Residual Stress in Friction Stir Welding and Laser-Assisted Friction Stir Welding by Numerical Simulation and Experiments

The friction stir welding (FSW) has become an important welding technique to join materials that are difficult to weld by traditional fusion welding technology. In this technique, the material is not led to fusion, and the joint is the result of the rotation and movement along the welding line of the tool that causes softening of material due to frictional heat and the stirring of the same. In FSW, the temperature does not reach the fusion value of the materials, and this helps to decrease the residual stress values. However, due to the higher force involved in the weld and, thus, the rigid clamping used, the residual stresses are not low in general in this technique. As the presence of high residual stress values influences the post-weld mechanical properties, e.g. fatigue properties, it is important to investigate the residual stress distribution in the FSW welds. In this chapter, two numerical models that predict temperatures and residual stresses in friction stir welding and laser-assisted friction stir welding will be described. Experimental measurements of temperatures and residual stress will be carried out to validate the prediction of the models