as
highlighted in figure 2. These parts include the
unaffected material, the heat affected zone, the
weld nugget and the thermo-mechanically affected
zone. The Unaffected material is from the weld and
is the material that has not yet been deformed. On
the other hand, the heat-affected region is near the
weld center and the material in these region has
experienced the thermal cycle modifying its
microstructure and mechanical properties (Di
Paola, Falchero & Spigarelli, 2011). There is no
plastic deformation in the heat affected zone. The
thermo-mechanically affected zone is the part
where the Friction Stir Welding to has deformed
the material and where the heat has also affected
the material. The weld nugget refers to the area that
was initially occupied by the tool (Threadgill,
1997).
Figure 2: Cross-section of Friction Stir welded
material (Mubiaya & Akinlabi, 2013). A is the
unaffected material, B is the heat-affected zone, C
is the thermo-mechanically affected zone while D
is the weld nugget.
The simplistic concept behind Friction Stir
Welding is the insertion of a non-consumable
rotating tool that has a special design spin into
abutting edges of plates to be joined and then
transverse along the joint line.
Figure 3: The Friction Stir Welding Tool (Mubiaya
& Akinlabi, 2013).
This tool (figure 3) functions to heat the work
pieces and to move the material to produce the
joint. The heating comes about from the friction
between the work piece, the tool and the plastic
deformation of the work piece. The heating also
softens the materials located around the pin. The
tool rotation & translation consequently result in
the movement of the material from the front of the
pin to the back of the pin (Sahin, 2005). Hence,
during this process, a joint is formed in 'solid state'.
During the Friction Stir Welding process, the
material goes through intense plastic deformation
as a result of the elevated temperatures. This leads
to the production of a fine and equiaxed
crystallized grains (Jata & Semiatin, 2000). The
resulting fine microstructure has good mechanical
properties (Bisadi et al., 2013; Saedi, Abdollah-
zadeh & Sazgai, 2010).
Methodology
To investigate the researches that have been
conducted on Friction Stir Welding, a review of the
relevant literature was adopted. While Friction Stir
Welding offers more efficient and environmentally
friendly option compared to the conventional
fusion techniques, efforts have been directed to
improving this technique. This paper reviews
published works of researchers whose research
efforts was aimed at increasing the applicability of
Friction Stir Welding of dissimilar material.
Results
Meran (2006) investigated the joint properties of
plates made of brass by friction stir welding. The
challenge in fusion welding of brasses is no
dispute. The problem arises from the evaporation
of zinc during the process of fusion welding.
Meran conducted an experimental study with a
view of finding a solution to this problem. His
research finding indicated that friction stir welding
is the solution, especially when dealing with brass
plates of 3 mm thickness. His conclusion was that
evaporation of copper and zinc, that makes the
welding process difficult does not occur in friction
stir welding. This is because of the melting point of
the metals is not reached during the welding
process.
Li et al. (2009) introduced electric resistance in
Friction welding. This is a technique that involves
combining electrical resistance with friction
welding to increase the joint quality & to save
energy. In their work, Li et al. (2009) used
martensitic stainless steel and austenitic stainless
steel valve rods (4mm diameter) as base metals.
Their findings indicated that electrical resistance
friction welding is applicable in joining thin rods in
a remarkably short period of time which is a
challenge in field welding alone. As such, electrical
resistance heat aided friction welding is favorable
for joining rods that are 4mm in diameter.
Dashatan et al. (2012) conducted a study on the
feasibility of Friction Stir Spot Welding on two
different polymers namely acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene and polymethyl methacrylate In their study,
Dashatan et al. (2012) used an improved tool
having two additional plates in making lap joint
welded samples. The welding parameters on the
mechanical properties of the samples were also
determined. The parameters considered include
tool plunge rate, tool rotational speed & the dwell
time. To obtain the effect of the parameters on the
weld strength the signal-to-noise ratio and the
variance analysis was critical. The findings showed
that welding acrylonitrile butadiene styrene to
polymethyl methacrylate was feasible and that the
process parameters had a significant influence on
the strength of the weld. An essential process
parameter was found to be the tool plunge rate. It
was shown that the weld strength was increased by
reducing the plunge rate while increased dwell time
enhanced the weld strength. For the parameter
involving the tool rotation, it was observed that
there was a specific optimum rotational speed
where the strength of the weld reached a maximum
value.
Discussion
The challenge arising from the fusion of brass
involving the evaporation of zinc during the
welding process was highlighted. It was observed
that this was a challenge when the traditional
fusion methods were used. However, this problem
was not encountered when Friction Stir Welding
was used because this technique does not employ
high temperature hence the melting point of the
metals is not reached during the welding process
(Meran, 2006). Apart from saving the energy
required for welding material, Friction Stir
Welding also overcomes the problem of
evaporation encountered during welding.
While Friction Stir Welding prevents an efficient
and environmentally safe technique compared to
the conventional techniques (Mishar, 2005), it is
important that efforts be made to improve to
improve the quality of the joints. it is the duty of
researchers to undertake such efforts. Hence, when
coupled with friction welding, the electrical
resistance was found to improve the quality of the
joint (Li et al., 2009).
Among the research efforts directed at this
technique, researchers are tasked with
recommending measures to increase the
applicability of the Friction Stir Welding technique.
Hence, successful research efforts have shown that
Friction Stir Welding could also be applied to
polymers including acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
and polymethyl methacrylate (Dashatan et al.,
2012). Additionally research has shown that some
process parameters can be manipulated in order to
optimize the properties of the resulting welds.
These properties include the tool plunge rate, dwell
time and the tool rotation speed. A reduction of the
plunge rate and the increase in dwell time was
found to enhance the weld strength. On the other
hand, a particular optimum tool rotation speed was
found to lead to the maximum weld strength.
Conclusion
Friction Stir Welding offers a cheap, efficient,
versatile and environmentally friendly option when
compared to the conventional fusion techniques of
welding. This paper has highlighted the mechanism
of this technique but also the critical research
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its application. Apart from saving the energy and Processing. Materails Science and
required for welding material, Friction Stir Engineering 50, 1-78.
Welding also overcomes the problem of Mubiaya, M. P. & Akinlabi, E. T. (2013). Friction
evaporation encountered during welding (Meran, Stir Welding of Dissimilar Materials
2006). between Aluminium Alloys and Copper.
Friction Stir Welding overcomes the problem of World Congress on Engineering, 3, 1-7.
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that are well below the melting point of copper and Rai, R. De, A. Bhadeshia, H. & DebRoy, T. (2011).
zinc. Incorporating the component of electrical Review: friction stir welding tools.
resistance will improve the quality of joints (Li et Science and Technology of Welding and
al., 2009). Friction Stir Welding is feasible with Joining, 16(4), 325- 342.
polymers as was observed for acrylonitrile Sahin, M. (2005). Joining with friction welding of
butadiene styrene and polymethyl methacrylate high-speed steel and medium-carbon steel,
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