Description
Abstract: Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process that thermo-mechanically joins two metals. A rotating tool is plunged into the faying surfaces of a butt weld configuration and stirs the plasticized metal together. Heating of the metal occurs by friction of the tool against the material and the heat of deformation. While the quality of a FSW is dependent on maintaining a constant temperature, methods to measure the temperature can be difficult. If reliable methods to measure temperature can be demonstrated, this can be used as the basis for feedback control of the FSW process. This study demonstrated the use of ultrasonic thermometry to obtain the real time temperature profile within the weld zone. The method is non-invasive and can be adapted to move with the FSW tool to obtain continuous temperature measurements through the workpiece thickness.
Authors: Zachary Myers, Judy Schneider, and Donald Yuhas
Keywords: Friction Stir Welding, Ultrasonic Thermometry, Non-Invasive, FSW, Remote, Non-Intrusive, Thermal, Data Collection, Nondestructive Evaluation