Material flow

About: Material flow is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 3050 publications have been published within this topic receiving 36844 citations. The topic is also known as: material stream.

A Numerical Simulation for Dissimilar Aluminum Alloys Joined by Friction Stir Welding

Abstract: Dissimilar aluminum alloy sheets of 2017A-T451 and 7075-T651 (6 mm thickness) were friction stir welded in a butt weld configuration. A numerical simulation of the joining process was developed to visualize the material flow patterns and temperature distribution and to correlate the microstructure to the hardness behavior. Due to the complementary downward flow of surface material into the workpiece thickness and upward flow of mid-plane and bottom-plane material, the weld nugget is composed of alternating layers of 7075 and 2017A. These layers have unique temperature histories depending on the material’s initial location within the cross section; therefore, they also have distinctive precipitate distributions. Supersaturated surface material flows into the process zone and forms a core in which GP zones reprecipitate upon cooling. Mid-plane and bottom-plane material flow toward the workpiece surface and encompass the surface material core. Within this region, the weld temperatures overage the equilibrium θ phase in 2017A, decreasing the hardness, and at the same time, dissolve the equilibrium η/T phase in the 7075, leading to reprecipitation of GP zones upon cooling and a hardness recovery.

Analysis of tool geometry in dissimilar Al alloy friction stir welds using optical microscopy and serial sectioning

Abstract: The influence of tool geometry on material flow during friction stir welding of dissimilar aluminium alloys is investigated. Sheets of Al 2024 and Al 6061 alloys are friction stir welded in lap and butt configurations using different welding conditions. Optical microscopy with serial sectioning is utilised to systematically study material flow when small variations are made to the tool pin. It is shown that three flat features on the pin impose vertical material flow which can promote intermixing. When a threaded tool is used, the material flow and formation of the intermixed region depends on the orientation of the base materials, since the differences in viscosity of material on the advancing versus retreating side of the tool will inhibit intermixing. Decreasing the travel speed will promote intermixing by increasing the residence time to compensate for the differences in material viscosity that otherwise limit intermixing.

Analysis of friction stir welding tool offset on the bonding and properties of al–mg–si alloy t-joints

Abstract: Research on T-configuration aluminum constructions effectively decreases fuel consumption, increases strength, and develops aerial structures. In this research, the effects of friction stir welding (FSW) tool offset (TO) on Al–Mg–Si alloy mixing and bonding in T-configurations is studied. The process is simulated by the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) technique to better understand the material mixing flow and the bonding between the skin and flange during FSW. According to the results, the best material flow can be only achieved at an appropriate TO. The appropriate TO generates enough material to fill the joint line and results in formation of the highest participation of the flange in the stir zone (SZ) area. The results show that, in the T-configuration, FSW joints provide raw materials from the retreating side (RS) of the flange that play a primary role in producing a sound mixing flow. The selected parameters were related to the geometric limitations of the raw sheets considered in this study. The failure point of all tensile samples was located on the flange. Surface tunneling is the primary defect in these joints, which is produced at high TOs. Among the analyzed cases, the most robust joint was made at +0.2 mm TO on the advancing side (AS), resulting in more than 60% strength of the base aluminum alloy being retained.