1

The SME Summit 2005

Oconomowoc, Milwaukee, USA
August 3-4
th
2005

Friction Stir Welding Process Developments and Variant Techniques

By W M Thomas, I M Norris, D G Staines, and E R Watts
wayne.thomas@twi.co.uk
ian.norris@twi.co.uk
Staines@twi.co.uk
Ed.watts@twi.co.uk

TWI Ltd
Granta Park,
Great Abington,
Cambridge,
CB1 6AL
United Kingdom

Abstract

Friction stir welding (FSW) is now extensively used in aluminium industries for
joining and material processing applications. The (FSW) technology has gained
increasing interest and importance since its invention at TWI almost 14 years ago.
The basic principle and the continuing development of the FSW technology are
described and recent applications are reviewed. The paper will introduce some of the
variants of FSW, such as Twin-stir Skew-stir, Re-stir, Dual-rotation stir and
the Pro-stir near-net shape processing technique. Particular attention will also be
paid to tool probe/shoulder features, in relation to the joint geometry being welded.

In addition, this paper makes special reference to the mechanical and structural
integrity that can be expected from FSW technology.

Keywords: Friction Stir Welding and Processing, Fatigue and variant techniques.

Introduction

The basic principle of conventional rotary friction stir welding (FSW) is shown in Fig.1.




2
Fig.1 Basic principle of conventional rotary friction stir welding

The systematic development of Friction stir welding (FSW) has led to a number of variants
of the technology. The following describes preliminary studies being carried out on Twin-
stir, Skew-stir, Re-stir, Dual-rotation stir, and Pro-stir a three-dimensional material
processing technique (1-4).

Currently, FSW is used particularly for joining aluminium alloys in shipbuilding and marine
industries, aerospace, automotive and the rail industry. Furthermore, the technology
provides significant advantage to the aluminium extrusion industry. Automotive suppliers
are already using the technique for wheel rims and suspension arms. Fuel tanks joined by
FSW have already been launched in spacecraft, and many other space advances are under
development; commercial jets welded by FSW have successfully completed flying trials,
with high volume commercial production forthcoming. Aluminium panels for high speed
ferries and panels for rail vehicles are also produced. Moreover, the friction stir welding of
50 mm thick copper material has provided a potential solution for nuclear encapsulation of
radioactive waste. Friction stir welding is making an impact as a material processing
technique and the prognosis for the successful welding of steel products by FSW looks
promising.

Twin-stir technique

The simultaneous use of two or more friction stir welding tools acting on a common
workpiece was first described in 1991 (5). The concept involved a pair of tools applied on
opposite sides of the workpiece slightly displaced in the direction of travel. The contra-
rotating simultaneous double-sided operation with combined weld passes has certain
advantages such as a reduction in reactive torque and a more symmetrical weld and heat
input through the thickness (6). In addition, for certain applications, the use of purpose
designed multi-headed friction stir welding machines can increase productivity, reduce side
force asymmetry and reduce or minimise reactive torque (7).

The use of a preceding friction pre-heating tool followed in line by a friction stir welding
tool for welding steel is reported in the literature 1999 (8). More recently a similar
arrangement has been reported with two rotating tools one used to pre-heat and one used to
weld (9). This disclosure (9), however, shows a tandem technique with the tools rotating in
the same direction. A further reference is made to tandem arrangements with tools rotating
in the same direction (10). The use of tandem contra-rotating tools in-line with the welding
direction and parallel (Side-by-side across the welding direction) is also disclosed (11).

Figure 2 shows the three versions of Twin-stir welding techniques that are being
investigated and developed at TWI.

3


Fig. 2 Twin-stir variants

a) Parallel side-by-side transverse to the welding direction
b) Tandem in-line with the welding direction
c) Staggered to ensure the edges of the weld regions partially overlap.

Parallel twin-stir

The Twin-stir parallel contra-rotating variant (Fig. 2a) enables defects associated with lap
welding to be positioned on the inside between the two welds. For low dynamic volume to
static volume ratio probes using conventional rotary motion, the most significant defect will
be plate thinning on the retreating side. With tool designs and motions designed to
minimise plate thinning, hooks may be the most significant defect type. The Twin-stir
method may allow a reduction in welding time for parallel overlap welding. Owing to the
additional heat available, increased travel speed or lower rotation process parameters will be
possible.

Tandem twin-stir

The Twin-stir tandem contra-rotating variant (Fig. 2b) can be applied to all conventional
FSW joints and will reduce reactive torque. More importantly, the tandem technique will
help improve the weld integrity by disruption and fragmentation of any residual oxide layer
remaining within the first weld region by the following tool. Welds have already been
produced by conventional rotary FSW, whereby a second weld is made over a previous
weld in the reverse direction with no mechanical property loss. The preliminary evidence
suggests that further break-up and dispersal of oxides is achieved within the weld region.
The Twin-stir tandem variant will provide a similar effect during the welding operation.
Furthermore, because the tool orientation means that one tool follows the other, the second
tool travels through already softened material. This means that the second tool need not be
as robust.

a)
b)
c)

4
Staggered twin-stir

The staggered arrangement for Twin-stir (Fig 2c) means that an exceptionally wide
common weld region can be created. Essentially, the tools are positioned with one in front
and slightly to the side of the other so that the second probe partially overlaps the previous
weld region. This arrangement will be especially useful for lap welds, as the wide weld
region produced will provide greater strength than a single pass weld, given that the
geometry details at the extremes of the weld region are similar. Residual oxides within the
overlapping region of the two welds will be further fragmented, broken up and dispersed.
One particularly important advantage of the staggered variant is that the second tool can be
set to overlap the previous weld region and eliminate any plate thinning that may have
occurred in the first weld. This will be achieved by locating the retreating side of both welds
on the inside (see Fig. 3).

For material processing, the increased amount of material processed will also prove
advantageous. In addition, for welding it would enable much wider gaps and poor fit up to
be tolerated.



Fig. 3 Arrangement of Staggered twin-stir contra-rotating tools with respect to rotation
and direction

a) Advancing sides of the common weld region are positioned outwards with left-hand
tool leading.
b) Retreating sides of the common weld region are positioned outwards with left-hand
tool leading
c) Retreating sides of the common weld region are positioned outwards with right-hand
tool leading
d) Advancing sides of the common weld region are positioned outwards with right-hand
tool leading

Welding trials

A Series of preliminary welding trials has been carried out using an experimental Twin-
stir head at TWI in order to investigate the characteristics of welds made in a variety of
a)
b)
c)
d)

5
configurations. The welding trials were carried out with the prototype Twin-stir head as
shown in Fig. 4.



Fig. 4 Twin-stir prototype head assembly

The welding trial demonstrated the feasibility of Twin-stir and showed that welds of good
appearance were produced as shown in Fig. 5.



Fig. 5 Surface appearance of a typical Tandem twin-stir weld made in 6083-T6
aluminium alloy

The two exit holes produced in a tandem weld showed that a similar footprint was achieved
for both the lead and following tool (see Fig. 6).




Fig. 6 Tandem twin-stir lead and follow exit holes

Metallographic observations revealed a marked refinement of grain size in the weld region
and comminution of oxide remnants and particles. This is consistent with the
microstructural features previously observed in conventional rotary stir welds in aluminium

6
alloys. In lap welds, an upturn on both sides of the weld region is also shown (Fig. 7). All
sections were prepared in the direction looking towards the start of the weld.


Advancing side follower tool Retreating side follower tool



Fig. 7 Macrosection of Tandem twin-stir lap weld in 6 mm thick 6082-T6 aluminium
alloy

Metallographic examination of Staggered twin-stir lap welds revealed a common weld
region that measures 430% of the sheet thickness as shown in Fig 8.


Advancing side of follower tool Advancing side of leading tool



Fig. 8 Macrosection taken from the common weld region of a Staggered twin-stir lap
weld in 3mm thick 5083 H111 aluminium sheets.

The tool arrangement used to produce this Staggered twin-stir weld is that illustrated in
Fig. 3a; whereby the advancing sides of the common weld region are positioned outwards.
Consequently, both retreating sides face inwards with the lead weld retreating side receiving
further friction stirring treatment from the retreating side of the follower tool.



7
Skew-Stir

The skew-stir variant of FSW differs from the conventional method in that the axis of the
tool is given a slight inclination (skew) to that of the machine spindle (3), as shown in Fig.
9a, b and c.

The skew-stir technique enables the ratio between the dynamic (swept) volume and the
static volume to be increased by the skew motion of the tool. This can be additional to that
provided by the use of re-entrant features machined into the probe. It is this ratio that is a
significant factor in enabling a reduction or elimination of void formation and improving
process efficiency.

The arrangement shown in Fig.9a, results in the shoulder face being oblique to the axis of
the skew tool and square to the axis of the machine spindle. This shoulder face remains in a
fixed relationship with respect to the plate top surface. Tilting the plate or the machine
spindle will produce a plate to tool tilt that can be varied to suit conditions.

The focal point of a skewed tool affects the amplitude of the orbit of the tool shoulder and
probe. With the focal point at the shoulder position, i.e. at the top of the workpiece, the
shoulder essentially has a rotary motion with no off-axis orbit. When the focal point is
positioned slightly above the top surface of the work piece, or at any position through the
thickness of the workpiece, the shoulder contact face has an off-axis orbital movement. In
addition, the off-axis orbital motion of the shoulder is dependent on the angle of skew and
the distance that the intersection (focal point) is away from the top of the plate. The greater
the skew angle and the greater the distance that the focal point is away from the workpiece
surface, the greater is the amplitude of the shoulder off-axis movement.

The skew action results in only the outer surface of the probe making contact with the
extremities of the weld region. The FSW tool does not rotate on its own axis, and therefore
only a specific part of the face of the probe surface is directly involved in working the
substrate material. Consequently, the inner part of the tool can be cut away to improve the
flow path of material during welding, (see Fig.9a). This probe type is termed A-Skew.





Fig. 9 Details of Prototype A-Skew Probe.
a) Side view
b) Front view, showing tip profile
c) Swept region encompassed by skew action

The skew-stir technique provides an easier material flow path than conventional FSW and
a weld nugget region of width greater than the diameter of the probe. In addition the skew

8
action provides an orbital forging action at the root of the weld, which improves weld
quality in this region.

Work has been undertaken to establish the fatigue performance of welds made using the
skew-stir technique and a fatigue-tested sample is shown in Fig. 10.


Retreating side Advancing side
a) b)
c) d)


Fig. 10 Lap weld made with the retreating side near the top sheet edge (RNE configuration)
using Skew-stir with an A-skew probe (8.25mm in length) in 6mm thick 5083-H111
aluminium alloy at a welding speed of 3mm/sec (180mm/min).

a) Macrosection
b) Detail of fracture, bottom sheet retreating side
c) Detail of fracture top sheet advancing side
d) Detail of the form of the notch at the edge of the weld advancing side

Typically these Skew-stir lap welds gave good fatigue performance when compared with
an artificial weld made from parent material of similar geometry as shown in Fig. 11.

9


Fig. 11 Fatigue results of welds carried out with different lap configurations with a 8.25mm
long probe

Reversal Stir Welding - Re-stir

The following describes preliminary studies being carried out on Re-stir welding at TWI.
The salient features of the Re-stir welding technique are illustrated in Fig.12. This
illustration applies to both angular reciprocating, where reversal is imposed within one
revolution, and rotary reversal, where reversal is imposed after one or more revolutions.




Fig. 12 The basic principle of Re-stir, showing the reversal technique.

The use of the Re-stir welding technique provides a cyclic and essentially symmetrical
welding and processing treatment. Most problems associated with the inherent asymmetry
of conventional rotary FSW are avoided.

Figure 13 shows the detail of the surface of a weld made at 4 mm/sec (240 mm/min) travel
speed, using 10 revolutions per interval. The fine surface ripples reveal the number of
Lap weld configuration (A-Skew
TM
, 584revs, 3mm/sec, 8.25mm probe)
1
10
100
10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000
Number of cycles
S
t
r
e
s
s

r
a
n
g
e
,

N
/
m
m
2
Artificial lap weld
W231 configuration RNE
W232 configuration RNE
W233 configuration RNE
W234 configuration RNE
W237 configuration ANE
W238 configuration ANE
W239 configuration ANE
Run-out
R=0.5

10
rotations and the extent of the interval, while the less frequent, coarser and wider surface
ripples reveal the position of the change in rotation direction. For Re-stir, the distance and
time between each interval depends on the combination of rotational speed and the travel
speed used.



Fig. 13 Close up of Re-stir weld surface formed beneath the tool shoulder showing
surface rippling and reversal interval. Produced at 4 mm/sec (240 mm/min) welding travel
speed, using 10 revolutions per interval.

Macrosections of a lap weld made by Re-stir are shown in Fig. 14 a, b & c. This weld was
made in 5083-H111 condition aluminium alloy, using a Flared-Triflute type probe
designed for rotary stir, at a travel speed of 3.3 mm/sec (198 mm/min) using 10 revolutions
per interval. The plan view in Fig. 4c reveals a patterned weld region surrounded by a HAZ.
There is some evidence that during the reversal stage some of the Third-body plasticised
material close to the probe is re-stirred back in the opposite direction.


a) b)

Fig. 14 Metallurgical sections showing the effect of the Re-stir technique on the weld
shape, produced at a welding speed of 3.3 mm/sec (198 mm/min), using 10 revolutions per
interval.
a) Longitudinal macrosection showing regular patterns caused by rotation reversal.
b) Plan macrosection taken mid thickness showing the effect of reversal motion.

The Re-stir process requires further optimisation to achieve welds of reproducibly high
quality and freedom from defects but early trials suggest benefits in terms of weld
symmetry. Initial work using an A-skew probe also suggests that it may be possible to

11
achieve a slight down turn in the overlapping plate/weld interface at the outer regions of the
weld which may be beneficial in particular structures and loading situations. Figure 15 a, b
& c, illustrates this effect in an overlap weld in 5083-H111 condition aluminium alloy.


a) b)

c)


Fig. 15 Detail of the outer regions of a Re-stir weld made with an A-skew probe in
combination with a skew motion, at a travel speed of 1.6 mm/sec (96 mm/min), using 8
revolutions per reversal interval.

a) Macrosection
b) Detail of notch (that would formerly have been at the retreating side with conventional
rotary FSW)
c) Detail of notch (that would formerly have been at the advancing side with conventional
rotary FSW)

Typically these Re-stir lap welds gave very good fatigue performance when compared
with an artificial weld made from parent material of similar geometry as shown in Fig. 16.



12
Re-Stir
TM
with skew action (900 rev, 8 revs per reversal interval, 1.7mm/sec, 7mm long
probe)
1.0
10.0
100.0
10,000 100,000 1,000,000 10,000,000
Number of cycles
S
t
r
e
s
s

r
a
n
g
e

(
N
/
m
m
2
)
R69 Re-Stir
R70 Re-Stir
Artificial lap weld
Artificial lap weld mean curve
R=0.5


Fig. 16 Fatigue results of welds carried out with reversal motion Skew-stir

Dual-rotation friction stir welding

A dual-rotation FSW variant is being investigated at TWI, whereby, the probe and shoulder
rotate separately. The dual-rotation FSW variant provides for a differential in speed and/or
direction between the independently rotating probe and the rotating surrounding shoulder as
shown in figure 17.



Fig. 17 Principle of dual-rotation friction stir welding with rotation of the probe and
shoulder in the same direction.

The apparatus used for this investigation is shown sequentially in Figures 18 a & b.

13


a) b)


Fig. 18 Dual-rotation apparatus complete with white marks on the shoulder and probe to
indicate relative rotational movement.

a) White marks on shoulder and probe almost in line.
b) White marks on shoulder and probe moving apart

The apparatus can enable a range of different rotational speeds to be pre-selected or varied
automatically by in-process control to achieve the desired welding conditions.

In conventional rotary FSW, the relative velocity of the tool increases from zero at the probe
centre to maximum velocity at the outer diameter of the shoulder. The dual-rotation
technique can significantly modify the velocity gradient between the probe centre and the
shoulder diameter. This technique provides a differential in rotation speed and the option for
rotation in opposite directions. This dual-rotation technique effectively allows for a high
probe rotational speed without a corresponding increase in shoulder peripheral velocity.
This technique can provide for a more optimised rotational speed for both probe and
shoulder.

Dependent on the material and process conditions used, over-heating or incipient melting
along the 'near shoulder side' of the weld surface of certain friction stir welds can occur.
Melting can lead to fusion related defects along the 'near shoulder side' weld surface. The
dual-rotation technique can be used to reduce the shoulder rotational speed as appropriate
and, therefore, help reduce any tendency towards over-heating or melting, while
maintaining a higher rotational speed for the probe.

A double sided butt weld using non-optimised conditions was made to demonstrate that
dual-rotation stir welding is practicable for certain applications. Figure 19 shows the
macrostructural features produced by dual-rotation stir welding using a Flared-Triflute
type probe.






14

Advancing side Retreating side
Advancing side Retreating side


Fig. 19 Macrosection of a dual-rotation stir double-sided butt weld in 16 mm thick 5083-
H111 aluminium alloy, produced at a welding speed of 3 mm/sec (180mm/min), using 584
rev/min for the probe and 219 rev/min for the shoulder. The two weld passes were made in
opposite directions, with the first pass shown on top.


Guided bend testing demonstrated freedom from gross defects as shown in Fig. 20.



Fig. 20 Guided side bend test, carried out on a double-sided butt weld, in 16 mm thick
5083-H111 aluminium alloy, achieved 180.

Figure 21, shows the appearance of the weld surface that is formed beneath the tool
shoulder after dual-rotation stir welding.



15


Fig. 21 Surface appearance of dual-rotation stir weld made in 16 mm thick 5083-H111
aluminium alloy at a welding speed of 3 mm/sec (180 mm/min), using 584 rev/min for the
probe and 219 rev/min for the shoulder.

Owing to the relatively low temperature reached, with solid-phase welding techniques such
as FSW, the problems of solidification and liquation cracking when fusion welding certain
materials, can be significantly reduced. However, the thermal cycle produced in FSW is
sufficient to modify the original alloy temper in certain heat-treatable materials (e.g. 2xxx
and 7xxx series aluminium alloys) producing a reduction in both the mechanical and
corrosion properties across the weld (12&13).

One advantage of dual-rotation FSW is that it reduces the peak temperature reached during
the weld thermal cycle. Figure 22, shows a comparison of thermal profiles produced by
conventional rotary and dual-rotation friction stir welds made in AA7050-T7451 using
similar probes and process conditions. For a given travel speed, 5.25 mm/sec (315 mm/min),
a difference of approximately 66 C in the maximum temperature of the HAZ region close
to the probe (5 mm from the weld centre line) is shown.


Fig. 22 Thermal profiles of conventional rotary friction stir welds and dual-rotation friction
stir welds made in 6.35 mm AA7050-T7451, using the same probe geometry and a travel
speed of 5.25 mm/secs (315 mm/min). The probe rotation speed was 394 rev/min and 388
rev/min for conventional rotary and dual-rotation stir welding techniques respectively.

0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
Time (increments of 50 seconds)
Te
mp
era
tur
e
(D
eg
C)
Conventional FSW
5mm
10mm
20mm
30mm
Dual-rotation FSW
50secs

16
The lower temperatures reached in the dual rotary weld reduce the change in mechanical
properties produced during friction stir welding. After two months natural ageing (figures
23 & 24), the dual-rotation friction stir weld shows higher hardness values in the stirred
zone, TMAZ and HAZ compared to the conventional friction stir weld. This indicates that
the lower temperatures produced by the dual-rotation technique reduced thermal softening
resulting in an increase in weld hardness.



Fig. 23 Hardness traverses as a function of depth through the cross section of a conventional
friction stir weld made in 6.35 mm AA7050-T7451, using a travel speed of 5.25 mm/sec
(315 mm/min) and a probe rotation speed of 394 rev/min



Fig. 24 Hardness traverses as a function of depth through the cross section of a dual-rotary
friction stir weld made in 6.35 mm AA7050-T7451, using the same probe geometry used in
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
Distance from weld centre line (mm)
H
a
r
d
n
e
s
s

(
2
.
5
H
v
)
1mm from top surface
3mm from top surface
5mm from top surface
RETREATING SIDE ADVANCING SIDE
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
Distance from weld centre line (mm)
H
a
r
d
n
e
s
s

(
2
.
5
H
v
)
1mm from top surface
3mm from top surface
5mm from top surface
RETREATING SIDE ADVANCING SIDE

17
the conventional friction stir weld (see fig. 23), a travel speed of 5.25 mm/sec (315
mm/min), and a probe rotation speed of 388 rev/min and a shoulder rotational speed of 145
rev/min.

The heat affected zone (HAZ) of conventional friction stir welds in both 2xxx and 7xxx
series aluminium alloys has been shown to be the region most susceptible to localised
corrosive attack (14). Figure 25, shows a comparison of the extent of corrosion in specimens
from conventional and dual-rotation friction stir welds that were exposed to the same test.
These tests were carried out after two months natural ageing the near shoulder side of the
weld surface was removed and the surface prepared to a micron finish before being
immersed in a 0.1M NaCi aerated solution at ambient temperature for 7 days. Both welds
were made in 6.35mm AA7050-T7451 using the same probe geometry and a travel speed of
9.2mm/secs (522 mm/min).















Advancing side Retreating side

Fig.25 Photomacrograph of the top surface of (a) conventional friction stir weld and (b)
Dual rotation friction stir weld.

The probe rotation speed was 394 rev/min and 388 rev/min for conventional rotary and
Dual-rotation stir welding techniques respectively. A shoulder rotational speed of 145
rev/min was used for dual-rotation.

In the conventional friction stir weld the high temperature HAZ is shiny due to severe
localised attack that has occurred in this region, therefore cathodically protecting the
surrounding areas in the HAZ. In the dual-rotation friction stir weld there is no shiny region
evident in the HAZ suggesting the degree of localised attack occurring in this region to be
lower than in conventional friction stir welding.

Additive FSW technology - Pro-stir

A novel near-net shape prototyping technique is under development at TWI. Rapid
prototyping is the most widespread name given to a host of related additive technologies
that are used to fabricate physical objects directly from sheet, or powder material. These
methods are unique in that they add and bond materials in layers to form objects. Near net
shape additive technologies offer advantages in many applications compared to classical
subtractive fabrication methods such as milling or turning:
HAZ
(a)
Weld TMAZ
HAZ
HAZ
(b)
Weld TMAZ
HAZ
HAZ

18

Near-net shape manufacturing systems reduce the construction of complex objects to
a manageable, clear-cut, and relatively fast process.
Objects can be fashioned that have geometric complexity or sophistication without
the need for elaborate machine set up.
Environmental benefits include reduced machined waste, energy, and waste
disposal.

Many welding techniques have been adapted and developed for rapid prototyping and near-
net shape manufacture. Figure 26, shows the notion of using the Pro-stir method with the
Twin-stir technique to manufacture near-net shape components.



Fig. 26 Principle of Near-net shape manufacture by Pro-stir

Figure 27, shows a small test trial using 6 mm thick 5083 aluminium alloy. The same
principle would apply for much thicker plate material.




Fig. 27 Near-net shape test sample, 6x6 mm thick sheets welded on top of each other


19
The advantages of FSW near net shape, prototype-processing techniques can be summarised
as follows:

High deposition rate is possible when used with comparatively thick plate.
Able to use comparatively thin sheet as well as thick plate.
Low distortion
Three-dimensional processing technique
Strategic regions of the component can be tailored with material to provide different
properties.
The product comprises processed, hot forged material.
It is solid-phase technique not subject to gravity (most rapid prototyping systems are
gravity restricted) This means that it is potentially possible to grow additional parts
in situ on large, complex structures if required

Discussion and Concluding Remarks

The basic principles and the continuing development of the FSW technology such as Twin-
stir, Skew-stir, Re-stir, Dual-rotation stir and the Pro-stir near-net shape processing
techniques, have been described in the paper and the following concluding remarks are
made:

It is to be expected that the tandem and staggered Twin-stir variants will further fragment
and disperse tenacious residual oxides within the weld region or part of the weld region
respectively. This will lead to improved weld integrity and performance. Moreover, the
staggered Twin-stir method is likely to provide advantage and in some instances be
preferred for safety critical applications for both butt and lap joints.

All contra-rotating systems help to reduce the reactive torque necessary to secure plates to
the machine during welding. The use of twin-stir techniques is expected to prove
advantageous for material processing, lap welding, spot welding and it would enable much
wider gaps on butt welds to be tolerated.

Rotary motion Skew-stir lap welds and reversal motion Skew-stir lap welds provided
good fatigue performance when compared with artificial lap welds made from parent
material.

The initial investigation of dual rotation stir welding has demonstrated the feasibility of the
technique for butt welding 5083-H111 and 7050-T7451 aluminium alloys. The dual-
rotation technique is capable of minimising any tendency towards over-heating or incipient
melting associated with the 'shoulder near side' weld surface. The results confirm that the
dual-rotation technique can significantly modify the velocity gradient between the probe
centre and the shoulder diameter. These trials confirm that use of slower shoulder rotational
speed lowers the HAZ temperature during the welding operation. This effectively reduces
thermal softening in the HAZ region. The results shows that dual-rotation technique reduces
the susceptibility to corrosion in 7xxx series aluminium alloys HAZs. Work will continue at
TWI to investigate the use of dual-rotation on spot, butt, and lap welds.

Preliminary trials using a FSW method of near-net shape manufacture and three-
dimensional material processing show promise, but much more work will be required to
develop and perfect the technique.

20

Development work will continue at TWI to ensure these techniques can be used
commercially.

Acknowledgements

The Authors wish to thank C S Wiesner, P J Oakley, P Evans, M J Russell, A Duncan, D
Saul and N L Horrex for their support and contributions.

References

1. Thomas W M, Wiesner C S, Staines D G & Watts E R: Friction stir welding Process
developments for aluminium applications. International Conference & Exhibition,
Aluminium in Transport, Moscow, Russia, April 24-29, 2005.
2. Catin G M D, David S A, Thomas W M, Lara-Curzio E, and Babu S S: Friction Skew-
stir welding of lap joints in 5083-0 aluminium Science and Technology of Welding and
Joining, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2005
3. Thomas W M, Braithwaite A B M and R John: Skew-Stir technology. TWI 3
rd

International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding, Kobe, Japan, 27-28 September 2001.
4. Thomas W M, Norris I M, Smith I J, and Staines D G: Reversal sir welding Re-Stir
- Feasibility Study. Fourth International Symposium on Friction Stir Welding, Park
City, Utah, USA, 14-16 may 2003.
5. Thomas W M, Nicholas E D, Needham J C, Murch M G, Temple-Smith P and Dawes C
J: 'Improvements relating to friction welding'. European Patent Specification 0 615 480
B1.
6. Thomas W M, Friction Stir Welding and Related Friction process Characteristics,
Inalco 98 7
th
International Conference, joints in Aluminium, Cambridge, UK. April
1998.
7. Thomas W M, Nicholas E D, Watts E R, and Staines D G: Friction Based Welding
Technology for Aluminium, The 8
th
International Conference on Aluminium Alloys 2
nd

to 5
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