Heat transfer in aluminum-steel joint and weld tool during the friction stir welding: Simulation and experimental validation

• Published in: International journal of advanced manufacturing technology Vol. 125; no. 5-6; pp. 2211 - 2224
• Main Authors: Ou, Wenmin, Guo, Guolin, Cui, Chenshuo, Zhang, Yaocheng, Qian, Longgen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01.03.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum; Butt joints; CAE) and Design; Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD; Engineering; Friction stir welding; Industrial and Production Engineering; Inhomogeneity; Material properties; Mechanical Engineering; Media Management; Original Article; Stainless steels; Temperature distribution; Thermography; CFD model with weld tool; Heat transfer behavior; Aluminum-steel joint; Friction stir welding; Infrared thermography observation
• ISSN: 0268-3768; 1433-3015
• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-023-10889-1

In this work, dissimilar butt joints of 6061 aluminum and 304 stainless steel were prepared by friction stir welding (FSW), and the FSW process is monitored by the infrared (IR) thermography. Considering the different material properties between aluminum and steel, a novel CFD model with weld tool is developed and tested to investigate the effects of weld tool on the aluminum-steel joint under different traverse speeds. The calculated temperature and thermal cycles for various traverse speed agreed well with the corresponding IR thermography experimental results. It is found that the calculated peak temperature is about 10 K lower than measured peak temperature and the relative error is 2.3%, while it is 11.4% for the model without weld tool. The model with weld tool can decrease the temperature gradient and inhomogeneity of temperature field for aluminum-steel joint. SEM analysis of the interface between aluminum and steel showed that the thickness of IMCs may decrease with traverse speed. The model with weld tool can provide calculated viscosity based on the validated temperature field to analyze the insufficient stirring defect of aluminum-steel joint.