Advanced welding of complex geometries promises significant development in the automotive industry. Friction Stir Welding (FSW) as a solid-state welding technique has spread quickly since its initial development by TWI in 1991. It has found applications in various industries, including railway, automotive, maritime and aerospace. Temperature during FSW plays a significant role, therefore thermal analysis of the process provides the opportunity to understand the process in detail, and also allows one to save energy and cost as well. However, experimental investigation of the thermal behaviour is challenging, because of inaccuracy in the measuring instruments. Thus, Finite Element Methods (FEMs) offer an appropriate approach for thermal modelling of the process. There is also a dilemma in defining the perpendicular movement of the tool on a curved surface. To clarify the problem, the tool needs to follow a regular pattern during curved movement, and it should have a perpendicular position to the surface at each point. However, previous literature modelled only a single point movement for the tool. Thus, the finite element package needs to be modified to develop a precise perpendicular movement for the tool. In this paper, a VDISP user defined subroutine is used to modify Abaqus® software for thermal analysis of a complex curved plate. The results of the paper show that the problem of the perpendicular movement of the tool is resolved and the thermal behaviour of the FSW is done with remarkable accuracy.
Thermal Analysis of Friction Stir Welding with a Complex Curved Welding Seam (TECHNICAL NOTE)
