A SEMINAR REPORT

on

LASER BEAM WELDING UNDER THE VACUUM OF HIGH GRADE

MATERIALS
Submitted in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
Mechanical Engineering
of

SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE

(Autonomous)
by

Y SAI BHARGAV 16121A03F9

Under the esteemed guidance of

Mrs. P.THEJASREE, M.Tech.,
Assistant Professor

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE

(AUTONOMOUS)

(Affiliated to J. N. T. University Anantapur,(Anantapuramu)

SreeSainath Nagar, Tirupati-517102(A.P)

2016 - 2020
 SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
(Autonomous)
A.Rangampet, Tirupati-517102
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the seminar report entitled “FRICTION STIR WELDING” is
the bonafied work done by Mr.Y.SAI BHARGAV(16121A03F9) of IIIB.Tech, II semester in
the Department of Mechanical Engineering, SreeVidyanikethan Engineering College
(Autonomous), A.Rangampet, Tirupati and is submitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University Anantapur, Anantapuramu in partial fulfillment of requirement of
the award of B.Tech Degree in Mechanical Engineering during the academic year 2018-
2019.

Seminar GuideSeminar In-charge HOD, ME

 SREE VIDYANIKETHAN ENGINEERING COLLEGE
(Autonomous)
A.Rangampet, Tirupati-517102(A.P)

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the work described in seminar report entitled “FRICTION STIR
WELDING” which is submitted by me has not been submitted to any other courses or
University for award of any Degree.

Y.SAI BHARGAV
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express our deep sense of gratitude, appreciation and indebtedness to my seminar guide

Ms.P.Thejasree, assistant professor, Dept of Mechanical Engineering for her valuable guidance.

her sincere interest, support and constant encouragement during the seminar preparation & report

have helped me in completing this seminar report.

I wish to express my deepest gratitude and thanks to Dr.K.C.Varaprasad, Professor

&Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, SVEC.

I express our profound gratitude to the Principal and Management of SVEC for

permitting us to do my seminar report.

Last but not least, thanks to our parents for their numerous support in many different

ways throughout the study.

I also thank all who have helped directly or indirectly in completing the seminar report.

Y.SAI BHARGAV

16121A03F9
 ABSTRACT

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process that uses a non consumable tool to
join two facing work pieces without melting the work piece material. Heat is generated by
friction between the rotating tool and the work piece material, which leads to a softened region
near the FSW tool. While the tool is traversed along the joint line, it mechanically intermixes the
two pieces of metal, and forges the hot and softened metal by the mechanical pressure, which is
applied by the tool, much like joining clay, or dough. It is primarily used on wrought or extruded
aluminium and particularly for structures which need very high weld strength. FSW is also found
in modern shipbuilding, trains, and Aerospace applications.
 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 FRICTION STIR WELDING

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a relatively new joining process that has been used for high
production since 1996. Because melting does not occur and joining takes place below the
melting temperature of the material, a high-quality weld is created. This characteristic
greatly reduces the ill effects of high heat input, including distortion, and eliminates
solidification defects. Friction stir welding also is highly efficient, produces no fumes,and
uses no filler material, which makes this process environmentally friendly.

1.2 HISTORY

Friction stir welding was invented by The Welding Institute (TWI) in December 1991. TWI
filed successfully for patents in Europe, the U.S., Japan, and Australia. TWI then established
TWI Group-Sponsored Project 5651,"Development of the New Friction Stir Technique for
Welding Aluminum," in 1992 to further study this technique.

The development project was conducted in three phases. Phase I proved FSW to be a
realistic and practical welding technique, while at the same time addressing the welding of
6000 series aluminum alloys. Phase II successfully examined the welding of aerospace and
Ship aluminum alloys, 2000 and 5000 series, respectively. Process parameter tolerances,
metallurgical characteristics and mechanical properties for these materials were established.
Phase III developed pertinent data for further industrialization of FSW.

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Since its invention, the process has received world-wide attention, and today FSW is used in
research and production in many sectors,including aerospace, automotive, railway, shipbuilding
,electronic housings, coolers, heat exchangers, and nuclear waste containers.

FSW has been proven to be an effective process for welding aluminum, brass, copper, and
other low-melting-temperature materials. The latest phase in FSW research has been aimed at
expanding the usefulness of this procedure in high -melting- temperature materials, such as
carbon and stainless steels and nickel-based alloys, by developing tools that can withstand the
high temperatures and pressures needed to effectively join these materials.

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 2.WORKING PRINCIPLE

Figure:1

In FSW, a cylindrical, shouldered tool with a profiled probe is rotated and slowly plunged into

the weld joint between two pieces of sheet or plate material that are to be welded together

(Figure 1).The parts must be clamped onto a backing bar in a manner that prevents the abutting

joint faces from being forced apart or in any other way moved out of position.

Frictional heat is generated between the wear- resistant welding tool and the material of the
workpieces. This heat causes the workpieces to soften without reaching the melting point and
allows the tool to traverse along the weld line. The resultant plasticized material is transferred
from the leading edge of the tool to the trailing edge of the tool probe and is forged together
by the intimate contact of the tool shoulder and the pin profile. This leaves a solid-phase bond
between the two pieces.

The process can be regarded as a solid-phase keyhole welding technique since a hole to acco-
mmodate the probe is generated, then moved along the weld during the welding sequence.

The process originally was limited to low-melting-temperature materials because initial tool
materials could not hold up to the stress of"stirring" higher-temperature materials such as steels
and other high-strength materials. This problem was solved recently with the introduction of new
tool material technologies such as polycrystal line cubic boron nitride (PCBN), tungsten rhenium,
and ceramics. The use of a liquid-cooled tool holder and telemetry system has further refined the
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process and capability. Tool materials required for FSW of high-melting-temperature materials
need high "hot" hardness for abrasion resistance, along with chemical stability and adequate
toughness at high temperature. Material developments are advancing rapidly in different tool
materials, each material offering specific advantages for different applications.

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 3.WELD QUALITY

FSW produces excellent weld quality with these features:

3.1.Low distortion: In butt welding aluminum, for example, from 2.8 mm and thicker, the

Distortion in a properly built FSW machine is more or less zero. Tests on 12-m lengths have

been carried out in which sideway bends smaller than 0.25 mm (0.01inch) were achieved,

and no twist was seen with material thicker than 2.8 mm. In thinner materials , a slight up-

-ward bend occurred, but no twist or side bends were seen.

3.2.Low shrinkage: FSW produces the same predictable amount of shrinkage each time,

normally found lower than 2 mm on 6-m-wide aluminum panel application.

3.3.No porosity: Because the base material does not melt, there is no porosity.

3.4.No lack of fusion: Because this is an extruding and forging joining method with a more

accurate control of the heat, no lack of fusion is seen.

3.5.No change in material:When joining aluminum, material properties change little from the

parent material as the maximum temperature during the joining process is approximately 450

degrees C, and no filler material or anything other than heat is added to the joint.Due to the re-

-sultant finer grain structure in the weld nugget, the weld sometimes is stronger than the base

material. In steels, most of these same advantages apply.

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4. MICRO STRUCTURE ANAYSIS

2
5.TOOL PARAMETERS

3
4
 6.APPLICATIONS

1. Ship Build Industry

a) Freezer panels

b) Panels for deck and wall construction

c) Honey comb panels and Corrosion resistant panels

2. Aerospace

a) United Launch Alliances applies FSW to the Delta II, Delta IV and atlas V expandable
launch vehicles.

b) It is also used for Space Shuttle external tank for Ares I and for Orion Crew Vehicle at
NASA.

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3.Robotics

a) KUKA Robot Group has adapted its KR500-3MT heavy-duty robot for friction stir
welding via the Delta NFS tool. The system made its first public appearance at the Euro BLECH
show in November 2012.

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 7.ADVANTAGES

For joining nonferrous materials, no filler material or shielding gases are required in this process,
making FSW an economical joining method. For joining nonferrous materials, the tool is not
consumed and is regarded as a spare part. For example, one tool typically can be used for more
than 2,000 m of welding in 6000 series aluminum alloys.

This method also requires minimum surface preparation (normally only degreasing is needed),
and uses only 20 percent heat input compared to traditional gas metal arc welding (GMAW or
MIG) processes.

In both high and low melting temperature alloys, no fumes or toxic gases are produced that could
threaten the health of the operator, and operators and other personnel are not exposed to radiation
from any arc flash.

The resulting surface is ready to use, as no spatter has been produced. The root side is a perfect
copy of the backing, and the top side has a smooth, scalloped appearance caused by the shoulder
of the tool.

Another advantage to FSW is that dissimilar materials and alloys can be joined together (Figure
4). This has been demonstrated in combining copper with aluminum, aluminum with
magnesium, and in the cladding of aluminum to steel.

Today most aluminum alloys have been welded with excellent results. Success has also been
seen in welding copper, magnesium, zinc, steels, and titanium. Research continues to produce the
data that is needed to facilitate the use of FSW in production for these and other nonweldable
materials.

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 8.DIS ADVANTAGES

However, some disadvantages of the process have been identified:

• Exit hole left when tool is withdrawn.

• Large down forces required with heavy-duty clamping necessary to hold the plates
together.

• Less flexible than manual and arc processes (difficulties with thickness variations and
non-linear welds).

• Often slower traverse rate than some fusion welding techniques, although this may be
offset if fewer welding passes are required.

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 9.FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

1)Laser-assisted friction stir welding

2)Possible use of induction coil and other mechanism

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 10.CONCLUSION

• FSW opening up new areas of welding daily

• No distortion,spatter,fumes

• Welding at below m.p of work piece

• Good forging action by tool

• Create high strength weld in hard materials

• It is alternative to fusion welding

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 11.REFERENCES

1. "Welding process and its parameters - Friction Stir Welding" . www.fswelding.com.

Retrieved 2017-04-22.
2. "Practical use of FSW - Friction Stir Welding" . www.fswelding.com. Retrieved 2017-
04-22.
3. Bill Arbegast, Tony Reynolds, Rajiv S. Mishra, Tracy Nelson, Dwight Burford: Littoral
Combat System with Improved Welding Technologies , Center for Friction STIR Processing
(CFSP).

4. Walter Polt "A little friction at Boeing" , Boeing Frontiers Online, September 2004, Vol.
3, Issue 5.
5. Embraer Performs First Metal Cut for Legacy 500 Jet , BART International.
6. S.W. Kallee, J. Davenport and E.D. Nicholas: "Railway Manufacturers Implement
Friction Stir Welding" , Welding Journal, October 2002.
7. Video: ''Friction stir welding of Bombardier trains'' , archived from the original on 27
September 2011. Twi.co.uk.
8. Thomas, WM; Nicholas, ED; Needham, JC; Murch, MG;Temple-Smith, P;Dawes,
CJ.Friction-stir butt welding, GB Patent No.

9125978.8, International patent application No. PCT/GB92/02203, (1991)

9. Kallee, S. W. (2006-09-06). "Friction Stir Welding at TWI" . The Welding Institute
(TWI). Retrieved 2009-04-14.
10. "Technologie – StirWeld" . StirWeld (in French). Retrieved 2018-01-22.
11. Ding, Jeff; Bob Carter; Kirby Lawless; Dr. Arthur Nunes; Carolyn Russell; Michael
Suites; Dr. Judy Schneider (2008-02-14). "A Decade of Friction Stir Welding R&D At NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center and a Glance into the Future" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 2009-04-
14.

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12. Murr, L. E.; Liu, G.; McClure, J. C. (1997). "Dynamic re-crystallisation in the friction-
stir welding of aluminium alloy 1100". Journal of Materials Science Letters. 16 (22): 1801–1803.
doi:10.1023/A:1018556332357 .
13. Krishnan, K. N. (2002). "On the Formation of Onion Rings in Friction Stir Welds".
Materials Science and Engineering A. 327 (2): 246–251. doi:10.1016/S0921- 5093(01)01474-5 .
14. Mahoney, M. W.; Rhodes, C. G.; Flintoff,
J. G.; Bingel, W. H.; Spurling, R. A. (1998). "Properties of Friction-stir-welded 7075 T651
Aluminum". Metallurgical and

Materials Transactions A. 29 (7): 1955–

1964. doi:10.1007/s11661-998-0021-5 .
15. Nicholas, E. D. (1998). "Developments in the friction-stir welding of metals". ICAA-6:
6th International Conference on Aluminium Alloys. Toyohashi, Japan.

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