EVALUATION OF WELD PARAMETERS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF FRICTION STIR WELDED AA7075-T6 LAP JOINTS

摘要

The friction stir welding (FSW) process was developed in 1991 by The Welding Institute (TWI) in the UK [1] as a method particularly suited to joining difficult to weld heat-treatable aluminum alloys. The process involves plunging a rotating tool which consists of a cylindrical Shoulder and protruding pin with a smaller diameter, and the frictional and deformation heating allow the metals to be forged and consolidated together [2]. There have been a considerable number of studies on the process since it was invented [3], and it has been shown also allow joining of magnesium, steel, copper, titanium and other alloys in thicknesses up to 25 mm in a Single pass [2][3].