Friction Stir Welding-An Overview

Abstract

The earliest reference of the use of frictional heat for solid phase welding and forming appeared over a century ago. After 50 years, in 1941 the friction surfacing was developed. After an other 50 years, the recent development friction stir welding (FSW) was invented. In this review an account is given on the research that has been carried out on FSW. The process established itself as a prominent technology for joining conventionally un-weldable metals. In this paper the basics of the process, joint configurations, microstructures, thermal analysis, residual stress, distortion and materials flow behavior are discussed. The recent development of the process FSW of composites is also discussed.