Abstract

This paper describes features of a fully coupled thermo-mechanical model for Friction Stir Welding (FSW) simulation. An apropos kinematic setting for different zones of the computational domain is introduced and an efficient coupling strategy is proposed. Heat generation via viscous dissipation as well as frictional heating is considered.

The results of the simulation using the proposed model are compared with the experimental evidence. The effect of slip and stick condition on non-circular pin shapes is analyzed. Simulation of material stirring is also carried out via particle tracing, providing insight of the material flow pattern in the vicinity of the pin.

Abstract

This work deals with the modeling of the material flow in Friction Stir Welding (FSW) processes using particle tracing method. For the computation of particle trajectories, three accurate and computationally efficient integration methods are implemented within a FE model for FSW process: the Backward Euler with Sub-stepping (BES), the 4-th order Runge–Kutta (RK4) and the Back and Forth Error Compensation and Correction (BFECC) methods. Firstly, their performance is compared by solving the Zalesak’s disk benchmark. Later, the developed methodology is applied to some FSW problems providing a quantitative 2D and 3D view of the material transport in the process area. The material flow pattern is compared to the experimental evidence.