A Numerical Study on the Effect of Tool Speeds on Temperatures and Material Flow Behaviour in Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding of Thin AA7075-T6 Sheets.

A three-dimensional (3D) numerical model was created to simulate and analyze the effect of tool rotational speeds (RS) and plunge rate (PR) on refill friction stir spot welding (refill FSSW) of AA7075-T6 sheets. The numerical model was validated by comparing the temperatures recorded at a subset of locations with those recorded at the exact locations in prior experimental studies from the literature. The peak temperature at the weld center obtained from the numerical model differed by an error of 2.2%. The results showed that with the rise in RS, there was an increase in weld temperatures, effective strains, and time-averaged material flow velocities. With the rise in PR, the temperatures and effective strains were reduced. Material movement in the stir zone (SZ) was improved with the increment of RS. With the rise in PR, the top sheet's material flow was improved, and the bottom sheet's material flow was reduced. A deep understanding of the effect of tool RS and PR on refill FSSW joint strength were achieved by correlating the thermal cycles and material flow velocity results obtained from the numerical models to the lap shear strength (LSS) from the literature.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding of Thin AA7075-T6 Sheets.

The refill friction stir spot welding (refill FSSW) process is a solid-state joining process to produce welds without a keyhole in spot joint configuration. This study presents a thermo-mechanical model of refill FSSW, validated on experimental thermal cycles for thin aluminium sheets of AA7075-T6. The temperatures in the weld centre and outside the welding zone at selected points were recorded using K-type thermocouples for more accurate validation of the thermo-mechanical model. A thermo-mechanical three-dimensional refill FSSW model was built using DEFORM-3D. The temperature results from the refill FSSW numerical model are in good agreement with the experimental results. Three-dimensional material flow during plunging and refilling stages is analysed in detail and compared to experimental microstructure and hardness results. The simulation results obtained from the refill FSSW model correspond well with the experimental results. The developed 3D numerical model is able to predict the thermal cycles, material flow, strain, and strain rates which are key factors for the identification and characterization of zones as well for determining joint quality.