Evaluation of Thermal Distribution in Friction Stir Welding on Dissimilar Materials (Cu-Al) Using Infrared Thermography and Numerical Simulation
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state joining process realized by the interaction between a non-consumable welding tool that rotates on the contact surfaces of the combined parts. Welding dissimilar materials aluminum and copper by FSW are of great interest because Al and Cu are two most common engineering materials widely used in many industries. This paper presents an investigation concerning the influence of the rotation of the tool on temperatures during the welding process. Also, the welding of copper and aluminum materials by FSW process was simulated using a finite element model. Three-dimensional FE model has been developed in ABAQUS/Explicit using the Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian method, the Johnson–Cook material law and the Coulomb’s Law of friction and was validated by infrared thermography method and thermocouple measurement.