A NUMERICAL STUDY OF THE PLUNGE STAGE IN FRICTION STIR WELDING USING ABAQUS

摘要

Although, there are several finite element (FEA) based models developed for friction stir welding (FSW), most of these models primarily concentrate on the phase of the weld where the tool is moving forward, eliminating the plunge stage. A better understanding of the plunge phase is extremely important with the growing role of friction stir spot welding and also for understanding tool wear in case of FSW of harder materials. This research develops a three dimensional FEA based model of the plunge stage using the commercial code ABAQUS to study the thermomechanical processes involved during the plunge. The strain rate and temperature dependent Johnson-Cook material law is used as the constitutive law. The heat source incorporated in the model involves friction between the material, the probe and the shoulder and also heat generated due to plastic deformation. A good correlation was found between the results obtained from ABAQUS and experimental data.