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Current developments on friction stir welding (FSW) and friction stir spot welding (FSSW) of aluminium and titanium alloys
1  Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida, Johannesburg 1709, South Africa.
Academic Editor: Sonya Qin

Abstract:

To fabricate joints of dissimilar materials such as alumnium and titanium with excellent joint properties with limited defects, there is a need to use effective joining techniques. Friction stir welding (FSW) and friction stir spot welding (FSSW) are solid-state welding techniques considered environmentally friendly joining techniques. The two techniques have been used to join numerous materials including aluminium, copper, and titanium. Joining dissimilar materials has seen a huge expansion worldwide due to the high demand for dissimilar joining exhibiting specific properties to be used for specific applications. This short review presents the resulting properties of joints made with aluminium and copper using friction stir welding and friction stir welding. Microstructure evolution, mechanical properties, and other properties are presented and critically reviewed. Many aluminium and titanium alloys have been welded using several process parameters and tool geometries. In FSW it has been seen that aluminium/titanium exhibited high strength when the rotational speed is well controlled. From the gathered information it was concluded that the tool rotational speed was associated with heat input and low speed resulting in low heat input. This produced fine recrystallized grains, especially at the joint interface. On the other hand, FSSW has also been utilized to weld Al to Ti. Results showed that parameters such as rotational speed and dwell time had an impact on the formation of intermetallics including Ti3Al and mechanical properties were achieved. It was observed that FSSW between aluminium and titanium has not been well researched, therefore there is a need to further study the behavior of the two materials when spot welded. It is expected that the augmentation of knowledge on the fabricated joint behavior will lead to the expansion of these techniques for specific applications and to the optimization of FSW and FSSW between alumnium and titanium alloys.

Keywords: Friction stir welding (FSW); friction stir spot welding (FSSW); Aluminium; Titanium; Intermetallic compounds

 
 
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