Numerical study on the optimization of process parameters in friction stir welding

Friction stir welding is a new solid-state joining process. This welding method is used widely in automotive, aerospace, shipping, railway rolling stock and machine industry. This method can be used to join high-strength aluminum alloys and other metallic alloys that are hard to join by conventional welding processes.The aim of this thesis is to model friction stir welding of 6061 and 7075 aluminum alloys using the finite element method. For this purpose, three-dimensional models were carried out by using HyperMesh and HyperXtrude commercial softwares. Temperature and stress distributions in the welded aluminum plate during the welding operation were obtained considering the mechanical properties changing with respect to the temperature. Effect of the transverse and rotational speeds of the pin on the temperature and stress distributions was examined.The results obtained by the finite element analyses were presented in tabular form and graphically. It was concluded that temperature increases during the welding as transverse speed decreases and rotational speed increases. It was observed that the results indicate good agreement with the results in the literature.Keywords: Friction stir welding, aluminum alloys, finite element method.