Characterization of tool wear and weld optimization in the friction-stir welding of cast aluminum 359 + 20% silicon carbide metal-matrix composite
Abstract
Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state process developed in 1991 at The Welding Institute (TWI) in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Recently, this emerging welding technology rapidly gained international attention and credibility as a viable new technique for joining aluminum alloys, particularly those that are difficult or impossible to fusion weld. Engineered composite materials have been of interest to aerospace and defense markets for many decades. These markets require continuous performance improvements. In the 1970s and 1980s, Metal Matrix Composites (MMC's) were the focus of substantial attention due to their potential to provide significant increases in the stiffness and high-temperature strength of lightweight matrix alloys such as aluminum and titanium. This research project examines and compares tool wear (tool consumption) in the friction-stir welding of cast aluminum alloy 359 + 20 volume percent of SiC particles (MMC), in order to observe wear optimized tool geometries and corresponding parameters. In previous work, Prado[1] has developed a technique to calculate the wear percent of the welding tool during the FSW process of MMC. Tool wear was calculated in relation to the original threaded pin tool by weighing the enlarged photo print of the welding tool and comparing the percentage change relative to the original tool photograph. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Subject Area
Metallurgy|Mechanical engineering
Recommended Citation
Fernandez Parra, Guillermo Jesus, "Characterization of tool wear and weld optimization in the friction-stir welding of cast aluminum 359 + 20% silicon carbide metal-matrix composite" (2005). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1423744.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1423744