Numerical studies of effect of tool sizes and pin shapes on friction stir welding of AA2024-T3 alloy
(State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Department of Engineering Mechanics,
Faculty of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)
Faculty of Vehicle Engineering and Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China)
Abstract: Coupled thermo-mechanical model was used to investigate the effects of the pin diameter, the shoulder diameter and the in conical angle on the heat generations, the material deformations and the energy histories in friction stir welding (FSW) of AA2024-T3 alloy. Results indicate that the shoulder-plate contact area takes more important contribution to the heat generation than the pin-plate contact area. The increase of the shoulder diameter or the decrease of the pin diameter can lead to the increase of the welding temperature in FSW, but the change of shoulder size is more important. Compared to the cases in FSW of AA6061-T6, the input power is obviously increased in FSW of AA2024-T3 and the ratio of the plastic dissipation to the friction dissipation becomes decreased.
Key words: aluminum alloy; friction stir welding; coupled thermo-mechanical model; heat generation; energy history