FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF FRICTION STIR WELDING PROCESS

Abstract

The work done in “Analysis of Friction Stir Welding Process” simulates the FSW process in ABAQUS CAE in order to study the effect of the tool’s sideward inclination on the temperature and residual stresses produced in the workpiece during the friction stir welding process. The current report accounts for the attempts made to simulate FSW, the problems faced in the process, and the concepts utilized to simulate the process. Various key aspects related to the FSW process are also discussed. Models simulated before arriving at the present simulation are also discussed here. Simulation of FSW without plastic deformation was successfully obtained and it resulted in temperature profiles and heat flux thus generated as a result of friction. After trying many possibilities, plastic deformation was successfully included as well. When the tool was inclined to a particular side, material stirring was found to be more to the other side. The use of Coupled Eulerian and Lagrangian and Arbitrary Lagrangian and Eulerian techniques are very helpful for the simulation and are thus discussed in good detail. The model thus obtained was validated with the reaction force plot given in the paper titled “Modeling of defects in friction stir welding using coupled Eulerian and Lagrangian method ” by Prashant Chauhan et al. Void defects were also modelled similar to the aforesaid paper. Being a Dynamic Explicit simulation, it was very slow, and hence attempts to make it faster are also discussed in this report. Report uses simulation of tool inclined towards the advancing side and that with tool inclined backward for the purpose of studying effect of tool inclination towards trailing side of tool.