This award provides partial funding for the acquisition of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) equipment. FSW is a relatively new solid-state joining technique where a welded joint is produced by the stirring action of a pin that plasticizes and moves material. This simple concept of friction stirring allows joining of any aluminum alloy or composite as no filler material is involved. This is particularly attractive for high strength and advanced aluminum alloys and composites, which are traditionally considered unweldable. In addition, formation of very fine grains in the stirred region due to severe plastic deformation leads to mechanical properties of the joint that are 80-100 % of the parent material. This presents a tremendous advantage over the conventional fusion welding technique where joint strength reduction of 50 % is typical. The equipment will provide data for modeling of the friction stir welding parameters and it will lead to a better fundamental understanding of the mechanisms involved in the FSW process. The equipment will also provide opportunities to develop new processing techniques by utilizing the friction stir concept. The new friction stir welding equipment will allow research in: 1) Joining of high strength aluminum alloys and aluminum matrix composites; 2) Friction stir welding of integrated passive damping structures; and 3) Friction stir processing for economical superplastic forming in commercial aluminum alloy sheets. The research will be conducted by an interdisciplinary team which includes collaboration with industries (e.g. Rockwell Science Center and Boeing Phantom Works) and government laboratories (e.g. Air Force Research Laboratory). In addition, the friction stir welding facility at UMR will serve as a research and educational resource for the educational institutions and small-to-medium industries in the entire mid-western region where no such open facility exists at present.
This grant provides partial funding for the acquisition of Friction Stir Welding (FSW) equipment. Friction stir welding is a relatively new solid-state joining technique where a welded joint is produced by the stirring action of a pin that plasticizes and moves material. This simple and elegant concept of friction stirring allows joining of any aluminum alloy or aluminum matrix composite as no filler material is required. This is particularly attractive for high strength and advanced aluminum alloys that are traditionally considered unweldable. Even for weldable aluminum alloys, significant improvements in properties are expected with the FSW method. This technique is also environment friendly as no flux or cover gases are involved and the localized friction heating makes the process highly energy efficient. In addition, the severe plastic deformation during friction stirring leads to very fine grains in the stirred region. The fine-grained microstructure produces very desirable mechanical properties that are as high as 80% of the base metal. This is a tremendous advantage over the conventional fusion welding technique where the joint strength is reduced by 50%. The equipment will provide data for modeling of the friction stir welding process that will lead to a better fundamental understanding of FSW. The research will be conducted by an interdisciplinary research team from the University of Missouri at Rolla, industries (e.g. Rockwell Science Center and Boeing Phantom Works) and government laboratories (e.g. Air Force Research Laboratory). The friction stir welding facility at UMR will be the only such facility at an educational institution in the state of Missouri and one of only a few in the nation. It will serve as a research and educational resource in this joining technology at UMR as well as other educational institutions and small-to-medium size industries in the entire mid-western region where no such open facility exists at present.
