Non-Destructive Analysis of FSW Process and Comparison With Simulation and Microstructural Analysis

Friction Stir Welding is an evolving metal joining technique and is mostly used in joining materials which cannot be easily joined by other available welding techniques. It is a technique which can be used for welding dissimilar materials also. The strength of the weld joint is determined by the way in which these material are mixing with each other, since we are not using any filler material for the welding process the intermixing has a significant importance. The complication with the friction stir welding process is that there are many process parameters which effect this intermixing process such as tool geometry, rotating speed of the tool, transverse speed etc.,In this study an attempt is made to compare the material flow and weld quality of various weldments by changing the parameters. Thermographic analysis is used to characterize the microstructure of the elements. Thermography is a non destructive, accurate and fast way of measurement of temperature of the welding process which influences the formation of microstructure and also material flow and strength of the formed weldment.. In this study the relationship between microstructures and temperatures are evaluated. Simulation studies are also conducted and compared with experimental studies, the study resulted in good correlation between the experimental and simulation studies.the study involved use of different tool profiles and a comparative study is done with resulted mechanical and microstructural properties.