MECHANICAL ENGINEERING THEORY AND APPLICATIONS

HANDBOOK OF WELDING
PROCESSES, CONTROL AND SIMULATION

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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING THEORY
AND APPLICATIONS

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 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING THEORY AND APPLICATIONS

HANDBOOK OF WELDING
PROCESSES, CONTROL AND SIMULATION

ANTÓNIO MANUEL DE BASTOS PEREIRA

AND
FRANCISCO JOSÉ GOMES DA SILVA
EDITORS
Copyright © 2021 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

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 CONTENTS

Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter 1 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 1
P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson
Chapter 2 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of
AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum Alloys 41
R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima
Chapter 3 Electron Beam Welding: Current Trends and Future Scopes 57
Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar,
Debalay Chakrabarti and Debasish Das
Chapter 4 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for
Automotive Applications 71
C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda
Chapter 5 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes: A Review 115
G. Costanza and M. E. Tata
Chapter 6 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 137
Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira
and Virgínia Infante
Chapter 7 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys:
Similar and Dissimilar Materials 179
H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro
Chapter 8 Dissimilar Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium Alloys:
Issues and Current Progress 219
L. H. Ahmad Shah
Chapter 9 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 237
Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro and Filippo Berto
vi Contents

Chapter 10 Characterization of the Microstructure of

Refill Friction Stir Spot Welded Aluminium Alloy Joints 293
A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski
Chapter 11 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in
Welding Processes 315
J. Winczek and A. Yadav
Chapter 12 Role of Numerical Simulations in Weld Analysis 351
D. Das, S. Jaypuria, S. Gupta, A. Kundu, D. K. Pratihar
and G. G. Roy
Chapter 13 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser
Welding-Computational Modeling and Experimental Validations 369
Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic
Chapter 14 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 393
F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira
Chapter 15 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization
of the Friction Stir Welding Process 425
R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo and L. M. Serio
Chapter 16 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 465
A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva
Chapter 17 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping
by Welding 505
A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva
About the Editors 547
Index 549
 PREFACE

Welding is a conventional joining process that has followed the recent developments in
other manufacturing processes, continuing to be an extremely used and investigated process.
Several technologies developed in other areas of knowledge have converged in the area of
welding, allowing significant improvements in the quality of the products obtained and in the
increased productivity of the processes. Although some techniques have been implemented and
studied for several decades, the interest of researchers in welding has not diminished, as it can
be seen through new processes that have emerged or the welding of dissimilar materials, in
addition to many other notable developments in welding processes, such as laser or electron
beam, which apparently seemed to have reached their final stage of maturity.
This work brings together a set of very interesting works, being a living proof that welding
continues to be heavily investigated and that the developments around this manufacturing
process and welding quality management systems are constantly emerging. Because the
materials continue to evolve and the technology around welding also continues to develop at a
very good pace, studies on the weldability of new materials and the application of new
techniques and technologies to already well known welding processes does not stops
happening.
The editors are proud to have collected this set of works that can help scholars and
researchers to broaden their knowledge in the field of welding, thus contributing to the creation
of a knowledge base that allows researchers to start new investigations and achievements in the
coming decades.

António Manuel de Bastos Pereira

Francisco José Gomes da Silva
Editors
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First of all, the Editors need to thank NOVA SCIENCE PUBLISHERS for giving us this
opportunity to conduct the edition of this book, giving us also the opportunity to contact authors
from different countries, and getting a much wider scope on how the subject of this book is
faced, bringing together diverse approaches and experiences.
The Editors also wish to thank the Authors for their extremely valuable contributions
through the different chapters of this book, because this experience has been translated into an
extension of the contacts with researchers who have shown to be a real asset for this work. The
Editors also emphasize the commitment of the Authors in meeting the stipulated dates and
contribute to the quality of the present work. It was really amazing to note that Authors were
always available to hear and help us during this process, answering positively to the
improvements suggested by the Editors.
The Editors also thank the Institutions where they are working, namely the University of
Aveiro and School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Portugal, due to the available time
given to manage this work.
In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 1

WELDING METALLURGY
OF STAINLESS STEELS

P. Ferro1, and J.-O. Nilsson2

1
Department of Engineering and Management, University of Padova, Vicenza, Italy
2
JON Materials Consulting, Arvika, Sweden

ABSTRACT
Stainless steels (SS) are irreplaceable materials in many industrial applications due to
their excellent combination of mechanical and chemical properties. Oil & Gas extraction,
petrochemical and urea industry, kitchen utensils, cutlery, surgical instruments and
implants, bridges, aircraft, rail cars, monuments and sculptures are only some examples
where SS are used. But it is also true that the success of stainless steels is due to the
development and study of joining techniques such as fusion welding and solid-state
welding. Stainless steels are characterized by good weldability provided that proper
recommendations are followed. Secondary phases may precipitate with detrimental effects
on corrosion resistance and mechanical properties. For a fixed geometry, a sound SS
welded joint is thus the result of an optimization of process parameters that may differ for
each welding method, e.g., arc-welding, high power density welding or friction stir
welding. This chapter is aimed at describing the fundamentals of welding metallurgy with
reference to the main families of stainless steels such as austenitic, ferritic, martensitic and
duplex steels. Welded joints of dissimilar materials will also be briefly treated.
Finally, modelling of the evolution of secondary phases under isothermal and non-
isothermal conditions will be described in detail.

Keywords: stainless steel, fusion welding, solid-state welding, microstructure, secondary

phase; modelling


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
2 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

1. INTRODUCTION
During fabrication of a metallic construction the joining of components by welding is
essential. The process, which leads to coalescence of the workpieces, often involves melting of
the joint faces and the addition of a filler metal, which together form a pool of molten material.
Subsequent cooling of the weld pool to room temperature leads to solidification and, if it is
successful, a joint with good mechanical strength. The principle is basically different from
soldering or brazing, both of which rely upon melting of a material of low melting point, leaving
the workpieces at the interface in the solid state.
Various energy sources for achieving the appropriate welding temperature exist today such
as gas flame, electric arc, laser, electron beam and friction. A common feature of these
processes is that local melting takes place. Subsequent cooling leads to a joint in the form of a
chill cast. As opposed to the above-mentioned welding methods forge welding using repeated
heating and hammering takes place in the solid state.
When dealing with welding of stainless steels the major concern is to obtain a good
structural integrity without sacrificing the corrosion resistance of the parent metal. Both
mechanical and corrosion strength of the joint is strictly linked to its very complex
microstructure that in turn derives from the chemical composition and cooling rate of the fusion
zone. A sound weld is therefore the result of a good match between the metallurgical behavior
of the SS and the welding parameters used to control the solidification process of the fusion
zone. Furthermore, metallurgical transformations in the heat-affected zone plays a crucial role
to obtain the optimal microstructure.

2. HISTORY
Blacksmiths have been using forge welding for millennia to join metal components. It was
the only method available for joining metals until the end of the 19th century. This old method
is based on joining workpieces by heating and hammering. During this process the temperature
is insufficient to cause melting but sufficient for solid state diffusion to take place. Metallic
bonding therefore takes place without any need to add filler or bridging metals.
According to the Greek tradition conveyed by Herodotus (~5th century BC) Glaucus of
Chios was the inventor of the art of welding. Legend says that the offering of a salver of welded
iron to the Oracle of Delphi by the Lydian king Alyattes was “the most remarkable of all the
offerings at Delphi”. However, it seems that the art of welding has even deeper roots that can
be traced back to the skill of Indian blacksmiths.
A conspicuous example representing the Indian tradition is the iron pillar in the Qutb
complex in New Delhi erected around 400 AD (Figure 1). Not only is it resistant to atmospheric
corrosion despite the absence of chromium, it is also a beautiful example of the engineering
skill available at the time and an impressing demonstration of forge welding. The pillar is 7.2
m tall and weighs about 6 tonnes. Its diameter at the bottom is 0.42 m and tapers towards the
upper end to about 0.3 m.
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 3

Figure 1. The iron pillar in the Qutb complex in New Delhi erected about 400 AD is a beautiful
example of forge welding in ancient times.

The first publication on welding seems to be “De la pirotechnia” written by the Italian
metallurgist Vannoccio Biringuccio and published in 1540. As there is a detailed description
of foundry practice in his book he is regarded as the founder of the foundry industry. There is
also a detailed description of forging operations. Although the Middle Ages (500-1500 AD) is
regarded as a dark period of science it is quite clear that the practice of welding made progress
even during this period that led to advances in engineering technology. In fact, the joining of
components was a prerequisite for the development of engineering.
However, it was not until the end of the 19th century that forge welding was replaced by
other techniques. Russian scientists played an important role in this development. The real
breakthrough came in the 1880’s when Nikolaj Bernardos, using carbon electrodes to generate
an electric arc, launched the carbon arc welding technique. This inspired welding engineers to
try new types of welding and triggered a number of new methods. Very soon after this, Nikolaj
Slavyanov and C. L. Coffin replaced carbon electrodes with metallic electrodes.
Unfortunately, the resulting welds were often of such a low quality that traditional riveting
was still preferred. It was not until coated electrodes were invented that brittleness due to
inclusions, a high nitrogen content and pore formation could be eliminated. A significant
contribution was given in 1904 by the Swedish engineer Oscar Kjellberg, who patented the
coated electrode that protected oxygen in the surrounding air from entering the weld. This also
gave a more stable arc, and various types of methods using three-phase electric arc and
alternating current were introduced. The coated electrode provided the basis of the welding
company ESAB and welding technicians of today still find his initials OK on numerous
commercial electrodes.
4 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

Alternative welding methods, also introduced in the end of the 1800’s, were so called
resistance welding (Thomson 1885) and thermite welding (1895). The latter method is based
on an exothermic chemical reaction introduced by Hans Goldschmidt, whereby the heat is
produced by igniting a mixture of copper oxide and aluminium powder.
Although acetylene was discovered already in the first half of the 19th century its use did
not become practical in oxyfuel welding until about 1900, when a blowtorch adapted for
welding was launched. Although inappropriate for stainless steels oxyfuel welding turned out
to be very useful as it was flexible, portable and relatively inexpensive. It remained popular for
several decades but was successively replaced as the quality of fluxes shielding the workpiece
and stabilizing the arc was gradually improved. This development paved the way for various
types of arc welding.
The development from the middle of the 1950’s and onwards has been remarkable by the
introduction of a large number of welding techniques including submerged arc welding (SAW)
(McPherson et al., 2003), MIG/MAG welding (Ghosh et al., 2016), electro slag welding (ESW),
electron beam welding (EBW) (Singh and Shahi, 2020), laser beam welding (LBW) (Li et al.,
2020), electromagnetic pulse welding (EMPW) (Liao et al., 2020) and friction stir welding
(FSW) (Johnson and Murugan, 2020; Rajasekhar, 2016). Of these novel techniques SAW and
MIG/MAG are probably the most frequently used welding methods today for strip overlay
welding and laser beam welding is well established in a variety of industrial applications.
Electron beam welding provides very high energy density and has therefore revolutionized the
welding of deep and narrow joints such as bimetallic strips. Friction stir welding is an attractive
and cost-effective technique for welding copper and aluminium but remains quite expensive
for joining steels and is only used in special cases.
The beginning of SS welding might be dated immediately after the first appearance on the
market of the martensitic alloy of Harry Brearly and the austenitic alloy of Eduard Maurer and
Benno Strauss in 1913. If we want to mark a beginning of the history of stainless steel welding
we might make it coincide with the publication of the first iron-chromium-nickel constitution
diagram of Maurer and Strauss in 1920. Since then, the diagram has evolved until the outbreak
of the Second World War (1939) during which, thanks to their diagram, nominally austenitic
stainless steel armors containing ferrite for hot cracking resistance (Kujanpää, 1986) were
welded. Filler metals designed for SS welding developed thanks to the diagram improvements
operated by Schaeffler (1947-1949), DeLong (1956-1973) and the Welding Research Council
(1988 and 1992). Until about 1970, SS characterized by a carbon content greather than 0.35%
(this percentage is too high, should be well below 0.1%) dominated the market because of the
high cost in producing low carbon SS. This forced manufacturers to perform post-welding
solution quenching heat treatments in order to overcome the issue linked to the sensitisation in
the heat affected zone (HAZ) and therefore the loss of corrosion resistance of the as-welded
joint. This scenario changed when in 1955 Krivsky invented the argon-oxygen decarburization
(AOD) process for refining stainless steels, which allowed low carbon alloys to be produced
starting from cheaper high carbon iron-chromium alloys. The practice began to be implemented
industrially from the 70s, in fact. Because of the low carbon content in commercial SS grades,
post welding heat treatments were no longer necessary and the cost of SS welding was reduced.
Unfortunately, the low carbon SS coming from the AOD process hid a trap. Compared to
previous alloys, they showed an incomplete penetration when welded by orbital gas tungsten
arc welding for the production of pipes for power plant constructions. The problem was
investigated for a long time by reasearchers until Heiple and Roper in 1982 pinpointed the cause
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 5

as a reversal of the surface tension gradient as a function of temperature on the weld pool
surface promoted by a very low amount of sulfur induced by AOD process.
Dealing with duplex stainless steels (DSS), developed in 1933 by Avesta in Sweden, it was
a common thought that they were unweldable, unless a post welding solution annealing heat
treatment was planned, due to the excess of ferrite in the weld heat-affected zone induced by
rapid cooling. This belief changed when in 1989 Ogawa and Kosecki demonstrated the
favorable effect of nitrogen on the weldability of DSS, which therefore no longer had to be
post-welding heat treated. Finally, it is worth mentioning an historical fracture of a japanese
primary steam line welded with gas-shielded flux cored stainless steel electrodes containing a
little amount of bismuth oxide which resulted in very attractive slag detachment. The patent of
such very used electrodes was by Godai and co-workers, 1982. In 1997 Nishimoto et al. and
Toyoda et al. pinpointed the cause of ruptures, which was found to be associated with about
200 ppm of bismuth retained in the weld metal which led to reheat cracking along grain
boundaries to which the Bi segregated. Since then, Bi-free electrodes have been used for high
service temperature applications while the composition by Godai & Co is still used for welded
components working at room temperature.

3. WELDING METHODS AND PROCESS PARAMETERS

3.1. Welding Technologies

A vast number of welding techniques exist. These are described in a number of welding
manuals and the reader who is interested in the details is directed to the literature available
(Lundqvist, 1977; Hägg, 2010; Weman, 2003). Only a very brief account of the most important
welding methods, for the sake of simplicity divided into conventional arc-welding and high
power density techniques (Table 1), is given here.

Table 1. Main fusion welding techniques used to join SS

Designation European acronym American acronym

Manual metal arc welding/ MMA SMAW
shielded metal arc welding
Inert gas/active gas metal arc MIG/MAG GMAW
welding/
Arc welding Gas metal arc welding
Tungsten inert gas welding/ gas TIG GTAW
tungsten arc welding
Submerged arc welding SAW SAW
Flux cored arc welding FCAW FCAW
Plasma arc welding PAW PAW
High power
Laser beam welding LBW LBW
density welding
Electron beam welding EBW EBW

As the equipment required is relatively simple, manual metal arc welding (MMA) is a very
flexible method used for a wide range of applications. It is used both indoors and outdoors for
site welding and in workshops. In contrast to welding techniques requiring shielding gas, it is
6 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

more suitable outdoors in strong winds. The electrodes have an external coating extruded onto
a core wire. Big consumers of covered electrodes are found in ship-building, fabrication of
pressure vessels, the construction of bridges and for various types of repair welding.
MMA was the most frequently used welding method until the beginning of the 1980’s after
which the popularity of metal inert gas/metal active gas (MIG/MAG/GMAW) increased.
MIG/MAG welding is divided into several categories depending on the shielding gas. For MIG-
welding a mixture of argon and helium is employed while CO2 and various other mixed gases
are used in MAG welding. MIG and MAG make use of the same equipment and welding
principles. In the case of stainless steels it is customary to use Ar-gas mixed with 1-3% oxygen
or CO2.
The flux may be added in the core of tubular electrodes as in the case of flux cored arc
welding (FCAW), which is a method introduced already in the 1920’s. Two types of electrodes
are used; wires requiring shielding gas (usually CO2 or, in the case of stainless steels, mixtures
of Ar and CO2) and self-shielded flux cored wires. The equipment is in practice the same as
that used in MIG/MAG welding.
An electrode made of non-melting (non-consumed) metallic tungsten or a tungsten alloy is
used in tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. The shielding gas is most commonly high purity
argon but may sometimes also be helium or mixtures of helium and argon. It is suitable for the
welding of tubes and is mainly used for workpiece thicknesses in the range 0.3-3 mm. The
resulting weldment is of a high quality with good surfaces and mechanical properties. TIG
welding can be performed both manually and automatically. Although the productivity cannot
be compared with for instance MIG/MAG or FCAW, it is advantageous because of the stable
arc and ease with which the weld result can be controlled. An additional advantage obtained
using TIG is the pure high quality weld metal with low micro slag inclusions resulting in
excellent impact strength.
Submerged arc welding, SAW, is characterised by a very high productivity. A protecting
flux surrounding the wire or strip electrode is applied in the form of a layer on top of the area
to be welded. The molten metal is protected from the atmosphere by the gas itself and the slag
formed by the flux under the influence of the arc. The method is characterized by a high
deposition rate, deep penetration and a better working environment than with most other
methods. The resulting weld is of a very high quality. Plasma arc welding is similar to GTAW.
The heat source is a constricted arc formed between a nonconsumable electrode and the weld
pool (‘transferred arc’) or the constricting nozzle (‘non-transferred arc’). The protection of the
weld pool is obtained by ionized gas and externally added gas (argon or helium). Despite its
similarity to arc welding technologies, it can be classified as a high power density technique
because of its high-energy plasma stream in which temperatures range between 10 000°C and
20 000°C.
Among the high power density welding technologies, laser beam welding (LBW) is
perhaps the most used in the field of stainless steels. The laser beam allows to obtain a very
narrow fusion and heat affected zone. The heat source can be continuous (carbon dioxide gas
laser), adapted for the welding of thicker stainless steel sheets or strips, or pulsed (yttrium-
aluminium garnet (YAG) laser), preferred for welding thin stainless steel sheets (< 1.5 mm).
Finally, in electron beam welding (EBW), the high power density energy is given by a
concentrated stream of high-velocity electrons formed into a beam. In order to prevent the loss
of kinetic energy by electrons, the equipment requires a vacuum chamber having the additional
advantages of increasing the penetration depth of the beam and avoiding weld pool
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 7

contamination. Like LBW, EBW can produce deep and thin welds with narrow heat affected
zones. The depth to width ratio is of the order of 20/1.
There is a vast number of additional welding methods. This is not the place for an
exhaustive account of all techniques available. However, some important techniques should be
mentioned very briefly.
Various welding techniques requiring an external load to press the joint surfaces together
exist. Resistance welding, friction welding, ultrasonic welding, explosion welding and
diffusion welding belong to this family of pressure welding methods. Other methods include
electro slag welding and thermite welding. A detailed description of the most important welding
techniques is given in Welding Processes Handbook (Weman, 2003).

3.2. Fusion Zone and Heat Affected Zone

When joining two pieces of metal using a filler metal, it is quite natural that the parent
metal is influenced by the molten metal. The chemical composition of the fusion zone will be
influenced by dilution which is defined by the ratio between the weight of the molten parent
metal and the total weight of the weld metal.
The zone close to the fusion zone, termed heat affected zone and abbreviated HAZ, will
experience thermal cycles due to the heat generated in this region. This may influence the
mechanical and corrosion properties. The sensitivity to heating varies from one alloy to another
and is generally higher in highly alloyed stainless steels. For instance, highly alloyed duplex
stainless steels with high concentrations of chromium, molybdenum and nitrogen have to be
welded with some caution. A potential risk is the formation of intermetallic precipitates (high
heat input, slow cooling) or nitrides (rapid cooling from high temperature) leading inevitably
to reduced corrosion resistance and low toughness. Because of this fact, the welding
recommendations have to be followed strictly.
Another potential risk of intense heating in ferritic and martensitic stainless steels is
excessive grain growth, which will lead to reduced toughness. When there is a risk of grain
growth a low heat input is recommended.
The heat input, Q (kJ/mm), i.e., the amount of energy supplied to form a unit length of the
weld, is controlled by the input of power and the welding speed, v. It may be written as follows:

U  I  60
Q= (1)
v  1000

where U is the voltage (Volt), I is the current (Ampere) and v is the welding speed in mm/min.
As a general rule, the lower the heat input, the higher the cooling rate.
The heat input depends on welding technology, with high power density techniques being
characterized by the lowest values, and influences several factors such as the residual stresses
in the weld, tendency to shrinking and the formation of undesired secondary phases. The
recommended heat input is mainly a function of the thickness of the workpiece and varies
between types of alloys. For instance, it is maximized to 2 kJ/mm in austenitic alloys so as to
minimize the distortion of the weld due to residual stresses and also reduces the risk of hot
cracking during austenitic solidification. Many duplex stainless steels tolerate somewhat higher
8 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

input (2.5 kJ/mm) but highly alloyed duplex stainless steels (super duplex stainless steels,
SDSS) only tolerate heat inputs confined to the range 0.2-1.5 kJ/mm. The exact value of the
heat input mainly depends upon the thickness of the workpiece. The lower limit is explained
by the fact that a minimum temperature is required to trigger the reformation of austenite.
The interpass temperature during multi-pass welding is an important parameter as it, like
heat input and workpiece thickness, influences the temperature cycle significantly. It is defined
as the temperature in the position of the weld immediately before subsequent welding is taking
place and is usually measured using a thermocouple.

4. WELDABILITY
A major breakthrough in SS welding research was done by Schaeffler (1919-2001) (Figure
2, on the left) close to the end of World War II. ‘Tony’ – this surname was given to Anton
Schaeffler by his colleagues – developed his famous diagram that bears his name during the
five years he worked for Arcos Company (Philadelphia) supported by Royal David Thomas Jr.
(Figure 2, on the right). This time was characterized by the peak of his creativity and was
remarked by Anton Schaeffler himself as follows: ‘stainless steels had gotten my blood’
(Schaeffler A., (1991)).

Figure 2. On the left, Anton Schaeffler in his research laboratory with the Arcos Corporation –
Philadelphia, 1946; on the right, Royal David Thomas Jr., Director of Research and Development of
Arcos Corporation, then president of this company (1958-1980). President of the American Welding
Society during the 1960-1961 year. Photos thaken from the Guiraldenq and Duparc’s work (2017) by
kind permission of the authors.

It is worth mentioning that the work of Anton Schaeffler was inspired by the reasearch of
Strauß and Maurer (1920) who first developed a diagram that predicted the microstructure
obtained at room temperature after cooling, following the welding of the metal deposited on
the steel substrate.
The Schaeffler’s diagram shown in Figure 3 and defined by Royal David Thomas Jr as the
‘Constitutional diagram applied to stainless steel welding’, is a useful tool for estimating the
final microstructure in the weld metal under usual welding conditions. Lines indicating the
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 9

expected amount of ferrite are very important when welding austenitic steels. In particular the
boundary line A/(A+F) was considered an important marker for austenitic SS that are called
‘balanced’, because their composition is exactly at the limit (A/A+F).
Using experimentally determined parameters, the influence of the alloying elements can
be quantified. The ferrite forming elements are included in the chromium-equivalent and the
austenite forming elements in the nickel-equivalent. In the present diagram the following
formulae of the chromium-equivalent and nickel-equivalent have been used:

ECr = %Cr + %Mo + 1.5×%Si + 0.5×%Nb

ENi = %Ni + 0.5×%Mn + 30×%C

Figure 3. Second and final version of the Schaeffler’s Diagram for practical welding operations with
stainless steels published in Metal Progress (Schaeffler, 1949). Cb stands for columbium, usually called
Nb (Cb and Nb are two different names for the same element, Cb is the ancient/arcaic name). Picture
taken from Guiraldenq and Duparc’s work (2017) by kind permission of the authors.

The weight factors in front of the percentages of each alloying element are indicative of
the stabilizing power relative to chromium and nickel respectively. As an example the prefactor
of manganese is 0.5 as it is half as effective as nickel in stabilizing austenite. It should be
pointed out that the diagram is not based on equilibrium conditions and may not be regarded as
a phase diagram. It should rather be interpreted as a guide-line for determining the resulting
weld structure following normal welding conditions. For instance, it is not intended to be used
for predicting the structure of the heat affected zone or post-weld heat treated weld metal.
Essentially three regions may be identified; the martensitic, the austenitic and the ferritic.
In addition, there are regions where mixtures of the corresponding phases are found. For
instance, lines representing various amounts of ferrite are drawn to facilitate a quantitative
estimation of -ferrite during welding of austenitic steels. Furthermore, whether or not
martensite is likely to form can also be predicted from the Schaeffler’s diagram.
A further development of the Schaeffler’s diagram is the William Thomas DeLong’s
diagram, developed in 1960 (see Figure 4). This improved diagram takes into account the
10 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

influence of nitrogen and is focussed on compositional ranges pertaining to the 300-series of

alloys. Furthermore, as volume fractions of ferrite are often difficult to measure quickly with
good accuracy, ferrite numbers in the range 0-18 based on magnetic measurements are used.
As opposed to the Schaeffler’s diagram the ferrite lines in the DeLong’s diagram shown in
Figure 4 are parallel. It is noted that DeLong gave nitrogen a nickel equivalence coefficient
equal to 30, as for carbon.

Figure 4. DeLong’s revised section of the Schaeffler’s diagram to analyse ferrite content with nitrogen
added to the nickel equivalent (DeLong, 1960). Picture taken from Guiraldenq and Duparc’s work
(2017) by kind permission of the authors.

The WRC-1988 diagram shown in Figure 5 is a successor of the DeLong’s diagram. It was
produced as the result of an initiative taken by the Welding Research Council in 1988. It had
long been realised that the accuracy in predicting ferrite formation of nickel-rich austenitic
steels was unsatisfactory. New equivalency formulae were determined based on statistical
analysis of almost 1000 welds. This resulted in the removal of manganese in the nickel
equivalent, which was the culprit in systematically overestimating the ferrite number for high
alloy welds. Furthermore, reference lines for ferrite numbers up to 100 were included which
should be compared with the DeLong’s diagram that is limited to ferrite numbers up to 18.
In 1992 the influence of copper was included in the WRC-diagram (Figure 6). This resulted
in the so-called WRC-1992 diagram, which is to be regarded as the most reliable diagram
produced so far in predicting ferrite in weld metal. This diagram bears resemblance to the
WRC-1988 diagram but with the only exception that the nickel equivalent includes copper with
a coefficient of 0.25:
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 11

Figure 5. WRC-1988 diagram used to estimate ferrite numbers in the range 0-100. Compositional
ranges for estimating the solidification mode, austenitic (A), austeno-ferritic (AF), ferro-austenitic (FA)
and ferritic (F) are indicated.

Figure 6. New 1992 WRC diagram including solidification mode boundaries. (Updated from T.A.
Siewert, C.N. McCowan and D.L. Olson – Welding Journal, December 1988 by D.J. Kotecki and T.A.
Siewert - Welding Journal, May 1992.)

Nieq = Ni + 35C + 20N + 0.25Cu

The steels can be classified with respect to their main constituents. This is quite natural as
each class of steels has characteristic corrosion properties and mechanical properties.
12 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

Moreover, there are essential differences in welding response. As an example, the phenomenon
called hot cracking is intimately related to austenitic solidification in austenitic structures.
With respect to welding, stainless steels are classified as follows:

1. Austenitic steels
2. Ferritic steels
3. Martensitic steels
4. Duplex steels

Each class of steels will be dealt with separately in the sections below.

5. AUSTENITIC STEELS
Welding of austenitic steels usually results in a weld microstructure containing substantial
amounts of -ferrite of suitable morphology (those that solidify austenitically are exceptions)
(Prasad et al., 2014). One important effect of -ferrite is to accommodate impurity elements
such as sulphur and phosphorus that would otherwise cause brittleness. A typical microstructure
of a weld microstructure containing austenite and small amounts of ferrite is shown in Figure
7a. For comparison, the microstructure of wrought austenitic steel of type 316 is shown in
Figure 7b, in which characteristic annealing twin boundaries are visible.

Figure 7. a) Microstructure of the fusion zone in type 24%Cr-13%Ni filler metal. The skeletal
(nomenclature from Lippold and Kotecki) morphology of ferrite results from a ferritic–austenitic
solidification. TIG all-weld metal with 10% ferrite. b) Austenitic stainless steel of type 316 solution
annealed in the austenitic phase field at 1100°C/10 min. No ferrite is visible.

Austenitic steels such as type 304 and 316 are easily weldable as long as a suitable filler
metal is used. Such filler metals are carefully balanced so as to yield ferrite numbers typically
in the range 5-15. However, it is important to follow the welding instructions strictly to
guarantee good corrosion resistance and sufficient toughness.
Welding using a filler metal is by far the most common practice. However, in the case of
thin sections it may be difficult to use a filler metal and therefore autogeneous welding is the
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 13

main alternative. Because of the relatively wide range of compositions in standardized

austenites such as type 304 and 316 the final microstructure may show large variations. For
instance, if the amount of nickel is high in a chromium-poor austenite, it is very likely that
primary austenitic solidification takes place. This can be envisaged from the WRC-92 diagram
shown in Figure 6.
Small variations in composition but still within the specifications can yield quite large
variations in final structure. The quadrangles in Figure 4 represent possible compositions within
the standard specification of 304 and 316. In this representation, compositions in the upper left
corner of the quadrangles represent stable austenites and therefore fully austenitic
solidification. A likely consequence of the austenitic solidification is cracking due to
segregation of impurities to the austenite boundaries of elements such as sulphur. As an
example, concentrations of sulphur as high as 2000 times the bulk composition have been found
on solidification fracture surfaces. If, on the other hand, compositions are in the lower right
corner of the quadrangles, a microstructure containing -ferrite can be obtained. As shown in
the diagram, small changes in the composition can yield large differences in terms of ferrite
number. It is therefore evident that the design of a suitable filler metal is a delicate task.
Experience from welding of austenitic steels shows that the risk of hot cracking is substantially
reduced if ferrite numbers in the range 5-15 (roughly corresponding to 5-13% of ferrite) are
obtained. A widely used filler metal such as type 308L matching type 304 yields a ferrite
number of 8-11 (~ 8-10% ferrite). Furthermore, to avoid carbide formation of type M23C6 the
carbon concentration is kept as low as 0.015% and below. Welding of type 316 for which the
filler metal ER316L is recommended is analogous to that of type 304.
Very high ferrite numbers above the range indicated above should be avoided as both
corrosion resistance and toughness have to be sacrificed. The ferrite phase forms a skeleton,
which becomes contiguous above about 10%. In certain corrosive media failures due to
selective corrosion attack in the sensitive ferrite phase may then occur. Under such
circumstances, filler metals with a higher stability of austenite and therefore less -ferrite
should be used.
The solidification during welding may be envisaged in Figure 8, which is an isopleth
diagram of type 308 filler metal using chromium as the variable. Three regions may be
identified (Lippold and Kotecki, 2005) with respect to the solidification behaviour
corresponding to austenitic (Type A), austenitic-ferritic (Type AF) and ferritic-austenitic
solidification (Type FA).
Entirely austenitic solidification (Type A) is characterised by primary austenite formation
and a microstructure that is fully austenitic when solidification is completed. This structure will
be retained down to room temperature. Some segregation will occur during solidification as
ferrite-promoting elements will partition to the interdendritic volumes. For instance, in type
316 austenitic steel, chromium and molybdenum will be enriched to the cell and dendrite
boundaries. Impurities such as phosphorus and sulfur will also be partitioned to the boundaries.
14 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

Figure 8. The relation between solidification type and the isopleth diagram of type 308 filler metal
using chromium as a variable (here  should be interpreted as since it forms directely from the liquid
as in carbon steel).

Type AF solidification involves the formation of primary austenite and ferrite formation
before the solidification is completed (Figure 9a). Ferrite forms provided that there is a
sufficient quantity of ferrite forming elements in the residual liquid in interdendritic regions.
The reaction, which is most likely eutectic, takes place in the triangular phase field comprising
liquid, ferrite and austenite in the phase diagram in Figure 8. This ferrite remains stable down
to room temperature despite the fact that it is cooled through an austenitic phase field as it is
enriched in, and stabilized by, ferrite forming elements.
When the Creq/Nieq ratio is sufficiently high, solidification occurs as primary ferrite. If
some austenite is formed towards the end of solidification the mode is called type FA (Figure
8). The process, described in detail by Lippold and Kotecki (2005), involves interdendritic
formation of austenite that grows during further cooling by diffusion along the ferrite-austenite
boundaries while ferrite is becoming increasingly unstable. During cooling in the  region,
the outermost portion (low in Cr) of the primary ferrite dendrites transforms into austenite
leaving a ferrite skeleton in the heart of the dendrites. Two morphologies of ferrite may be
identified, skeletal (or vermicular) and lathy ferrite as shown schematically in Figure 9b. An
example of a skeletal morphology of ferrite is given in Figure 7a taken from a TIG all-weld
microstructure of type 24.13.L.
Primary ferrite formation is beneficial as it prevents cracking during welding. This
phenomenon, often called hot cracking, has traditionally been associated with segregation of
impurity elements such as phosphoros and sulfur to austenite-austenite boundaries (Fang et al.,
2021; Kadoi et al., 2020). The beneficial effect of ferrite has been attributed to its higher
solubility of impurities. However, although this aspect is important, the morphology of the
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 15

boundaries appears to be even more important. Lippold and Kotecki (2005) emphasize the
importance of grain boundary energies (wetting) and boundary tortuosity.

Figure 9. Solidification modes of austenitic stainless steels fusion zone. a) (AISI 310, 25%Cr-20%Ni-
55%Fe; b) AISI 309, 23%Cr-14%Ni-63%Fe.

In the primary austenitic mode, solidification grain boundaries are straight, offering an easy
propagation path for cracks. On the other hand, in the primary ferritic mode, the solidification
grain boundaries are eliminated by the three-phase reaction during solidification leading to
more irregular  phase boundaries, which act as crack arresters. Finally, the backfilling of
cracks by liquid is found to be easier in the primary ferritic solidification mode than in the
primary austenitic mode (Kujanpää et al., 1986).
Weld process conditions also have a strong effect on hot cracking behaviour (Singh et al.,
2018). In particular, high cooling rates and rapid solidification may promote austenitic
solidification and extend the risk of solidification cracking to a wider range of alloy
compositions, assessed in terms of the ratio of chromium equivalent to nickel equivalent value
(Creq/Nieq) that is used in the WRC-1992 diagram (Bermejo et al., 2015). For an interesting
case-study about weld solidification cracking in AISI 304L stainless steel water tank that
summarizes and highlights important aspects to take into account in welding design, the reader
is referred to recent work by James et al. (2020).
Austenitic steels have a thermal expansion coefficient of about 16×10-6 K-1, i.e., 50%
higher than low alloy steels or ferritic steels. This fact, in combination with the low heat
conduction, leads to thermally induced stresses following shrinking (Unnikrishnan et al. 2014).
As a consequence, distorsion of the weld is a potential problem. Moreover, austenitic SS are
16 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

more sensitive to stress corrosion cracking than other types of stainless steels (Lu et al., 2005;
Kumar et al., 2015). The higher residual stresses imply that the weld is a region where stress
corrosion can take place, in particular in the presence of chloride ions.
The problem can be remedied by a final stress relief treatment in the temperature ranges
400-500°C or 850-950°C if this is practically feasible (Marques et al., 2015). Under all
circumstances the temperature of treatment has to be chosen so as to avoid the formation of
carbides.
Precautions have to be taken when welding highly alloyed austenitic alloys. Typical
examples are Sanicro 28 and Alloy 690 for which welding may lead to hot cracking as
solidification occurs in a fully austenitic condition. These and similar highly alloyed austenites
are usually provided in a high purity condition implying that the concentration of sulphur and
phosphorous is kept at a minimum. Therefore, the risk of embrittlement due to intergranular
segregation is minimized. Furthermore, the filler metals recommended for such alloys are also
of high purity with respect to sulphur and phosphorous.
It also worth mentioning that super austenitic stanless steels (i. e. those used in nuclear
power plants containing high amounts of Cr and Mo) could be affected by sigma phase
precipitation during solidification of the fusion zone (Lee et al., 2018). This leads to the
formation of Cr and Mo depleted zones surrounding the sigma phase resulting in decreased
corrosion resistance. Si, which is used as deoxidizer during steelmaking, has been shown to be
harmful in the austenitic weld metal because it extends the solidification temperature range,
causing more segregation of elements and forming precipitates or low melting eutectics.
Moreover, silicon acts as a catalyst of -ferrite, and promotes  transformation during
cooling in weld metal of gas tungsten arc welded joints (Hsieh et al., 2007)).
Other secondary phases, observed in the austenitic steels welded joints, are film-like MC
phase and granular Laves. In a recent work by Kadoi et al. (2020) it was shown that the
susceptibility to solidification cracking depends on the morphology and amount of formation
as well as the start temperature during solidification corresponding to the composition of
alloying elements and carbon. A significant improvement in mechanical properties and
reduction of sensitivity to hot cracking of 316L SS weld joint was achieved by using
elecromagnetic vibration during the GTAW process (Sabzi and Dezfuli, 2018).
Laser welding of austenitic and superaustenitic stainless steels is fully satisfactory in terms
of both microstructural and overall mechanical reliability (Zambon et al., 2006; Li et al., 2020;
Kumar et al., 2020; Sathiya and Jaleel, 2010)). The low heat input and the subsequent rapid
cooling induce a very narrow heat affected zone (HAZ), a fine and fully dendritic
microstructure and finally a possible formation of nano-sized precipitates. Figure 10a shows a
macrograph of the weld bead obtained by laser welding of AISI 904L. Moreover, isotherms
obtained by numerical simulation carried out using Sysweld numerical code are superimposed
and show the high thermal gradients and the very thin HAZ resulting from the low heat input
applied. The shape of the fusion zone was obtained by superimposing three power density
distribution functions as shown schematically in Figure 10b. For more details about the
numerical model the reader is referred to the work by Magnabosco et al. (2005).
Finally, it has to be pointed out that there is a possibility to use friction stir welding to join
austenitic stainless steels. This method eliminates the main drawback associated with fusion
welding of austenitic SS, namely hot cracking (Emami and Saeid, 2019).
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 17

a b
z
y
spherical heat
source
weld pool

conical heat
source

spherical heat
source

Figure 10. Laser welding of AISI 904L stainless steel. a) 2D representation of thermal field (°C) over
the cross section of the bead (the red zone corresponds to the molten metal) and solidification
temperature interval during the maximal extension of fusion zone. b) superposition of three power
density distribution functions (two spherical and one conical) used to simulate the real fusion zone
shape (Magnabosco et al., 2005).

6. FERRITIC STEELS
The weldability of ferritic steels is limited mainly by three factors: 1) the risk of
embrittlement caused by martensite formation, 2) excessive grain growth and 3) hydrogen
uptake (Amuda et al., 2016; Ramkumar et al., 2015; Lakshminarayanan and Balasubra-manian,
2012). Moreover, microphase precipitation in the HAZ can occur (Silva et al., 2008).

Figure 11. Ferritic weld metal of AISI 430 welded using autogenous TIG. Epitaxial grain growth at the
interface HAZ/FZ and grain coarsening in HAZ have taken place.

Modern ferritic steels have a low concentration of interstitials. In such steels grain growth
is the main concern. Iron-chromium alloys with more than 12% chromium are ferritic in the
entire temperature range from room temperature to the melting point. This fact, in combination
18 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

with the high diffusivity in the bcc structure, implies that they undergo no phase transformation
and become sensitive to grain growth in the HAZ as well as in the weld metal (Figure 11). As
a consequence low toughness is a potential risk when exceeding about 950°C during welding.
For this reason the heat input should be kept as low as possible.
The tendency to form large ferrite grains during welding of ferritic steels is well illustrated
in Figure 12. The example shows a joint of ferritic AISI 430 with AISI 304 austenitic SS welded
together using MIG. This rather unusual combination of a ferritic and an austenitic stainless
steel shows very instructively the much larger grains formed in the ferritic component
compared with the grains in austenite that are typically 30-50 m.

Figure 12. Ferritic weld metal of AISI 430 LNb (upper rigth corner) welded to AISI 304 austenitic
stainless steel using MIG. Note the larger grains in the ferritic part of the weld metal.

Some ferritic steels such as AISI 446 contain significant amounts of carbon (0.17% in AISI
446). This leads to an expansion of the duplex phase field in the phase diagram and the
introduction of carbides. Even such a low concentration of carbon as 0.05% has a strong effect
as shown in Figure 13. For instance, ferritic steels with chromium concentrations in the range
12-19% and 0.05% carbon are likely to form high temperature austenite during heating. Upon
cooling, this austenite, which dissolves substantial amounts of carbon, may form martensite
and cracking is a potential risk. In AISI 446 ferritic steel with 0.2% carbon (and 0.2% nitrogen)
the duplex phase field is further expanded. Despite the high concentration of chromium, it is
prone to martensite formation. Preheating before welding in the temperature range 200-300°C
is recommended to suppress martensite formation. Furthermore, this temperature range is well
above the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (100-150°C for AISI 446 SS) below which
the fracture toughness drastically decreases.
A general recommendation during welding of ferritic steels is a heating up to the
temperature range 200-300°C prior to welding. It should be pointed out in this context that thin
sheet material such as automotive exhaust catalyst material is usually not preheated. The thicker
the workpiece the higher the selected temperature within this range. In addition, in the case of
multi-pass welding it is recommended that the interpass temperature be kept at the same level
as the preheating temperature. This reduces the temperature gradients and associated stresses
in the weldment. Experience has shown that crack formation related to the welding process is
correspondingly reduced. Although the mechanism by which cracking occurs is not uniquely
identified, it is quite evident that it is important to maintain the temperature above the ductile-
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 19

to-brittle-transition temperature (DBTT). Experience has shown that grain size and martensite
formation play important roles. If hydrogen embrittlement is a potential risk (Malitckii et al.,
2017), slow cooling and a high preheating temperature are beneficial because this gives time
for hydrogen to escape.
Martensite (as well as ferrite) is known to be sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement. Since
there is a risk of forming martensite when welding ferritic steels, brittleness due to hydrogen
uptake is a concern. Hydrogen sources are hydrogen in the shielding gas, moist in the
surrounding atmosphere, fluxes and coatings. Therefore, coated electrodes and fluxes should
be baked at 300°C for a couple of hours (or according to the supplier’s recommendations) to
minimize the amount of hydrogen.

Figure 13. Phase diagram for Fe-Cr-0.05C computed using Thermo-Calc. The -loop is expanded
relative to carbon-free Fe-Cr, the duplex region is larger and the carbides M23C6, M7C3 and M3C
(cementite) are introduced.

7. MARTENSITIC STEELS
Martensitic stainless steels have chromium concentrations in the range 12-18%. Because
of the higher carbon concentration than in ferritic steels, viz. 0.1-0.3%, they are hardenable.
Hardening takes place by austenitizing in the austenite phase field at about 1000°C after which
martensite forms by quenching in water or oil to room temperature. Due to brittleness in the
quenched state a subsequent tempering treatment is performed leading to improved toughness.
20 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

Because martensite formation is associated with a volume increase, the hardening is associated
with significant stresses. During welding of martensitic steels these stresses are superimposed
on the thermally induced stresses (Singh, Shahi et al., 2020). This, in combination with the
brittle nature of martensite, makes welding of martensitic steels very difficult.
The HAZ is a critical part of the weld as martensitic steels are generally hardenable in air.
This leads to brittleness in a zone close to the fusion zone and explains why martensitic steels
exhibit poor weldability. In order to mitigate the effects of stresses and phase transformations,
welding is recommended to be performed at elevated temperature. Preheating to 250°C is
usually employed for martensitic steels with more than 0.1% carbon. For carbon concentrations
in the range 0.1- 0.2% slow cooling after welding is sufficient. However, when the carbon
concentration exceeds 0.2% immediate post weld heat treatment (PWHT) is recommended. No
preheating or PWHT is required for martensitic steels with less than 0.1% carbon. The
preheating temperature is chosen to be above the ductile-to-brittle-transition-temperature
(DBTT), where the martensite is tough and thermally activated tempering can occur before
cooling to room temperature. The optimum working temperature depends on the alloy
composition and the dimensions of the workpiece. Moreover, a subsequent annealing treatment
for 30-60 minutes in the range 650-750°C is often performed to increase the ductility of the
weld (Köse and Kaçar, 2014). For instance, the elongation in a 12% chromium steel with
0.07%C was found to increase from 5 to 20% as a result of the annealing treatment. Similarly,
for a 17%Cr-0.09%C steel an increase from 2% to 20% was achieved (Folkhard, 1988).
However, although the ductility is improved significantly, it should be pointed out that the
impact toughness remains low even after the annealing treatment. This is due to the tendency
of ferrite to form coarse structures during recrystallization.
In critical cases it is recommended that the tempering treatment be performed immediately
after the welding operation without intermediate cooling of the workpiece to room temperature.
Transverse cracking in the fusion zone of the weld is sometimes a problem when matching
filler metal (the tensile strength of the filler metal is usually equal to or greater than that of the
base metal) is used. This problem can be circumvented by using a non-matching filler metal
such as an austenitic alloy which is to be preferred in all cases when a post-weld heat treatment
is not possible to perform. Thereby, the limitations associated with the welding of martensitic
stainless steels are confined to the HAZ of the base metal.
In very complicated cases, buttering of the joint surfaces with an austenitic filler metal is
performed prior to welding. The austenitic layer is made sufficiently thick to prevent phase
changes in the martensitic base metal during the final welding operation. It must be pointed
out, however, that the use of a non-matching filler metal leads to properties of the fusion zone
that are different from that of the base metal.
As martensite is inherently sensitive to hydrogen embrittlement, it is quite essential to
eliminate all sources of hydrogen during the welding operation. Therefore, a baking operation
prior to welding is required. Coated electrodes and submerged arc fluxes should be baked
according to the recommendations of the supplier. A treatment at 300°C for 2 h is usually
sufficient.
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 21

8. DUPLEX STAINLESS STEELS

The weldability of early versions of duplex stainless steels (DSS) was unsatisfactory due
to the sluggish reformation of austenite. This resulted in very high volume fractions of ferrite
and low toughness ensued (Bonollo et al., 2009). Modern filler metals used for welding DSS
are overalloyed with respect to nickel (Chaudhari et al., 2019). Moreover, high concentrations
of nitrogen very close to the solubility limit contribute to rapid reformation of austenite (Varbai
et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2017).
The properties of the weld metal are largely influenced by the solidification mode (Badji
et al., 2008) and subsequent cooling of the welding pass as a consequence of the absence of
controlled recrystallization and homogenization (Verma et al., 2017). The desired solidification
mode of DSS is an entirely ferritic one. As a rule of thumb the ratio of the chromium and the
nickel equivalents, Creq/Nieq, should exceed a value of 1.8 to guarantee a fully ferritic
solidification mode (Figure 14). Below this value, mixed mode solidification takes place
whereby austenite and ferrite solidify simultaneously. Such a structure is microstructurally
quite unstable and should be avoided as it is prone to formation of secondary phases.

Figure 14. Pseudo-binary diagram based on WRC-1992 equivalent relationships.

During cooling in the temperature range 1200 – 800°C -ferrite partially transforms to
primary austenite (Figure 14). The corresponding volume fraction formed at time t (V) will
depend on the cooling rate according to the relation proposed by Lindblom and Hannerz (1991):

Vg = (Dt12-8 )m (2)
22 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

where t12-8 is the time interval elapsed during cooling from 1200 to 800°C while m is a
parameter dependent on the alloy composition.
The amount of ferrite in the weld may show large variations, typically in the range 35-65%,
depending upon the welding technique and parameters used (Bonollo et al., 2005).
A typical weld microstructure is shown in Figure 15, where the parent metal is seen to the
right and the fusion zone to the left. In between the fusion zone and the parent metal there is a
zone that has experienced temperature variations (HAZ). It is quite evident that the volume
fraction of ferrite (dark contrast) is higher here than in the other zones. Unlike the filler metal,
the concentration of nickel in the HAZ is that of the base metal whereby the austenite formation
is slower. It should be pointed out that this situation is quite normal and the structure shown in
Figure 15 is close to ideal.
The HAZ plays an important role and is sometimes the critical part of the weld. It is
subjected to thermal cycles with peak temperatures ranging from near room temperature (RT)
up to the melting point in regions close to the weld. The cooling and heating rates may vary
significantly with heat input, structural dimensions, and position relative to the weld. The
situation is further complicated by the fact that multi-pass welding leads to repeated heating
and cooling, the rates of which are dependent on the interpass temperature (Kim et al., 2020;
Arun et al., 2019). While austenitic steels are rather forgiving in terms of heat input and cooling
rates, the DSS have to be treated more cautiously. For instance, slow cooling may give rise to
formation of intermetallic phases while rapid cooling may lead to chromium nitride formation.
This will be discussed below.
The formation of -phase takes place in the range 750-900°C (Ferro and Bonollo, 2012).
It is perhaps the most deleterious of all secondary phases formed in DSS as it influences both
corrosion resistance and toughness adversely. This is the reason why -phase is widely studied
and modelled in literature mostly using the well known Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov
Equation (Ferro et al., 2017; Nishimoto et al., 2006).
As regards corrosion behaviour, a first indicator of the pitting resistance is the PREN
parameter (PREN=Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number). When nitrogen (N) is included in
the formula it is commonly written as follows:

PREN = wt%Cr+3.3×(wt%Mo) +16×(wt%N) (3)

Chromium, molybdenum and nitrogen all contribute to a higher resistance to pitting

corrosion and are therefore attractive alloying elements. However, they also promote the
formation of -phase and contribute to a microstructurally more unstable weld. Hence, the
cooling rate required to guarantee a weld microstructure devoid of -phase becomes higher in
highly alloyed DSS such as UNS S32750, UNS S32707 and UNS S33207. Appropriate welding
using a heat input in the range 0.2-1.5 kJ/mm and an interpass temperature below 150°C
prevents the formation of intermetallic phase. Under certain circumstances the heat input can
be increased to 3 kJ/mm for super DSS, e.g., when thick plates (~20 mm) are welded using
submerged arc welding but this is rather exceptional. In the case of hyper DSS (DSS with a
PREN close to 50) such as UNS S32707 and UNS S33207 an interpass temperature as low as
100°C is recommended as their microstructural instability is extreme owing to the high content
of alloying elements. An example of -phase (white contrast) in a super duplex weld of type
28.8.3.L deliberately formed by ageing for 3h at 850°C is shown in Figure 16a. -phase can
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 23

also form following the eutectoid reaction where 2 is the secondary austenite treated
below.

Figure 15. Weld of duplex stainless steel showing weld metal of type 25.10.4.L to the left and UNS
S32750 parent metal to the right. In between there is a heat affected zone exhibiting a higher ferrite
fraction owing to the exposure to high temperature.

Figure 16. -phase and -phase precipitation in DSS weld metal. a-b) Weld metal of 28.8.3.L (AWS
ER2209) aged for 3 hours at 850°C. The -phase and -phase have formed during the isothermal
ageing treatment, in particular in the narrow ferrite arms enriched in chromium and molybdenum. c)
eutectoid reaction followed byfurnace heat treatment (920°C, 600 s); parent material: UNS
S31803, filler materials: 22.8.3.L (AWS ER2209) and 22.6.3.L (UNS S31803) (Ferro et al., 2008).

Rapid cooling prevents the formation of intermetallic phase but if the cooling is extreme
there is a risk of forming chromium nitrides in nitrogen-rich DSS (Ramirez et al., 2004; Gregori
and Nilsson, 2002; Nilsson, 1992; Cervo et al., 2010a; Ramirez et al., 2003; Chen and Yang,
2002; Liou et al., 2002). The examples given in Figure 17 is taken from a weld of UNS S32750
rapidly cooled to form nitrides in the HAZ. This is a region where large ferrite grains may form
as a result of heating. During the subsequent cooling the diffusion distances are quite large and
chromium nitrides may form if there is insufficient time for nitrogen to escape. Field Emission
Gun Scanning Electron Microscopy (FEG-SEM, Quanta 250 from Fei©) micrographs shown
in Figure 18 are taken from the HAZ of UNS S32750 SDSS and show colonies of chromium
nitrides precipitated within ferrite grains as well as in ferrite subgrain boundaries.
24 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

Figure 17. Light optical micrograph of chromium nitrides (arrowed) formed in the heat affected zone
after tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding in combination with rapid cooling of UNS S32750.

Figure 18. SEM micrograph from the HAZ of UNS S32750 showing a chromium nitride colony within
ferrite grain (intragranular precipitation) (a) and along the ferrite subgrain boundaries (intergranular
precipitation) (b). Cooling conditions: in-line water quenching immediately after welding.

Figure 19. Weld metal of 25.10.4.L reheated to 950 C, kept at this temperature for 10 s and
subsequently cooled to RT to induce the precipitation of secondary austenite (arrowed). The needles
(yellow contrast) formed in the ferrite grains (blue contrast) are the secondary austenite precipitates.
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 25

The first austenite to form after solidification during welding is termed primary austenite
(). However, despite the fact that reformation of austenite is facilitated by high concentrations
of nitrogen and extra nickel, it is impossible to reach the equilibrium fraction of austenite.
Hence, there is a thermodynamic driving force for forming additional austenite, so called
secondary austenite (2), which is depleted of nitrogen and chromium and therefore prone to
pitting corrosion attack (Nilsson et al., 1995) (Figure 19).
This phase is formed as a result of the δ+γ→δ+γ+γ2 transformation in the austenitic-ferritic
structure, following the heating to temperature below the A-B line in the phase equilibrium
diagram of Fe-Cr-Ni in Figure 20.

Figure 20. Fe-Cr-Ni equilibrium system for 68% Fe.

A typical example is the reheating of weld beads during multi-pass welding when thermal
cycles may destabilize ferrite, in particular if the interpass temperature is higher than that
recommended. While the formation of 2 following isothermal ageing usually takes place at
ferrite/austenite phase boundaries the welding-induced 2 typically precipitates in the interior
of ferrite grains (Zhang et al., 2020) an example of which is given in Figure 19. The temperature
range within which 2 is formed is 800-1000°C. The 2 shown in Figure 19 has been produced
by reheating the weld to 950°C, keeping it at temperature for 10 s and cooling subsequently to
room temperature. Despite solution annealing followed by water quenching on DSS and SDSS
welded joints to improve their mechanical and chemical properties (ASTM A928/A928M and
NORSOK MDS D42 Standards) can be carried out (Ferro et al. 2008), caution must be taken
when choosing the optimal heat treatment parameters in order not to compromise the corrosion
resistance (Cervo et al., 2010b; Ferro et al., 2018; Ferro et al., 2017).
Finally, it has to be pointed out that the formation of 2 can be supressed by cooling down
to a sufficiently low interpass temperature, viz. below 150°C recommended in the welding
26 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

instructions. For a more in-depth analysis on the welding of duplex steels, the reader is directed
to a recent review by Verma and Taiwade (2017).
Like austenitic SS, DSS can also be friction stir welded (Emami et al., 2019). In this case,
good mechanical and chemical properties were found by Magnani et al. (2014). On the other
hand, Leite et al. (2019) in their study on pitting resistance of friction stir welded UNS S82441
lean duplex stainless steel, found that the thermo-mechanical affected zone (TMAZ) is
susceptible to pitting corrosion with a critical pitting temperature (CPT) of about 10°C lower
than that of the parent metal. Despite the absence of a fusion zone, an increase of austenite is
observed in TMAZ, even if the variation of austenite/ferrite proportion from that of the parent
metal is less then that promoted by fusion welding. The mechanical work induces a
transformation of ferrite to austenite depleted of nitrogen. Such austenite is therefore less
resistant to pitting corrosion than primary austenite.

8.1. Modelling of -Phase Precipitation and Dissolution

Due to the great importance of predicting sigma phase dissolution and precipitation during
welding of PWHT of DSS and SDSS, semi-empirical models describing the kinetics of
isothermal and non-isothermal  particles dissolution and precipitation are presented.
Models are based on the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) equation,
commonly used for describing isothermal solid state transformations:

{
Vds = Vse 1 - exp éë -(kt)n ùû} (4)

where V is the volume fraction of phase  transformed at time t, Ve is the equilibrium volume
fraction of phase  (at temperature T) and k and n are constants of the precipitation reaction
. In Eq. (4) the temperature is kept constant, and the parameters are temperature
dependent.

8.1.1. Isothermal Dissolution Model

For -phase dissolution Eq. (4) becomes (Ferro, 2013):

Vsd = Vsi exp éë -(wt) d ùû

n
(5)

where V is the volume fraction of phase  at time t, Vi is the initial volume fraction of phase
 and  and nd are constants of the dissolution reaction . By comparing equations (4) and
(5), it is easy to observe that the two time derivatives, dV/dt and dV/dt, have the same
mathematical expression, even if, for kinetics reasons, they differ from the values assumed by
the constants ( ≠ k and n ≠ nd). Finally, by considering the time derivative of equation (5):

d(Vsd / Vsi ) dx n -1
= = -wn d x(wt) d (6)
dt dt
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 27

the dissolution rate (dx/dt) at time t is found to depend on the volume fraction not yet dissolved
at time t.
The undissolved fraction x of equation (6) includes an impingement factor of 1 which can
be thought to correct some effects that, in particles dissolution process are, for example, the
interaction between solute distribution of close undissolved particles (effect of inter-particle
spacing, particle spatial distribution) or the influence of particle size distributions (small
particles feed the growth of large ones because of the Gibbs-Thompson effect, which slows
down the dissolution of large particles as well as the overall dissolution rate). In the work by
Ferro (2013) an impingement factor of the modified form xcd+1 is introduced in order to
generalize the equation (6). The equation (6) can thus be replaced by equation (7):

dx c +1 n -1
= -wn d x d (wt) d (7)
dt

where cd is the impingement exponent of the dissolution reaction.

By integration of equation (7), the following kinetic equation is obtained:

é [1 + c(wt)nd ]-1/cd for c ¹ 0

x=ê
d
(8)
ê exp[-(wt) ] for cd = 0
nd
ë

Since the dissolution of particles is a diffusion-controlled process (thermally activated), the

parameter  can be supposed to have the expression:

w = w 0 exp(-Qd / RT) (9)

where 0 is the pre-exponential factor, Qd the activation energy (for dissolution), R the gas
constant, and T the absolute temperature.

8.1.2. Isothermal Precipitation Model

The proposed model is based on the Lee and Kim’s equation, which, in its general
representation, takes the form (Lee and Kim, 1990a,b):

Vds é 1 - (cX n + 1)-1/c for c ¹ 0

x= =ê (10)
Vse ê 1 - exp(-X n ) for c = 0
ë

where V is the volume fraction of  phase transformed at time t, Ve is the equilibrium
amount of  phase, X = kt, where t is the time and k is a constant which takes into account the
effects associated with nucleation and growth and usually evaluated empirically for each
temperature; n is the time exponent which varies according to the controlling phenomenon of
the phase transformation and c is the impingement exponent of the precipitation reaction. It is
worth mentioning that Eq. (10) is a generalization of the JMAK classical equation (c = 0) (Eq.
4).
28 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

8.1.3. Non-Isothermal  Dissolution Model

When considering a solution PWHT, during continuous heating, temperatures at which the
precipitation of  phase can occur are first reached; thus, the initial amount of  phase (V0)
may increase due to the precipitation of additional intermetallic phase; the temperature interval
for  phase precipitation in DSS is found to be about 700-900°C. After the solvus temperature
(Teq) is reached,  phase dissolution occurs. The temperature at which the dissolution starts
depends on the heating rate and initial distribution and morphology of  phase. The heating
curve is approximated by a stair-case curve using a constant temperature increment T and a
corresponding time increment ti as shown in Figure 21.
During the intermetallic phase precipitation (T(ti) < Teq) the contribution to the
transformation is calculated by transferring the volume fraction transformed during previous
steps Vi-1 to a fictitious time t’i-1 according to equation (11) (V,i-1 = V0 and t’i-1 = 0 for the
first step):

é 1/n
ê é æ Vds ,i-1 ö ù
êç1 - -1ú
ê 1 êè Vse ÷ø ú
ê for c ¹ 0
ê kê c ú
t 'i-1 = ê ê ú (11)
ê êë úû
ê 1/n
ê 1é æ Vds ,i-1 ö ù
ê - ln ç 1 - ú for c = 0
ê k êë è Vse ÷ø úû
êë

Figure 21. Schematic description of heating curve and its stair-case curve approximation (Ferro et al.,
2016).
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 29

The fictitious time is simply the time to achieve a specific fraction of transformation and
is used here to describe the position on the isothermal evolution curve at the start of temperature
step as shown schematically in Figure 22a.

Figure 22. Computation of -phase evolution during non-isothermal heating; a) precipitation; b)

dissolution (Ferro et al., 2016).

The transformed fraction V,i at the step i is calculated by using Eq. (12) where ti is the
stair-case time increment:

é e
{ }
-1/c
ê Vs 1 - éëck i (t 'i-1 + Dt i ) + 1)ùû for c ¹ 0
n n

Vds ,i =ê (12)

ë
e
{
ê Vs 1 - exp éë -k i (t 'i-1 + Dt i ) ùû for c ¹ 0
n n
}
After the equilibrium temperature (Teq) is reached,  phase (V,max) begins to dissolve. In
this case, the fictitious time is calculated by means of Eq. (13):

é é -cd
ù d
1/n
æ
ê ê sd , i-1V ö
ú
ê 1 ê çè V i ÷ø - 1 ú
ê ê s
ú for cd ¹ 0
ê wi ê cd ú
t 'i-1 = ê ê ú
(13)
ê ë û
ê 1/n d
ê1 é æ Vsd , i-1 ö ù
ê ê - ln ç ÷ú for cd = 0
êë w i êë
i
è Vs ø úû
30 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

where Vi is the amount of sigma phase at the end of the precipitation phenomenon (Vi =
V,max). The remaining fraction V,i after the step i is calculated by using Eq. (14) (Figure
22b):

{ }
é i nd
-1/cd
ê Vs 1 + cd éëw i (t 'i-1 + Dt i )ùû for cd ¹ 0
Vsd,i =ê
{ }
(14)
ê V i exp é -w t ' + Dt ù nd
ê s ë i ( i-1 i )û
for cd = 0
ë

Figure 23 shows a simplified flow chart of the routine written in Matlab® code for the
computation of sigma phase precipitation and dissolution during continuous heating according
to Figure 22. For both kinetics reason (diffusion of elements is a termically-activated
phenomenon) and variation of temperature during time, it was supposed that a significant
precipitation starts above 500°C.

Figure 23. Simplified flow chart for the computer program (V0 = amount of sigma phase before
heating) (Ferro et al., 2016).
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 31

For further information on the modelling of phase precipitation, the reader is referred to
the works of Ferro and Bonollo (2011) and Wilson and Nilsson (1996).
The comparison between experimental and analytical results of  evolution during the
continuous heating of UNS S32205 DSS is shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24. Temporal non-isothermal evolution of  phase amount (V) for different initial  phase
content: a) V0 = 10.8%, b) V0 = 24.0%. The discrete symbols are from experiments, and the line is from
the model (Figure 23) (nd = 1.6, cd = 0, Qd = 202 kJ mol-1) (Ferro et al., 2016).

As expected, from Figure 24 it can be seen that the amount of  phase precipitated during
continuous heating depends on initial percentage of  phase. At constant heating conditions,
the lower the initial amount of  phase, the higher the  phase amount precipitated prior to
dissolution. The activation energies for precipitation and dissolution reaction (Q = 205 kJ mol-
1, Q = 202 kJ mol-1) were found to be very close to the activation energy for Cr grain boundary
d
diffusion (218 kJ mol-1) suggesting a  particles precipitation/dissolution kinetics controlled
by Cr grain boundary diffusion. The dependence of sigma formation with Cr diffusion in ferrite
is expected, since nucleation of sigma phase always occurs at ferrite-austenite interfaces, and
growth of sigma phase is strongly related to consumption of ferrite. Similarly, nucleation of 
32 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

ferrite, associated with  phase dissolution, always occurs at  or  interfaces, and growth
of  ferrite is strongly related to consumption of  phase (Ferro et al., 2016).

9. WELDING OF DISSIMILAR MATERIALS

Very often there is a need of joining dissimilar steels such as a carbon steel to a stainless
steel or two stainless steels of very different composition. It is of crucial importance to
determine the composition and corresponding structure of the weld metal. Under such
circumstances the Schaeffler’s diagram is a very suitable guide.

Figure 25. In this modified Schaeffler’s diagram the blue lines correspond to the welding of dissimilar
materials as commented in the text. The red lines indicate the expected amount of ferrite.

The assessment of the chemical composition of the weld metal is made as follows. This is
illustrated by the example given in Figure 25. The two alloys to be welded together are a
martensitic steel (position A) and an austenitic alloy with 5% -ferrite (position B). It is
assumed in this estimation that the joints are symmetrical and equal amounts of alloys A and B
are melted and added to the melt pool. The composition of the contribution of alloying elements
by melting is found half way between A and B in position C. As diffusion in the liquid state for
practical purposes may be regarded as instantaneous the overall composition of the weld metal
will be modified and readily calculated by a linear law of mixture. From experience we know
that 20-40% of the filler metal will be diluted by the addition of molten base metal. It is
therefore possible to quantify the final composition of the weld metal and its corresponding
structure, which is represented by a point located on the line connecting C and D, which
represents the composition of the filler metal 23.12.2.L. Assuming that the dilution of the filler
metal is 33% yields a point E, which divides the line C-D at a distance of 1/3 from D. The final
composition of the weld metal is therefore indicated by position E. The Creq/Nieq ratio becomes
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 33

22/12, corresponding to an austenitic structure containing about 10% -ferrite. If the task is
reversed, i.e., the composition of an optimum filler metal is to be selected and the final structure
is predetermined, point D can be estimated as the points C and E are known.

9.1. Special Phenomena

When welding dissimilar materials rather special phenomena may occur owing to a large
difference in solidification temperature. The phenomenon of unmixed zones (UMZ) was first
discovered in 6-Mo austenitic stainless steels welded using Alloy 625. It has been explained by
the solidus temperature of the weld metal being well above the liquidus temperature of the base
metal. Temperature gradients and viscosity of the melt are also important parameters. This may
result in regions of melted but unmixed parent metal embedded in the weld metal close to the
fusion line. Later, similar observations have been made in duplex stainless steel welded to a
highly alloyed non-matching filler metal such as a nickel-base alloy. The example given here
is taken from a super-duplex stainless steel welded using Alloy 625 (Figures 26 and 27).

Figure 26. Alloy 625 nickel-base alloy used as filler metal for welding the duplex stainless steel UNS
S3275. An unmixed zone in the form of DSS parent metal is observed (arrowed). A ferritic zone
depleted of nitrogen is also seen close to the fusion line.

Figure 27. Weld metal of Alloy 625 nickel-base filler metal used to weld a super duplex steel of UNS
S32750. A ferritic zone in the HAZ of the DSS (arrowed) is seen close to the fusion line. It is formed as
a result of nitrogen loss during welding.
34 P. Ferro and J.-O. Nilsson

An UMZ may be defined as a thin zone close to the fusion boundary containing molten
parent metal, which has solidifed before being accommodated into the weld pool. As there is
no mixing with the filler metal it may be regarded as an autogeneous weld. The example given
here is a nickel-base filler metal (Alloy 625) used to weld the duplex stainless steel UNS
S32750. Because of the disparity in chemical composition and, hence, solidification
temperature mixing is impeded. In the present example the DSS has penetrated into the filler
metal in the form of a nitrogen depleted ferrite grain (arrowed in Figure 27). A very likely
consequence is an adverse effect on corrosion resistance of the weldment. Due to the
inhomogeneous composition the UMZ is expected to be less resistant to corrosion than the filler
metal and the parent metal. Although there is no evidence of problems related to UMZ in oil
and gas sea water service, it has been associated with some failures in the paper and pulp
industry and should therefore not be ignored.
Another consequence of the use of a nickel-base filler metal adjacent to a DSS parent metal
is the formation of a ferritic zone in the immediate vicinity of the fusion zone. The presence of
a ferritic zone is explained as follows. The HAZ of the DSS experiences a high temperature
very close to the melting temperature where the volume fraction of ferrite is high. Nitrogen
escapes to the adjacent weld pool of mainly molten nickel-base alloy, which has a higher
solubility of nitrogen resulting in a zone depleted of nitrogen. This, in combination with
embrittling of niobium nitrides is likely to result in a region of low toughness and low corrosion
resistance and should be kept to a minimum.

CONCLUSION
Welding enters into all areas of metallurgy since welding inevitably involves melting,
solidification and temperatures varying with time. As a result of this, a number of phenomena
well known from physical metallurgy are likely to occur. These include build-up of residual
stresses, segregation of impurities, inhomogeneous distribution of alloying elements, phase
transformations and uncontrolled grain growth. The resulting macroscopic properties such as
corrosion resistance and mechanical behaviour are therefore intimately related to the quality of
the welding procedure.
All stainless steels are to be regarded as individuals and the corresponding welding
recommendations must be based on deep knowledge of the underlying metallurgical processes
occuring during welding. Early welding of stainless steels was based on empirical knowledge.
The ingeneous idea of Schaeffler to create a welding diagram provided a new approach to and
the onset of modern welding. Recent research has resulted in a WRC-diagram, which is a
further development of the original Schaeffler diagram. The advent of modern analytical
instruments and computational modelling have played a crucial role here. This, in combination
with the development of modern welding techniques has advanced the joining of stainless steels
from skilled craftsmanship to scientifically based welding.
 Welding Metallurgy of Stainless Steels 35

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 2

A PROCESSING CHART FOR LASER BEAM WELDING

OF AA6013-T6 AEROSPACE ALUMINUM ALLOYS

R. H. M. Siqueira1, S. M. Carvalho2 and M. S. F. Lima1,3,

1
IEAv-Insitute for Advanced Studies, Photonics Division,
Sao Jose dos Campos, SP, Brazil
2
UFES-Federal University of Espirito Santo, Mechanical Engineering Department,
Vitoria, ES, Brazil
3
UFOP-Federal University of Ouro Preto, Thematic Network in Materials Engineering,
Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil

ABSTRACT
Aluminum alloys are traditional materials in the aerospace industry and many weld
techniques were incorporated into the knowledge of the companies. Among the most
promising techniques, laser beam welding is of particular interest due to the advantages of
automation, quality and reliability of the product. As laser beam welding is still a new
technology in many industrial areas, a short introduction is proposed here. In the present
work, some phenomena occurring during fiber laser welding of an AA6013-T6 aluminum
alloy are presented with emphasis on the weldability aspects, which will give possible to
determine a processing chart. Although many defects had been noticed during the
experimental work, the welded components using 1000 W beam power and 5 m/min are
particularly suitable to produce sound components. The correlation between the heat input,
i.e., the laser power to weld speed ratio, and weld dimensions were described and its effects
in grain boundary liquation and hardness were reported.

Keywords: welding, laser beam welding, aluminum alloys


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
42 R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima

1. INTRODUCTION
High-strength aluminum alloys are traditional materials in transport industries such as
aerospace, automobiles and trains because of their good strength-to-weight ratio, and excellent
formability and corrosion resistance. Within the aerospace industry, aluminum alloys are
extensively used in airframes, as they comprise today more than 70% of a large commercial
airliner weight. Today, advances in the development of aluminum alloys for aerospace have
primarily driven to reconquer the role of first choice materials, today partially occupied by
polymer-matrix composites (Prentzias and Tsamasphyros, 2019).
In the aerospace industry, riveting is the traditional process for joining aluminum, although
it presents some important weaknesses. Riveting is a well-known automated technology, but it
has reached the limit of its development potential and cannot be expected to yield notable
increases in productivity or significant savings any more (Roetzer, 2005). In addition, rivets
weaken the region near the gap and are especially vulnerable to stress corrosion cracking
(Findlay and Harrison, 2002). In the last years aircraft manufacturers have been explored laser
beam welding, as a possible route for joining large metal fuselages with stringers and clips, like
those found in the Airbus A380 (Schumacher, 2006). Studies carried out in the last ten years
by research institutes, such as The Welding Institute (TWI) and Edison Welding Institute
(EWI), and by companies, such as ESAB and Trumpf, point out evident advantages in the
partial replacement of mechanical riveting by welding in the construction of transports (Dittrich
et al., 2011). Of course, not all welding processes are eligible for a given aircraft component.
The strict criteria of metallurgical quality, limitations on the extent of the heat-affected zone
(HAZ) and the control of defects and distortions have led aircraft manufacturers to invest in
two modern welding technologies for structures: Laser Beam Welding (LBW) and Friction Stir
Welding (FSW). This work discusses the use of LBW in aluminum components.

1.1. Laser Materials Processing

Laser beam welding (LBW) is still considered a non-conventional technique and a short
introduction to the laser-matter interactions, and its implications to modern fabrication
techniques, could be useful for the current book.
Metal surfaces are massively populated by free electrons that could be easily excited by
optical radiation, from the ultraviolet to infrared. Additionally transition metals present
partially filled atomic shells that could participate in the radiation absorption. Since the photon1
energy increases as the wavelength decreases, the processing of metals with short wavelengths
is more efficient from the absorptivity point of view. In the case of non-metals, the optical
coupling is mainly linked to the photon-phonon phenomena in ceramics or to the molecular
bonding resonance in polymers.
The heating rate of a given material exposed to a laser beam is mainly determined by the
target absorptivity for a given wavelength. When an incident radiation strikes the materials
surface, three different responses could occur: reflection, transmission or absorption. The
reflectivity R is the ratio between the reflected intensity I and the incident intensity I0. In the
case of metals, where the transmitted optical intensity (It) is negligible, the absorptivity A is

1
A phonon is a quantized mode of vibration occurring in a rigid crystal lattice, such as the atomic lattice of a solid.
 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum … 43

equal to 1-R. For example, theoretically, the reflectivities for aluminum for the wavelength of
1 µm and 10 µm are 90% and 99%, respectively (Ready, 1997). These values are just
approximate, because it is quite difficult to evaluate the actual reflectivity of a material surface
since its value depends on various parameters such as surface roughness, oxidation state,
temperature, light polarization, etc. Therefore, it is usual in practice to measure the reflectivity
using a calorimeter (Frenk et al., 1989).
In the case of the material allowing some transmissibility to the optical intensity, it is
important to consider the attenuation of radiation when entering the solid. One convenient
method to estimate this is by using the Beer-Lambert formalism (Ready, 1989) where the most
important parameter is the absorption coefficient. The absorption coefficient is around 105 cm-
1
for metals in the visible and infrared spectrum but can be almost zero (transparent material)
for non-metals. Therefore, the absorption length, defined as the distance over which the
intensity I0 is reduced by a factor 1/e, is usually a few nanometers for metals and a few
millimeters for a tooth tissue, for example.
The absorbed laser intensity produces different phase transformations in materials. If the
intensity is relatively low, only local heating occurs which will be dissipated to the solid volume
if sufficient time is allowed. At average intensities, melt may occur and welding is possible if
the laser beam is scanned over a joint. At high intensities, the vaporization point is attained
allowing better thermal penetration into the hole produced in the solid volume of the work-
piece. More thermal confinement is possible using short pulse lengths and ablation and drilling
could be also verified. In extremely high intensities and very short pulse lengths, a bright
plasma is produced next to the materials surface and a mechanical wave can be transmitted
inside the solid, leading to shock wave hardening. Figure 1 schematically shows the different
laser processes as a function of intensity (W.cm-2) and the interaction time (Ion, 2005). The
interaction time is the pulse length for pulsed lasers or approximately the ratio between the spot
diameter and the laser scanning speed for continuous (CW) lasers. As can be seen in Figure 1,
the cited processes are approximately enclosed in a range of laser fluencies between 10-1 to 103
J.mm-2.

Figure 1. Laser processing diagram for a generic metal or metallic alloy according to Ion (2005).
44 R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima

Laser materials applications processing had been considered from the earliest stages of the
laser development in sixties. Only four years after the first working laser based on ruby,
invented on Hughes Research Laboratories in 1960 (Maiman, 1960), Patel (1964) working at
the Bell Laboratories developed the first CO2 laser with enough power (100 W) to produce
measurable heating in metals. During the sixties and seventies, the lasers scaled up in power,
while the market was not ready to introduce these lasers in factories. The Nd:YAG laser,
invented in 1964 (Geusic et al., 1964), soon shown some promising results for silicon cutting,
but the poor quality of the beam induced large thermal effects. Laser trimming of
microelectronics materials became a reality after the invention of the excimer lasers (Ewing
and Brau, 1975), which work on ultraviolet range, with high absorptivity in metals and
producing very small heat-affected zone. By 2019, the worldwide commercial sales of
industrial lasers alone exceed 4.9 billion dollars per year (Belforte, 2020). Today, lasers for
materials processing have been used for marking, machining, treating, welding and additive
manufacturing in so different areas as cans code bar printing and airplanes manufacturing. Flat
metal cutting corresponds for about 42% of laser revenues in 2019 and welding/brazing
(primarily in automotive industries) gets other 20% of the laser facilities shear (Belforte, 2020).

1.2. Laser Beam Welding

Laser beam welding is a method for joining two or more materials using the power
delivered by a laser beam. The method, which inevitably involves melting and solidification,
has intensities and pulse lengths that are approximately at middle of Figure 1. The welding
could occur by two different mechanisms: conduction or keyhole.
Conduction welding, with intensities about 103 W.mm-2, involves absorption of laser power
by the material surface and subsequent bulk conduction. The transverse cross-section of the
laser bead usually presents a rounded shape with width at surface larger than depth (low aspect
ratio). Conduction welding can be performed by continuous (CW) or pulsed lasers, the later
with pulse lengths of some milliseconds. Conduction welding is usually selected for relatively
thin materials when vaporization must be avoided and/or small cosmetic seams are preferred.
Protective atmosphere is usual for all kinds of welding operations and required for reactive
materials, such as Al, Mg and Ti. When a filler metal is needed, the conduction process is called
laser brazing or laser soldering. Laser soldering could replace manual methods in some high
volume applications with advantages (Lima et al., 2007). Because the laser intensity is kept
relatively low, distortion is normally well controlled by the laser speed. Rapid melting and
solidification also reduce the diffusional processed which could occur in the heat-affected zone
such as liquation, grain growth and precipitates dissolution.
A variation of conduction welding is the transparent joining of polymers, usually a lap joint
between a transparent polymer, related to the laser wavelength, and an absorbing polymer or
coating. The laser moves through the upper polymer and only fuses small dots or lines exactly
at the polymers interface (Rudrapati et al., 2019).
Keyhole welding usually needs much more intensity than conduction case, Figure 1, in
order to produce some vaporization of base material. The high-intensity beam creates a vapor
cavity surrounded by liquid metal, which are supported by hydrostatic pressure; this cavity is
called keyhole. Keyhole welding allows high root penetration and produces a typical carrot
cross-section. The thermal efficiency of keyhole laser beam welding is similar to electron beam
 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum … 45

welding, about 0.35 kJ/mm, however the first does not need vacuum or special X-ray shielding.
For comparison purposes, the thermal efficiency (lower is better) for oxyacetylene welding and
GTAW (gas tungsten arc welding) are approximately 5.8 and 1.25 kJ/mm, respectively.
Laser beam welding, both conductive and keyhole modes, is subject to common defects in
welds such as porosities and cracks. Porosities could appear due to the keyhole collapse when
the laser-matter coupling renders unstable. Another possibility is liquid metal degasification
with consequent entrapment of bubbles.
Cracking is one of most common problems in fusion welding processes. Weld cracks could
occur during the solidification period of cooling (hot cracks) or after complete solidification
(cold cracks). Hot cracks occur at the very last stages of solidification, when the alloy is almost
completely solid. This type of cracking occurs in presence of residual liquid films between the
dendritic crystals of the solidifying alloy (Pumphrey and Jennings, 1948), usually just above
the eutectic or the solidus temperature. A material in which such cracking occurs invariably
possesses a relatively large solidification interval, since pure metals and eutectic alloys are not
susceptible to hot cracking. Hot crack susceptibility changes with process parameters; in
particular, it is very dependent on laser intensity and speed (Abbaschian and Lima, 2003).
Cold cracks could occur when the weld or the heat-affected zone have low toughness and
could not accommodate the residual stresses after joining. Uncontrolled thermal deformations
and inappropriate fixtures are the usual reasons for cold cracks. Even subcritical length cracks
(those which usually will not open under normal part operation) could be very dangerous. To
avoid problems linked to crack growth and complete failure of the part, fatigue testing is
exhaustively realized in aerospace materials (Oliveira et al., 2019).
An important and mature laser beam welding technology is the manufacturing of tailor
made steel parts for automobiles, called tailor blank welding. Using laser beam power, it is
possible to join different compositions and thicknesses of steel, coated or uncoated, with high
flexibility. Compared to the conventional welding process, lasers produce narrower weld beads
allowing enhanced corrosion prevention and minimizing thermal distortions. Door inner panels,
most with a single weld from top to bottom, are the prominent application worldwide and are
usually driven by one or more of the following: cost savings, structural improvement and
weight reduction (Khan et al., 2020).
A hybrid welding technique, using both laser and GTAW, allows increase penetration and
speed and decrease initial costs as well as permits larger gaps between the blanks. Therefore,
hybrid welding has been considered as a very promising technology for tailor blank assembly
(Farrokhi et al., 2019).
From the automotive to aeronautic industry was a small step for laser technology. The
current manufacture route for the joining of aircrafts fuselage structures is riveting, and the
principal material for these structures is aluminum. However, it is considered that advanced
welding processes, such as laser beam welding and friction stir welding, could lead to
manufacture cost savings around 30% and decrease the aircraft weight by 15% (Verhaeghe et
al., 2003). Laser beam welding is the principal manufacturing technology for this application
because of low heat input leading to low distortions, high welding speeds, good control of the
microstructure and flexibility. Airplane makers around the world, in particular Airbus and
Boeing, are researching and using lasers for the assembly of clip to skin and stringer to skin
subsections (Roetyer, 2005).
Laser beam welding (LBW) is a particularly interesting approach for the construction of
aluminum structures due to its high production rate, easy automation and integration, and very
46 R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima

precise heat input control. This last result in high temperature gradients and very small heat
affected zones, and thus represents a promising joining method for parts near to heat sensitive
regions, such as polymer-matrix composites. Recent developments in industrial laser scenario,
such as solution-integration between the machining and laser companies and the well-
developed worldwide laser centers network, together with a steady decrease of the prices of the
workstations and an increasing availability of new sources, have led to a growing use of lasers
in high volume production (Chryssolouris et al., 2008).
LBW is a process that uses light energy from a laser (light amplification by stimulated
emission of radiation) to melt a tiny volume between the materials to be joined. In the case of
metals, the laser energy is quickly transferred to the conduction electrons, which in turn
transmit to the crystalline network via phonons. If the absorptivity of the surface is high enough
for the light wavelength (color) of the laser, there may be fusion or vaporization in the region
of incidence. Concerning photon-matter transfer efficiency, laser welding can be divided in
conductive and keyhole modes. Conduction welding (Paul and DebRoy, 1988) occurs when the
light intensity is absorbed in a very small layer on the surface and the heat propagates according
to the thermal diffusivity of the material. This generally occurs at intensities between 105 and
106 W/cm2. The process generally produces welds with a small root depth, an approximately
circular cross-section, and is employed when the material is very thin or heat sensitive, or when
a cosmetic weld is intended. Keyhole welding (Fabbro and Chouf, 2000) involves intensities
typically above 106 W/cm2. At these intensity levels, the beam is powerful enough to vaporize
an amount of material in the core of its confocal length. Once a cavity is created, the laser beam
can penetrate deeper into the material, as there are many reflections on the cavity walls, guiding
the beam and increasing the light-matter efficiency. The laser welding applications in large
structures, for example, in aeronautical components always employ keyhole mode.
Keyhole welding of aluminum alloys produces high quality seams, but they are not exempt
from common weld defects (Higashi and Lima, 2012). The most common weld defects in this
case are pores (open or closed), cracks (particularly hot cracks) and geometrical defects, such
as undercuts, drop out and discontinuous (or tortuous) seams.
As a relevant example of the use of LBW for manufacturing, a case study about aluminum
weld is presented. The objective of the present investigation is to contribute to the
understanding of weldability for aluminum alloys using a fiber laser to produce 1.6 mm deep
welds in a AA6013-T6 alloy. A processing chart will be presented and discussed, as well as the
appearance of defects.

2. EXPERIMENTAL
The laser used here was a 2 kW fiber laser installed in the Laser Applications Laboratory
(DEDALO) of IEAv/Brazil. The laser host medium is an active 50 µm core diameter Yb:glass
fiber and the process fiber has 10 m long and 100 µm diameter. The focusing device is
comprised of a collimator and a composition of lenses with focal length of 160 mm. The beam
was focused at the upper sample surface, allowing a spot diameter of 0.1 mm. Argon flux (30
l/min) shields the weld and the adjacent areas during processing. The welds were realized by
moving the sample over the laser beam focused on the aluminum surface using a computer-
 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum … 47

controlled linear stage. All welds were realized autogenously and under bead-on-plate
conditions.
Aluminum sheet class AA6013 (Al-Mg-Si based), with 1.6 mm thickness, were used here.
This alloy is heat treatable, presents low density, high corrosion resistance and high formability,
and has been used in numerous aerospace applications (Lima et al., 2009). The current sheets
were heat treated to T6 condition (solution heat treated twice at 160°C/2 h) and the surfaces
were slightly ground using a SiC600 paper and cleaned using ethanol.
Various process parameters could be envisaged to analyze their influence on weldability
such as beam power, speed, gaseous flux, polarization, surface condition, focusing distance and
so on. This work considers only the weld speed (V) and laser power (P) as the chief variables
for the aluminum joining. In order to set the limits of these two parameters, some tests were
carried out, giving the following variables ranges 3.6 m/min ≤ V ≤ 8.4 m/min and 600 W ≤ P
≤ 1400 W.
The following analyses were realized in the welded samples:

 optical inspection for surface defects (holes and instabilities);

 metallography of transversal section (perpendicular to weld direction) of polished and
etched (Keller etch) samples for microstructure and weld bead dimensions;
 metallography of longitudinal section (parallel to weld direction) for porosities
observation and
 hardness testing (Vickers, HV) to access mechanical properties of the welded material.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure 2 shows the quality chart for the studied alloys associating the power (P) and speed
(V) to the observed features in the welds. In most of the conditions proposed in the welding
chart, some type of defect was found. For the 1.6mm thick plates, some conditions were rejected
according to the nature of the defect.
The weld conditions where P and V are too low were discarded due to its resulting
microstructure, as there was the presence of coarse porosities inside the weld, and the
dimensional characteristics of the fusion zone were not acceptable: excessive width and
insufficient depth. This feature was particularly noticed at relatively low V, e.g., 70 mm/s,
favoring the beam energy for a longer time, resulting in its widening. The presence of coarse
porosities results from instabilities in the formation of the keyhole, which may have been
caused by the surface condition of the sheet (presence of impurities) and the low speed adopted.
The conditions at high V but P lower than 750 W presented similar weld bead problems:
presence of pores in some cases and, mainly, insufficient penetration of the weld bead.
At the upper-left region of Figure 2, uncompleted penetration was verified. The numbers
next to the boundaries represent the weld depth with a maximum equal to the sheet thickness
(1.6 mm). For example, a full penetration of the aluminum sheet was obtained using 770 W
when the weld speed is 100 mm/s. The lower-left region lies in the low power, low velocity
range and is characterized by high porosity in the melted region. The pores were both
macroscopic and round due to gas entrapment or small and aligned near to welds roots due to
keyhole collapse (Figure 3a). Increasing laser beam power and welding speed induced holes in
the free surface of the welds. This defect lies in a large region named “holes” in Figure 2.
48 R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima

Whenever occurring, holes were observed at the upper surface of the welds as can be seen in
Figure 3b. High weld speeds and average powers could generate drop out because the liquid
aluminum has a very low viscosity (drop out in Figure 2). This defect is quite common in
aluminum welds and resembles the shape of Figure 3c. Sometimes drop out is considered a
severe defect when the unbalanced profile leads to stress concentrators and sometimes is a
minor defect removed by subsequent machining.
It was noticed that a speed exceeding 100 mm/s generally produces a resolidified tear (drop
out) or holes in the weldment. This defect does not seem to be related to the amount of liquid
around the keyhole, as the liquid volume decreases with increasing V for the same P. According
to Huang et al. (2018) and Lima et al. (2009), these bath instabilities are due to the keyhole
coupling dynamics. At high velocities, the keyhole collapses and re-couples causing explosions
inside the liquid metal. Therefore, the liquid is pushed into the open holes, creating drop out,
or in severe cases, a blowout hole, as indicated in Figures 2 and 3.
Finally, instabilities in the weld boarders were verified at very high V and P, probably
associated to plasma instability (upper-right in Figure 2). This effect has been already noticed
by other authors such as Xie (1999) and Forsman et al. (2001).

Figure 2. Processing chart for the welds. The “good weld” condition is bounded by unsufficient
penetration at upper-left corner (numbers indicating weld penetration) and drop out defect at top. Low
powers and low speeds conditions generate pores and, on the contrary, high powers and speeds lead to
unstable weld beads. The region marked “holes” comprises one or more open holes visible at the
surface.
 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum … 49

a b

c d

Figure 3. General characteristics of the welds: (a) internal pores; (b) open pores (holes); (c) drop out
and (d) top and root view of a good weld.

In the present analyses, good welds conditions were verified only in the white region of
Figure 2, i.e., around 1 kW and 5 m/min. Figure 1 also shows two straight lines representing
the heat input of 8 J/mm and 13 J/min, as HI 8 and HI 13 respectively, which bounds the “good
weld” niche. A typical good welding aspect is presented in Figure 3d for reference.
As expected, the weld bead dimensions (width and depth) increased with increasing power
and decreasing speed, i.e., increasing the heat input (HI). One possible representation of this
behavior is through a HI chart, as proposed by Benyounis et al. (2005). Figure 4a shows the
measured width and depth as a function of HI. Although the experimental data show some
scattering, the width and depth increased linearly with HI with slopes as 0.07 J/mm2 and 0.12
J/mm2, respectively. The dashed line represents the nominal sheet thickness and some points
are above this limit because of drop out. The maximum aspect ratio at 12 J/mm (Figure 4) is
about 2, which is quite low in laser beam welding, but assures that some gap between the sheets
could be admitted in butt-weld configuration. The influence of HI on the weld bead dimensions
differs from those published by Coelho et al. (2018), as these authors found different weld bead
dimensions for the same HI of an AA6013-T4 sheet.
50 R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima

Figure 4. Depth and width of the fusion zone as a function of the heat input (HI). The horizontal line
indicated the nominal thickness of the sheet. The equations related the dimensions to HI are included.

Figure 5 presents an optical micrograph of the weld surface with V = 80 mm/s and P =
1000 W after polishing and etching with Keller solution. Columnar growth followed the
original base material grains crystallography, but some equiaxed grains were verified at the
centerline in those conditions called “good weld” in Figure 2. The absence of solidification
cracks in all studied conditions could be associated to good thermal conditions and to the
appearance of equiaxed grains that are much more resistant to cracking. As the beam quality
(Goethals, 2020) is high (M2 ~ 12) the laser beam is much more confined around the keyhole
region and the mushy zone might be small, even at high weld speeds. A short mushy zone
produces a low cavitation pressure within interdendritic liquid, preventing microporosities that
could develop solidification cracks (DuPont et al., 1999). Additionally, the more crack sensitive
region (centerline) was partially filled with equiaxed grains, which sustain much more strain
rate than columnar dendrites (Kou, 2003).
Some liquation could be seen near the weld boarders (detail in Figure 5) as a result of
lateral heat dissipation. The extension of liquation zone at the grain boundaries as a function of
HI is presented in Figure 6. The maximum extension of GB liquation is about 50 m at 17.5
J/mm, which is very small for welding. Any cracks could be seen in the liquation area. These
results corroborates those of Carvalho et al. (2020) for the same alloy but with T4-heat
treatment.
The hardness profile of a representative good weld (V = 80 mm/s and P = 1000 W) is
shown in Figure 7. The welded material presented a decrease in hardness from 100 HV to 80
HV, in comparison with base alloy. This decrease is associated to the loss of Mg2Si precipitates,
responsible for hardening, in the fusion zone. The hardness in the base material seemed to be
unaffected by laser treatment and the extension of HAZ should be very small in all analyzed
samples. Nevertheless, a relatively soft weld compared to the base material could be a threat
when the welded component is subject to a given mechanical load.
 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum … 51

Figure 5. Polished and etched surface of a weld showing the regions composed of equiaxed and
columnar grains. The upper left image is a detail of the region near to the fusion line where liquation is
visible.

Figure 6. Grain boundary liquation length as a function of the heat input (HI). The equation related the
GBL to HI is included.
52 R. H. M. Siqueira, S. M. Carvalho and M. S. F. Lima

a b

Figure 7. Hardness testing of the weld: a) Vickers indentations and their positions; b) Measured HV
results (pointed line represents the interface between welded and base materials).

CONCLUSION
There is a large research field open for the development of research in laser beam welding
of aeronautical structures. This work, just dealing over an Al-Mg-Si alloy and varying only the
beam power and weld speed, allows exploring some phenomena linked to the weldability and
related to a processing chart (Figure 2). The present work shows the possibility to produce high-
quality welds of a 1.6 mm thick AA6103-T6 alloy using a laser power of approximately 1 kW
and a welding speed of about 5 m/min. It was verified that a good condition region lied between
heat inputs of 0.07 J/mm2 and 0.12 J/mm2. The possible defects in welds are porosities, holes,
drop out and boarders’ instabilities, however any cracks were observed. The cracks could be
avoided when using a high-quality laser beam and when producing an equiaxed region in the
centerline. Both the grain boundary liquation and heat-affected zones are well confined in the
experimental conditions showing that the methodology could be used to produce welds for
aerospace applications. The loss of hardening in the weld was associated with the dissolution
of precipitates found in the base material and must be considered carefully when the component
is subjected to a given load.

FUNDING
This work has been supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo
(FAPESP) under grants 2019/26081-3, 2019/25229-7 and 2016/11309-0. The authors also
acknowledge the support of Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
(CNPq) under grant 301575/2018-5. Thanks also are due to EMBRAER Co. for providing the
aluminum sheets.
 A Processing Chart for Laser Beam Welding of AA6013-T6 Aerospace Aluminum … 53

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 3

ELECTRON BEAM WELDING: CURRENT TRENDS

AND FUTURE SCOPES

Anupam Kundu1, Sanjib Jaypuria1, D. K. Pratihar1,,

Debalay Chakrabarti2 and Debasish Das1
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India
2
Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India

ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the working principle of electron beam welding (EBW). Various
components of an EBW set-up are described. It focuses on the merits and demerits of
electron beam welding. Various applications of EBW are highlighted. It describes the
principle and special features of micro-EBW also. The current challenges and unsolved
issues in EBW are also discussed. At last, future prospects will be enlightened.

Keywords: electron beam welding, Micro-EBW, principle, features, applications, multi-beam

1. INTRODUCTION
Electron Beam Welding (EBW) is a widespread and highly accepted joining process, which
is an inevitable part of the advanced manufacturing system. EBW is a high-energy density
fusion welding process and it has been efficiently working for manufacturing over the last 60
years. It will be able to fabricate a wide range of materials from macro to micro levels. EBW
has significant industrial applications in different sectors, such as aerospace, marine (ship-
building), automotive to medical instruments and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS).
The necessity of accepting this technology lies with the key demanding current technologies.
EBW can be efficiently used to join multiple hybrid assemblies starting from mechanical
components, electrical parts, and electronic connectors to MEMS fabrications (Weglowski et


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
58 Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar et al.

al., 2016), (Kundu et al., 2019). EBW has some special features, such as exact focusing ability
of high energy electron beam, precise heat input, high-frequency beam oscillation movement
and ability to work under vacuum environment, which enhance the quality of welding (Kundu
et al., 2019). This technology is very useful, where the welding materials are highly reactive in
the open environment, and due to this, usually it is processed under the complete vacuum
condition. So, this is totally free from inertia, contamination and reactions, which can protect
the reactive materials. Electron beam welding is also recommended, where the material joining
thickness is very high. The range of thickness of materials possible to weld as thick as 150 mm
and for butt weld its compete up to 250 mm (Weman, 2003). This chapter deals with the details
of EBW including its working principle, applications, advantages and limitations, important
features, processing parameters and recent developments in this field mainly, micro-EBW.
Finally, the current challenging issues and future scopes will be enlightened.

2. WHY DO WE CHOOSE ELECTRON BEAM WELDING?

The favorable conditions of EBW are the dust-free and clean environment, vacuum
working condition and the tiny beam diameters, which make this technology interesting for
spot or line weld of both metals as well as non-metals. This precision joining technology also
permits immensely the high-frequency oscillation movements, feeding exactly the amount of
input energy which enhance the welding quality (Weglowski et al., 2016), (Kundu et al., 2019).
EBW is important or special due to the following reasons:

 It can be used to weld both similar as well as dissimilar materials with any kind of
hardness,
 It gives rise to narrow fusion zone (Jaypuria et al., 2018),
 It has high efficiency of heat utilization,
 It ensures precise heat control (Jaypuria et al., 2018),
 EBW can be preferred to weld reactive materials due to processing under vacuum
environment (Schultz H, 1993),
 It can weld thick materials efficiently (Schultz H, 1993),
 It can perform welding with comparatively less defects.

In current trends, few latest advanced welding techniques are used to fulfill the different
purposes. These techniques are EBW, LBW (Laser beam welding) and FSW (Friction stir
welding), (Kah et al., 2015). Though, all the three joining processes have enough potential to
fabricate different components for multiple sectors as per our product requirement. Here, some
important features are representing which is relevant to achieve the quality of welded product.
A standard scale follow here, in total marking is out of 5, where low, moderate, high and very
high qualities are represented by 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, respectively, as shown in Figure 1.
 Electron Beam Welding 59

Figure 1. Graphical presentation of different welding features for EBW, LBW, and FSW.

3. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF EBW

Electron beam welding is a fusion welding process, where the high velocity beam of
electrons impinges on the work-pieces, the work-piece materials gets heated, and the
coalescence is produced. After striking the high velocity electron to the work-pieces, kinetic
energy is transformed into the heat energy, which melts the work-piece material and then gets
joined together [(Weglowski et al., 2016), (Kundu et al., 2019)]. In this way, mechanical energy
is being converted into thermal energy and joining takes place. Usually, in EBW, the entire
process is carried out in vacuum environment. Because in open environment, the electrons get
scattered with the air molecules and the density of power gets reduced (Smolka et al., 2004).
The whole process is fully computer-controlled and highly automated. The precise nature of
this technology needs a specialized fixture to protect the parts used for joining, and a moveable
CNC table is used to move the work-pieces and fixtures within the vacuum or working
chamber.

EBW Gun Chamber Set-up

Gun chamber of an electron beam welding machine comprises of multiple components,

such as an anode, a grid cup electrode, a filament and the magnetic focusing lenses etc.,(Kundu
et al., 2019), which are shown, in details, in Figure. 2.
60 Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar et al.

Beam Current
Control Voltage
- +
Grid -
(Bias Cup) High
Voltage
Supply +
Anode
Magnetic Focus Lens
Electron Beam

Magnetic Deflection
Coil

Work Piece

Focal Range

Figure 2. A schematic view of electron beam gun chamber. Courtesy: Modified from (Kumar P et al.,
2012), Copyright ©NPTEL, 2012. Course: Advanced Manufacturing Processes, https://nptel.ac.in/
courses/112107077/35.

4. EBW MACHINES AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

Normally, EBW machines can be categorized into three groups, except for a few special
cases (Schultz H, 1993):

 Universal welding machines,

 Continuous welding machines,
 Cycle type production machines.
 Electron Beam Welding 61

All the above mentioned machines have some common components:

 an electron beam gun,

 different electromagnetic lenses for positioning the beam,
 a high voltage power supply,
 control and adjusting instruments,
 a working chamber,
 a vacuum system,
 Jigs and fixtures arrangement.

Electron gun chamber High

Vacuum
voltage
pump
Power
system
supply
(rear side
of the
chamber)

Working
Control
chamber
desk with
screen
touch
monitor

Figure 3. Electron Beam Welding machine set-up. Courtesy: EBW Laboratory, IIT Kharagpur.

Out of all these components, the electron beam gun chamber and working chamber are the
main parts of any kind of EBW machine. In addition, a modernized control desk is used, which
contains all the important operating features for data entry and continuous monitoring of the
machines (Schultz H, 1993). These entire things are connected with PLC and CNC-based
highly automated system (Cohen et al., 2019). The vacuum pumps are available at the rear wall
of the chamber and these are acoustically insulated. The set-up of EBW is shown above in
Figure 3.
The electron beam gun chamber is connected to the high voltage power supply with some
special cables, and electrons are emitted from this section using high amount of accelerating
voltage. The next part is working chamber, where all the joining and forming take place. A
CNC-based moveable table is used, which is moved across the different directions. A closed
circuit camera is provided for monitoring the alignment of joining materials and visualizing the
inside chamber.
62 Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar et al.

4.1. Major Components and EB Gun Input Parameters

Electron beam welding machine consists of the following three major chambers:

 Beam generation chamber: Here, electrons are discharged from a heated filament and
accelerated towards the anode using the high voltage between them.
 Beam manipulation chamber: In this section, electron beam is focused by using
multiple electromagnetic lenses to the weld joint.
 Forming and working chamber: In this section, material gets fused, melted, and the
joining takes place.

Normal operating conditions of EB gun chamber:

 High voltage (typically 10-150 kV)

 Low beam current (few milliamps)

4.2. The Levels of Vacuum during EBW

EBW is mostly performed in vacuum condition due to prevent of the collision of free
electrons and gas molecules in the air. If EBW is done in an open environment, as a result, the
beam disperses and the power density gets reduced. Therefore different levels of vacuum are
maintained during welding. There are three vacuum levels in EBW (Gary F., 2017)-

1. High-vacuum welding: Welding can be done in same vacuum chamber as a beam for
producing high quality welding.
2. Medium-vacuum welding: Welding can be done in separate chamber and partial
vacuum maintained which reduces pump-down time.
3. Non-vacuum welding: This welding is done at near atmospheric pressure.

4.3. The Possibility of EBW at the Atmospheric Pressure

In modern EBW technology, it is quite possible to perform EBW under soft vacuum, the
maintained pressure under 0.1 torr. Basic set up is same with the vacuum EBW, the main
difference is that the beam is passing through a series of industrial pumped pressure stages
which allows the beam to be projected to the atmosphere without gas leakage to the beam
generator (Gary F., 2017), (Bach et al., 2013).

5. EBW PROCESS PARAMETERS

EBW process parameters may be categorized into two groups: first one is relevant to
electron beam and the other is related to the welding features, as stated below.
Parameters relevant to the electron beam
 Electron Beam Welding 63

 Welding speed,
 Accelerating voltage,
 Beam current,
 Beam diameter.
 Focal distance
 Power
 Vacuum level

Parameter relevant to the welding features

 Material thickness,
 Type of materials,
 Thermo and chemical features of the materials.

The range of parameters usually may vary accordingly as per its own material (steel,
titanium, copper and nickel-based alloys) conditions, like thermal conductivity, thermal
diffusivity, melting point, hardness and thickness of materials.
Generally, the range of parameters used for different alloys in EBW is the accelerating
voltage: 10-150 kV, current: few milliamps to less than 1A, welding speed: 2 to 50 mm/sec,
and spot size is 0.1 to 5 mm. Vacuum range varies from 10−3 to 10−6 torr for high vacuum,
10−3 to 25 torr for medium vacuum and 10−3to less than 1 torr for soft vacuum (Weman,
2003), (Singh, 2012).

5.1. Post Weld Parameter After EBW (Microstructure, Fusion Zone

and Heat Affected Zones)

Normally, in electron beam butt welding, three distinct zones are produced during welding.
These are the fusion zone (FZ), heat affected zone (HAZ) and base metal (BM). Out of these
three zones the fusion and heat affected zones are the most important from metallurgical
aspects, different microstructures are induced during welding which control the mechanical
properties. Fusion zone is basically melted part and material join together. Next is HAZ, this
zone is not directly melt but heat may affect this area and another one is base metal or unaffected
zones. Narrow HAZ are produce during EBW compare to the other welding process. The range
of HAZ depends on multiple factors, like; material thickness, material hardness, thermal
diffusivity, surface condition, surface contamination and oxygen availability.
Microstructure of material is an important part of any kind of welding. Different
microstructure is produced during EBW. Usually, in EBW joints the microstructure found in
the weld metal consist of a mixture of acicular 𝛼′ martensitic structure, while the base metal
followed by the equixed structure (Wang & Wu, 2012), (Gao et al., 2018). In case of EB welded
dissimilar materials, a fine dendrite structure is found which consist of gamma dendrite matrix
and laves phases (Dinda et al., 2016).On the other hand, microstructure of material also depends
on cooling rate. Rapid cooling may formed martensite structure, whereas air cooling gives
austenite and ferrite structure also.
64 Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar et al.

6. ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS

Advantages of EBW:

 Both the similar and dissimilar materials can be welded,

 It provides high finish welding surface,
 Thick joint can be produced by using a single pass of weld (Schultz H, 1993),
 Less distortion and narrow heat affected zones are produced [(Kundu et al.,
2019),(Smolka et al., 2004)],
 EBW is processed under the vacuum environment, as a result comparatively less weld
defects occur (Kundu et al., 2019),
 EBW is highly recommended for the reactive alloys due to less chance of oxide
formation or contamination (Schultz H, 1993).

Limitations of EBW:

 Initial set up cost is high,

 Skilled manpower is needed,
 Vacuum chamber size is limited, so the weld piece size is also restricted (V K Jain,
2013),
 X-rays are produced during the welding (V K Jain, 2013).

7. APPLICATIONS
EBW is one of the important advanced welding technologies as per its multiple application
aspects. It has numerous applications, which spread from aerospace, marine (ship building),
automotive industries (transmission and gear joining), nuclear to electronics and medical
industries (Kundu et al., 2019).
In aerospace industry, titanium alloys are highly used for their superior weight-to-strength
ratio and most of the titanium alloys are recommended to be weld using EBW. So, EBW is
largely used in aircraft and structural work for aerospace field. On the other hand, titanium and
other materials, which are highly anti-corrosive in salt environment, are used in marine and
ship-building industries. Here, sheet metals are joined in large scales using EBW. EBW can be
efficiently used to join gears and transmission system in automobile industries. Similarly, in
nuclear industries, EBW is used for fabrication purpose. Figure 4 represents a pictorial view of
various applications of EBW.
Apart from this EBW have numerous applications in dissimilar welding in different
sectors; few of them are discussed below:

Aerospace: In aerospace industry where EBW dissimilar joints are widely used for multiple
fabrication purpose. Titanium, nickel and aluminum-based alloys are highly used for the
manufacturing of aircraft structure and blades.
 Electron Beam Welding 65

Automotive: In automobile industry where EBW is highly used for commercial vehicles
joining as a dissimilar metal welded part. Aluminum and steel are mainly used for this purpose
to assemble the structure.
E-Mobility: The growing demand of electric vehicles also increases the use of dissimilar
welding where EBW can be successfully weld the metal parts. Example: Copper with metal
parts within an electric motor (Sun & Karppi, 1999).
Shipping: One of the leading heavy engineering dissimilar welding are done by the EBW
in ship-building industry. Example: Aluminum to the hull of ships (made of steel) is joined
together.
Electronics: Electron beam dissimilar welding is also to be used in electronics industry.
Example: Assembly of lithium-ion batteries and fuel cell (Sun & Karppi, 1999).

Aerospace

Additive
Aerospace
manufacturing Marine & Ship building

join any hardness of

Electronics
Marine & Ship materials & Dissimilar
industries(weld
electronies
EBW building welding
connector) Automotive industries
(transmission system, gear
join)
Automotive join any hardness
Electronics industries(weld
industries of materials &
electronies connector)
(transmission Dissimilar
system, gear join) welding
Additive manufacturing

Figure 4. Pictorial presentation of different applications of EBW.

8. MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE EBW

8.1. Electron Beam Welding for Micro and Nano Fabrications

Electron beam welding can be successfully used for micro and nano welding, which is most
important for the current key demanding technologies like miniaturized device, small
electronics circuit connector and MEMS etc. (Smolka et al., 2004). It possesses very low
thermal stress on the work-pieces, accurate energy input, and no chance of tool wear, which
makes it highly suitable for this kind of applications. Nowadays, in micro and nano welding,
Laser beam welding is already used for micro joining and surface modifications. On the other
hand, electron beam welding has the same potential in terms of micro-EBW and nano joining
66 Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar et al.

for surface modifications up to a few micron levels in micro fabrication and precise medical
applications, though, it is still in laboratory stage (Kundu et al., 2019).

8.2. Micro-EBW

If electron beam welding is minimized into micron levels or used for micro level joining,
then it is called micro electron beam welding (micro-EBW), which is highly preferred due to
its minimal thermal stress on the exact work-piece component, wear-less tool, accurate dosing
of energy input (Dilthey & Dorfmüller, 2006), (Wei Guo & Guo, 2009).This new technology
imparts a few more important properties, which make it more promising for assembly of the
Microsystems and micro range applications, like miniaturized device, MEMS, micro
fabrications from mechanical to electrical to electronics and also precise medical implants
(Kundu et al., 2019). Small beam diameter predestinates this newly developed technology for
tiny spot or line joints of metallic and non-metallic components (Wei Guo & Guo, 2009). This
precise welding technology is totally free from inertia via electro-magnetic coils, which permits
exact amount of energy input and dispense high-frequency oscillation movements to enhance
the quality of welding (Wei Guo & Guo, 2009), (Reisgen & Dorfmüller, 2009). This process
offers clean room environment and best visual quality control, which provide the finest
precondition for hybrid micro fabrication or micro-assembly.
The basic working principle of micro-EBW is the same of the EBW process. A few extra
components are incorporated in micro-EBW from construction point of view, like a high
definition (HD) ultra-modern scanning electron microscope (SEM), a function generator and
control software. Out of these, the modernized SEM is the most important one, which is used
for the purposes of analysis and observation (Dilthey & Dorfmüller, 2006).
Micro component joining is very difficult due to its high flexibility and precise alignment.
So, implementing the optimal condition for micro component in welding is very tough due to
its high flexibility (Dilthey & Dorfmüller, 2006). In case of micro-EBW, one can achieve the
maximum accurate alignment with proper weld through observing or monitoring the process
continuously by SEM (Kundu et al., 2019), (Dilthey & Dorfmüller, 2006).

8.3. Application of Micro-EBW

An innovation of micro-EBW has opened new possibilities for manufacturing and

fabrication in different sectors at the micro scales. By utilizing this micro-EBW facility, it can
fabricate up to few micron levels, which includes the optical, magnetic, electronics and medical
devices or products. Due to an extra attachment of scanning electron microscope (SEM) in
micro-EBW, works simultaneously both the welding and observation tool at a time with
different ranges of fabrications and control purposes [(Kundu et al., 2019), (Wei Guo & Guo,
2009)]. Micro-EBW dispenses more compact and miniaturization assembly from mechanical
to pure electrical system (MEMS), which is the indispensible demand for the latest trend
technologies.
Some of the most vital applications of micro-EBW are as follows:
 Electron Beam Welding 67

 Joining of micro components (Dilthey & Dorfmüller, 2006),

 Welding of dissimilar materials at the micron levels,
 Surface modification up to a few microns (Reisgen & Dorfmüller, 2009),
 Hybrid assembly, basically a kind of dissimilar welding of different material (like, a
metal and copper in electrical motor, small circuit connectors and MEMS)
 Micro drilling (Kundu et al., 2019),
 High precision medical applications.

8.4. Special Features of Micro-EBW

Micro-electron beam welding machine has multiple extra features compared with
conventional EBW, as described below.

1. Pulsed Beam
By nature, pulsed beam is highly discontinuous and the pulses vary frequently, which is
time dependent. Generally, it is generated by using the beam blanking pulses to the bias
electrode of electron gun. As a result, pulsed beam increases the heat concentration and
enhances the width-to-depth ratio. So, the overall quality of welding is improved (Pratihar et
al., 2012).

2. High Definition Imaging Facility

In latest micro-EBW machines, high definition (HD) scanning electron microscope is used,
which can be easily analyzed using ultra precision surface image up to the few micron levels.
However, in case of normal optics, tiny materials welded surface or micro-dimensional welded
surface analysis is quite difficult (Reisgen & Dorfmüller, 2009), (Pratihar et al., 2012).

3. Multi-Beam
Multi-beam EBW is a comparatively more advanced technique which permits two or more
electron beams passing simultaneously across the weld zones with high velocity and the thermal
effect impinges on the joint of the materials. This method is more promising that reduces the
welding stress and deformation induced during welding. As a result, by using multi-beam EBW
improve the thermal cycles and quality of welding increases (Fan et al., 2017). Multi-beam
technology is used in micro-EBW, which is the most efficient fabrication method in the area of
welding (Kundu et al., 2019), (Pratihar et al., 2012).

9. CURRENT CHALLENGES AND UNSOLVED ISSUES IN EBW

Electron beam welding and micro-EBW have been growing rapidly since the last few
years. Multiple difficult tasks have been successfully completed to prove the potential of
electron beam application on both macro- as well as micro-scale welding by using the ultra-
modern SEM in MEBW machines. The following challenges are faced and it is expected that
these problems are to be solved using this technology with some modifications.
68 Anupam Kundu, Sanjib Jaypuria, D. K. Pratihar et al.

Beam characterization problem: Optimization of beam characterization during the macro

and micro welding of EBW is a big challenge in current phase including the beam size control,
beam material interactions for EBW and beam deflection, which is an important parameter for
micro welding, because micro parts are highly flexible (Reisgen & Dorfmüller, 2009). In EB
welding, concentration of beam and spot size is also an important factor for heat affected zones
and heat dissipation, which control the quality of welding for both EBW and micro-EBW.
Parametric study and optimize the weld parameter of different materials: Controlling the
welding process parameters and their optimization in EBW for multiple materials are the
difficult task, especially for reactive materials and newly developed materials.
Quality assurance of welded joints: Quality assurance is highly dependent on the different
post-production or post-fabrication testing. Normally different destructive methods are used for
both the large samples as well as prototype samples. But, in case of micro parts welding, non-
destructive methods are preferred, where materials are reused. So, this is a current issue to test
different materials using NDT (Pratihar et al., 2012). If possible, then in-situ inspection is also
recommended for any kind of welding, which is very important but tough to implement.

SUMMARY AND FUTURE SCOPES

In this article, the authors have narrated the multiple aspects of EBW and the basics of
micro-EBW process. These aspects include the working principle along with the promising
merits, demerits, multiple applications, set-up and processing parameters of EBW. In this
chapter, the authors also try to explain the importance of EBW, its necessity and special welding
features. The important features and applications of micro-EBW are enlightened.
Due to the technological progress, the innovations in the area of fabrication have opened a
new path to manufacture structures for macro to micrometer levels. These facilities are utilized
to join from mechanical devices to electronics, optical, magnetic, and biological device with
different ranges for computation and control purpose.
Nowadays, materials of different dimensions are welded (i.e., several cm to few microns
level) through electron beam welding. In case of EBW, it is largely used in different industries
for fabrications purpose. A few important areas include the aerospace, marine and ship-
building, automotive and nuclear. On the other hand, in micro and nano system, where even a
small particle of dust can influence the result, electron beam welding is the most preferred
option, because usually the whole process works inside a high vacuum chamber, which is
totally free from contamination and oxides. Micro-welding mainly focuses on Microsystems,
MEMS, micro-fabrication, to electronics and precise medical instruments. Micro-EBW has
some special properties, which makes it more promising for micro fabrications due to small
possible beam diameter, very accurate dosing of heat input, and high rating of accuracy in
precision welding.
There are multiple scopes for future study and research in EBW for both macro as well as
micro welding, which are discussed below.

 To solve the beam characterization problem including the beam size, beam-materials
interaction and the heat simulation for both macro as well as micro welding using
electron beam is still a major research issue.
 Electron Beam Welding 69

 Quality improvement or quality assurance study of EBW and micro-EBW is another

important problem for future study.
 Parametric study and welding parameters’ optimization for different materials are still
not saturated.
 Micro-EBW is still in laboratory stage, and only stainless steel has been joined
efficiently up to the few micron levels. Micro-welding of other materials like titanium-
based alloys, aluminum alloys, nickel-based alloys and tungsten alloys is in progress.
 Usually, micro parts are highly flexible in nature, so during the welding of these parts,
thermal distortion takes place. This type of distortion is another vital problem for
micro-EBW, which is an important research issue.
 Implement of this type of technology in hybrid assembly like MEMS, micro-
electronics, microbiology and precise medical implants is another vital issue for future
research.

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Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 4

WELDING OF ADVANCED HIGH STRENGTH STEELS

FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS

C. D. Marconi1, and H. G. Svoboda2,3

DEYTEMA – Centre of Development and Technology of Materials,
1

Department of Metallurgy Engineering, San Nicolás Regional Faculty,

National Technology University, San Nicolás, Buenos Aires, Argentina
2
GTSyCM3, DINTECIN – Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires,
Buenos Aires, Argentina
3
CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

ABSTRACT
Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS) is a relatively novel family of steels different
with high mechanical strength, ranging typically from 600 MPa to 1800 MPa. Dual Phase,
Complex Phase, Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP), Hot Stamping and Quenching
and Partitioning Steels are the more relevant materials of this family. It has been found
particular interest for these materials in the automotive industry in the last years, being the
welding of these steels a relevant issue. Among the welding processes more relevant to
weld these materials are Laser Welding (LW), Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW),
Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) and in the last years GMAW-Brazing and Friction Stir
Welding (FSW) for similar and dissimilar materials. These materials are microstructurally
designed to reach its high mechanical properties. In this sense, the welding thermal cycle
could severely degrade the original microstructure, producing a drop in the local
mechanical properties. Additionally, its high hardness requires, in thermo-mechanical
processes like FSW or RSW, adjustments in the welding procedure in comparison with the
conventional steels. As a consequence, the study of the effect of welding parameters in the
microstructural evolution and the resulting mechanical properties is a challenge still open.
This chapter addresses the state of the art in the welding of these materials oriented to
automotive applications, remarking the main aspects to develop adequate welding
procedures and the perspectives for the future.


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
72 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Keywords: advanced high strength steels, automotive industry, welding processes,

microstructural evolution, mechanical properties

1. ADVANCED HIGH STRENGTH STEELS IN THE

AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
In the last 20 years, there have been several developments related to the new technology of
steels and their production, with the focus on reducing weight and increasing vehicle safety.
Regulations related to the emissions of CO2, which initially were very dissimilar, tend to
converge for 2020-2030, as can be seen in Figure 1 (ICCT, 2020).

Figure 1. International regulations for emissions of CO2 (ICCT, 2020).

In this sense, weight reduction of vehicles has a strong impact on fuel economy and
emission level, being for the present and near future an objective of all the automotive
manufacturers. This objective can be achieved using new materials, lighter (Al or Mg alloys,
polymers, etc.) and/or with higher strength than previous ones, which permits using thinner
sheets.
The steels used in automotive structures have been classified in several ways, being one of
them, the metallurgical designations:

 Low Strength Steel: Low Carbon Steels, Interstitial Free (IF) Steels and Mild Steels.
 High Strength Steels: High Carbon Steels, Carbon-Manganese (C-Mn) Steels, Heat
Treatable Steels, High Strength Low Alloy (HSLA) Steels.
 Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS): First Generation: Dual Phase (DP) Steels,
Transformation Induced Plasticity (TRIP) Steels, Complex Phase (CP) Steels,
Martensitic Steels (M) and Hot Forming Steels (HF) also called Press Hardened Steels
(PHS). Second Generation: Austenitic Stainless Steels (ASS), Twinning Induced
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 73

Plasticity (TWIP) Steels, Light with Induced Plasticity (L-IP) Steels. Third
Generations: Quenching and Partitioning (Q&P) Steels, among others.

The AHSS are principally multiphase steels, containing ferrite, martensite bainite and or
austenite, in fractions that enable to reach in the range of 500 to 1800 MPa (Keeler et al., 2017).
The fundamental metallurgy of conventional low and high strength steels is well known
for manufacturers and final users of steel products, so the one of AHSS is usually compared to
that. All AHSS are produced by controlled cooling rate from the austenite or austenite/ferrite
field, both in hot rolling as in continuous annealing furnaces (Keeler et al., 2017).
In the last years different industries have paid attention in the AHSS due to its enhanced
mechanical properties, particularly the automotive industry. Nevertheless, there are many
challenges yet, and they evolved with the new generations of this type of steels and new
processes adopted by the industry, especially related to its weldability.
The AHSS have arisen in response to the growing requirements of the materials used in
this industry, such as greater mechanical resistance, greater energy absorption capacity, and
complexity of parts, among others.
In Figure 2 are shown the different types of materials used, included AHSS family, with
their combination of mechanical properties (Keeler et al., 2017).

Figure 2. Tensile strength vs Elongation at fracture for AHSS and related materials (Keeler et al.,
2017).

The main difference between conventional HSS and AHSS is their microstructure.
Conventional HSS are in general monophasic while AHSS are multiphase alloys. Some AHSS
show a high strain hardening capacity, resulting in an enhanced combination of strength and
ductility, compared with the conventional HSS. Other AHSS have an ultra-high yield and
tensile strength, along with a bake hardening effect (Gould et al., 2006).
AHSS are used especially in vehicle security components, body structural parts and
chassis, producing, as a general trend, a weight reduction of 50% approximately, with the half
of thickness and same performance of a component built with a conventional low carbon steel.
Nowadays, the contribution of AHSS in the new vehicle model is around 30%. Previsions
indicate that AHSS will be between 40-50% of the total steel sheet used in fabrication of
vehicles, which will reduce 5% the CO2 emissions (Krupitzer, 2012). Figure 3 shows the
74 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

average use of AHSS in the automotive material in North America, and the forecast for 2025
(Abraham, 2015).

Figure 3. Use of AHSS in light vehicles in North America and forecast up to 2025 (Abraham, 2015).

It can be seen the strong increment in the use of AHSS and Ultra High Strength Steels
(UHSS) in the last years and the forecast for the near future showing a continuous increasing
of this materials, being the fastest growing automotive material.
As a further example, in the WorldAutoSteel Future Steel Vehicle (FSV) project it was
investigated the weight reduction potential enabled with the use of Advanced High-Strength
Steels (AHSS), advanced manufacturing processes, and the utilization of computer
optimization (Hickey, 2019). The resulting material use in the body structure is shown in Figure
4.

Figure 4. FSV material application for body structure (Hickey, 2019).

It can be seen that DP as well as TRIP, CP and HF (Hot Forming B microalloyed steel)
takes near 60% of the total body structure mass, and of that percentage 50% corresponds to DP
steels of tensile strength between 500 to 1000 MPa.
AHSSs have been introduced in critical structural parts such as the A, B and C pillars; the
roof rails and bow; cross-members; door beams; front and side members; and as bumper
reinforcement. They also are extensively used in internal panels made of tailor-welded blanks
(TWB) (Shome and Tumuluru, 2015).
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 75

As it can be seen, multi-materials structures are part of the present and near future in the
body structure in automotive industry (Cargroup, 2017). As it was mentioned, different
materials are being used to optimize the design of the chassis in terms of performance and
weight.
Figure 5 shows the change in material mix in the U.S. fleet between 2010-2040 (Cargroup,
2017). The concept of vehicles that use different materials, specially designed for each area of
the car, has been already introduced in automotive industry, with the objective of
simultaneously improve driving dynamics, fuel economy and cabin silence.

Source: CAR Research.

Figure 5. Use of different materials in cars of U.S. with the previsions up to 2040 (Cargroup, 2017).

This concept needs a mature group of joining technologies to overcome the different
challenges imposed. The use of light alloys is also part of the present and near future, with
aluminum and magnesium alloys of enhanced properties (Cargroup, 2017). This approach
requires joining the AHSS to other steels and light alloys.

2. THE PROBLEM OF WELDING ADVANCED HIGH STRENGTH STEELS

The unique mechanical properties of AHSS are achieved thanks to the microstructural
design. One of the main problems associated to the welding of AHSS is the microstructural
degradation due to the welding thermal cycle, by which, AHSS welds usually presents a lower
strength than the base material.
The application of AHSS in terms of welding requires a different approach than the one
used for conventional automotive steels. In this sense the study of the effect of welding
parameters on the microstructural evolution is a relevant issue that has been studied in the last
years (Lalam, 2015). The task is to develop welding procedures that minimize the
microstructural degradation, looking for obtaining the best mechanical properties of the welded
joints. Another important point is the productivity, thus welding speed must be as high as
possible to improve it.
In Figure 6 it can be observed the temperature field around the moving heat source used
for welding.
76 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Figure 6. Temperature field associated to a moving heat source.

Each point of the plate can be submitted to a thermal cycle, which will produce peak
temperatures (Kou, 2003). During this thermal cycle different microstructural transformations
take place, like pick up of oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen as well as deoxidation reactions, at
higher temperatures; solidification; austenite grain growth; precipitation reactions; austenite
transformations; tempering or aging, among others (Grong and Matlock, 1986).
Heating and cooling rates are high in all welding processes associated with automotive
body manufacturing. In the case of fusion welding, particularly for arc welding, below the arc
the peak temperatures reached can be of 2000°C, producing the melting of the steel (Fusion
Zone, FZ). In the Heat Affected Zone (HAZ), the peak temperatures are lower than de melting
point, producing solid state phase transformations including austenite recrystallization and
grain growth, during heating and austenite decomposition during cooling. Consequently, the
resulting microstructure will be totally different from that of the base metal. Therefore, the
challenge is to control the weld thermal cycle, defined by the welding procedure employed.
Solid state welding processes and other alternative joining technologies have been
considered recently, focused on minimizing the degradation of the microstructure of AHSS
caused by welding (Hagshenas et al., 2018).
Variations in welding parameters affect the heat input and thus the whole thermal cycle,
which include heating rate, peak temperature, time at temperature, cooling rate, among others.
Therefore, the FZ and HAZ characteristics are dependent on welding procedure.
Different subzones can be identified into the AHSS HAZ, named Coarse Grain
Recrystallized Zone (CGRZ), Fine Grain Recrystallized Zone (FGRZ), Partially Recrystallized
Zone (PRZ) and Subcritical Tempered Zone (SCTZ), which is particularly of AHSS (Baltazar
Hernandez et al., 2011). SCTZ is associated to the tempering of the martensite present in the,
for example DP steel, up to temperatures near below of Ac1 (Lower Critical Transformation
Temperature: 700°C approximately).
In Figure 7 it can be seen microstructures formed at different parts of the HAZ of a DP800
steel of 1 mm thick, butt welded by Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) (Svoboda et al., 2011).
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 77

Figure 7. Microstructures of DP800: a- Base metal (BM), b- SCZ/PRZ, c-FGRZ, d-CGRZ of a GMAW
butt weld (Svoboda et al., 2011).

The temperatures achieved at the SCTZ vary up to approximately 700°C (Ac1) in the
transition with the PRZ. Associated to the thermal gradient established in this zone, a
microstructural degradation of the material is observed, which in the higher temperature region
generates a ferrite with carbides microstructure, with a grain size slightly higher than the base
material (Figure 7c). Consequently, this zone suffers a softening, which is maximum generally
at the interphase of the coldest part of the PRZ and the hottest one of the SCTZ (Svoboda et al.,
2011). The minimum hardness value is defined by the ferritic grain size, the solid solution
hardening and the carbide size and distribution, being the chemical composition of the steel
also relevant (Fonstein, 2015).
Due to the low soaking time, the non-isothermal tempering is strongly affected by heating
rate (Baltazar Hernandez et al., 2011). Welding process applied as well as welding procedure
will affect the thermal cycle and the intensity of the tempering.
This effect could affect the mechanical properties of the welded joints (Lalam, 2015). For
example, it has been reported that the softening produced at the HAZ of a DP welded joint
affects negatively the forming capacity of the TWB due to the high concentration of
deformation in the softening zone, producing a premature failure (Baltazar Hernandez et al.,
2011). Figure 8 shows microhardness profiles of AHSS welded joints of different materials and
processes (SSAB Docol, 2018).

Figure 8. Microhardness profiles of AHSS welded joints of different materials and processes: a-
GMAW butt weld of DP1000, 1.2 mm; b- LW lap weld of DP1200 1.5 mm; c- RSW DP1300, 1.5 mm
(SSAB Docol, 2018).

This effect is more pronounced as the mechanical strength of the AHSS increase (Lalam,
2015). Depending on the material and welding procedure the size and amplitude of softening
zone could change. In some cases of Laser Welding (LW) or Resistance Spot Welding (RSW),
where the thermal cycles are more intense, this zone could be narrow and the softening level
78 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

lower enough to do not affect the mechanical properties of the joint. Generally, the more
affected welded joints are those produced with GMAW processes and higher strength materials.
Another issue to overcome related to the welding of AHSS is the presence of different
types of coatings in some cases. These coatings could affect the surface quality of the weld, as
well as generate porosity. Finally, minimize distortion of thin sheets is also a challenge for
AHSS welding.
Multi-materials structures are the current situation in many cases of automotive body. In
this sense, exists the need to join different materials, like AHSS with light alloys as aluminum
or magnesium alloys, or even with CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) (Hagshenas et
al., 2018). There are several processes that can produce these dissimilar joints available for the
automotive industry. The main challenge is related to the different properties (i.e., physical and
mechanical), composition, and structure (i.e., crystalline) which lead to detrimental weld
properties. In the case of AHSS-Al joints the main problem is the formation and growth of
brittle intermetallic compounds, mainly at the interface, which can deteriorate the mechanical
properties of the joints (Pouranvari, 2017).

3. WELDING PROCESSES FOR AHSS IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Welding is an integral part in the automotive industry and is implemented through several
processes, which have different advantages and disadvantages, justifying the use all of them.
The incorporation of new and different materials to the productive process, like AHSS,
requires developing new welding procedures, as well as new welding technology, as is the case
of dissimilar joints of AHSS with light alloys, to guarantee quality and cost effective.
Among the processes employed in automotive industry RSW and GMAW are the
traditional ones, which have been used for many years. Nevertheless, in both cases there have
been many improvements to the original processes (Ahsan et al., 2016; Li et al., 2019),
maintaining them as relevant technologies. In the last years, the use of LW has experimented a
strong increase, due to several advantages of this process (Cretteur, 2015). Brazing processes,
mainly based on GMAW and LW, are also current technologies (Shome, 2015; Krishnaja et
al., 2018). Finally, new processes like FSW have been applied in the last time, appearing as a
high potential process, particularly for dissimilar AHSS-Al or Mg alloys joints (Magalhães et
al., 2017).
There have been done considerably amount of work in order to study the RSW of AHSS,
which allow to adjust the existing welding procedures for this type of steels (Radakovic et al.
2012; Vanimisetti et al. 2014; Emre et al., 2016; Eftekharimilani et al., 2017; Ghassemi-Armaki
et al., 2017; Park et al., 2018; Ashiri et al., 2018; Pouranvari, 2018; Chabok et al., 2018;
Mohamadizadeh et al., 2019; He et al., 2019; Lu et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2019; Rezayat et al.,
2019; Murugan et al., 2020; Sheikhi et al., 2020).
RSW is the main method of joining used in the automotive industry, based on its
productivity quality and cost. To be able to successfully use of AHSS, characterizing and
understanding the RSW behavior of AHSS is important, particularly for DP and TRIP grades.
To provide corrosion protection for body-in-white (BIW) applications, most steels are used
with a zinc-rich coating. Therefore, understanding the effect of these coatings on the RSW
behavior of AHSS is also important.
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 79

The typical requirement for spot welds is to have a minimum load-bearing capacity
equivalent to or greater than that of the base metal. For a certain sheet, the load capacity is
defined by the weld nugget diameter, which is dependent of welding parameters. This is a
critical issue for AHSS because it largely controls the type of weld failure under quasi-static
and dynamic loading conditions (Tumuluru, 2015).
Nevertheless, for RSW of AHSS must pay special attention to nugget diameter, defects in
the FZ and the type of microstructure. While large nugget diameter may seem to be a solution
of the problem, it has to be analyzed in the context of HAZ softening, zinc loss in coated steels
and electrode life.
Other authors consider Tensile Shear Strength (TSS) of RSW joints of AHSS is dominated
by weld toughness. To improve the TSS, suppressing the solidification segregation of weld
nugget and facilitating the tempering martensite in weld are important (Miyazaki et al., 2018).
Because of the high alloy content of AHSS compared with low-strength steel, AHSS has
high resistivity and is therefore likely to heat rapidly at the interface between two sheets. This
effect could cause weld metal expulsion, if the heat generation is not controlled properly
(Tumuluru, 2015).
In the last time there have been major advances in machine technology, becoming common
the use of inverter-based medium-frequency direct current. This technology has additional
benefits when welding AHSS because of the low and sustained energy input (Tumuluru, 2015).
GMAW is mostly applied in chassis parts, where it is necessary to ensure the strength and
rigidity of the joint. This process could also to join parts of different shapes to structural
members. Further, there are closed parts where the accessibility for RSW guns is limited. For
such applications, the GMAW process is preferred, as well as where long fatigue life of the
weld joint is required (Shome and Tumuluru, 2015).
Higher heat input GMAW causes the HAZ to soften in DP steels, which in turn affects the
fatigue properties. Some studies in AHSS showed that the bead geometry and microstructure
could act as a notch for the initiation and propagation of cracks under fatigue conditions. A
shallow bead, that is, lower height/width ratio, with appropriate microstructure can improve
fatigue performance in GMAW welds (Ahiale and Oh, 2014).
Welding of zinc coated AHSS is another issue for which wires with chemical composition
of low silicon to manganese ratio have typically been used, preventing the formation of blow
holes and porosities (Shome and Tumuluru, 2015).
Metallurgical alterations and burn through caused by high heat input are common problems
during arc welding of thin AHSS sheets. Therefore, low heat input procedures are preferred.
The developed cold metal transfer technology does provide low heat input and low spatter
compared with direct current metal active gas systems (Kodama et al., 2013).
The alternating current GMAW process has overcome the burn through problem of sheet
metal. In this process the advantage of the arc stability of direct current electrode-positive mode
and the high melting rate of direct current electrode-negative mode are combined (Arif and
Chung, 2014).
Laser Welding (LW) has become popular in the last years because of the high-power
density of the lasers, by which are able to weld steels, with high penetration and very localized
fusion, with high welding speeds. Consequently, the resulting HAZ is considerably narrow,
compared with the one obtained in arc welding processes. This is a particularly important
feature in relation to AHSS welding. Carbon dioxide lasers are the most common lasers used
for sheet metal fabrication, particularly for manufacturing tailor-welded blanks involving
80 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

combinations of AHSS and low-carbon formable steel. However, high-power fibre and disc
lasers are being extensively used to weld AHSSs by several automotive manufacturers (Shome
and Tumuluru, 2015).
LW of galvanized steel in a zero-gap lap joint configuration is challenging because of the
vigorous generation of zinc vapour at the faying surface, which causes porosity. Dual-beam
laser welding has been successfully used to solve this issue (Maa et al., 2013).
High-power disk lasers and fibre lasers have recently had a widespread impact. These
lasers are available in powers exceeding 5 kW in continuous wave mode, and they have high
efficiency and excellent beam quality. Ytterbium: yttrium–aluminum–garnet disk lasers
produce excellent beam characteristics. Major automotive companies are using these lasers for
three-shift production at lower operating costs than conventional lasers, with good results in
AHSS welding (Sharma and Molian, 2011).
In the last years GMAW-Brazing (GMAW-B) process has experienced an increased
number of applications in several automotive plants and it is expected a higher demand in the
near future (SSAB Docol, 2018). As main goals it can be pointed out higher travel speeds,
enhanced surface appearance, lower thermal effects due to the lack of fusion of the base
materials, as well as lower distortions (Basak et al., 2015; Sharma et al., 2017).
In Laser Brazing Welding (LBW) process the filler metal is melted by the laser, with certain
pre-heating on the base materials, with low thermal effect on them. It is mainly applied to parts
with surface appearance as well as low distortions requirements (Dobler et al., 2016; Krishnaja
et al., 2018).
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is considered the most significant development of the last
thirty years in welding of metallic materials, being a sustainable technology considering its
high energetic efficiency, low environmental impact and versatility (El-Batahgy et al., 2016;
Magalhães et al., 2017; Sorger et al., 2018). Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW) is a variant of
FSW process which has been find numerous applications in automotive industry, particularly
for Al-Steel dissimilar joints (Chen et al., 2019).
For dissimilar materials welding of AHSS, particularly with aluminum or magnesium
alloys, there have been profuse work done recently focus on evaluate the applicability of several
processes to that type of joints. RSW, GMAW-B, LBW and FSW are the main welding
processes with potential for these applications (Yang et al., 2015; Magalhães et al., 2017;
Pouranvari, 2017; Hagshenas et al., 2018; Qin et al., 2019).
Recently it has been developed welding procedures to apply RSW process to dissimilar
AHSS to Al alloys (Chen, J. et al., 2018). In this case the concept is different than in
conventional RSW for steels. Due to the difference in physical properties, it cannot be possible
the fusion of both materials at the interface. Therefore, joint is produced at the interface between
AHSS and Al alloy, with the steel in solid state, assisted by temperature and pressure, forming
an intermetallic compound (IMC) (Chen, N. et al., 2018). It has been reached good results for
several combinations of AHSS and Al alloys (Chen, N. et al., 2018).
The main advantage common to nearly all the techniques is that solid state processing
limits the temperature rise within the weld region. This prevents the formation or growth of
undesirable and brittle intermetallic compounds within the weld which deteriorate strength.
Lower peak temperatures also minimize thermal distortion and residual stresses, which can
often lead to the fracture of the joint immediately upon cooling of the weld in the case when
intermetallics are present and cracks are formed in the joint.
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 81

The use of FSW offers potential for dissimilar joining components. Given the many
advantages including improved mechanical properties (tensile and fatigue), improved process
robustness, lack of consumables, reduced health and environmental issues, and lower operating
costs, FSW has gained significant interest in the automotive industries and manufactures. The
attention and application of FSW has been in three general areas. These include the joining of
extruded parts to form ‘‘larger extrusions,” the joining of tailor welded blanks, and spot joining
for various assembly applications. FSW offers numerous advantages and potential for cost
reductions in each of these cases (Hagshenas et al., 2018).
Applying different variants of FSSW it has been obtained good results in AHSS-Al joints,
considering a good alternative to RSW (Bhushan et al., 2019).
Brazing is also a process available to produce dissimilar AHSS-Al joints. In the last times,
mainly in GMAW-B variant it has been produced works related to these types of joints, with a
filler metal of Al alloy, producing the fusion of the Al sheet and wetting on the AHSS side,
especially for coated grades (Singh et al., 2019).
Mechanical joining such as clinching and clinch/riveting have positioned as an alternative
method to RSW when joining the car body steel sheets. However, the joints produced with
these techniques do not reach the load-bearing capacity of RSW joints, and the costs are
significatively higher. They have certain advantages such as low energy consumption during
joining, retained corrosion resistance of joined galvanized materials, or the possibility to
combine different materials in terms of quality, thicknesses, as well as ferrous and non-ferrous
metals (Spisak and Kascak, 2016).
Joining technologies such as adhesives and advanced fasteners could play an important
role in achieving the optimized mixed-material architecture (Cargroup, 2017).

4. RESISTANCE SPOT WELDING OF AHSS

RSW is the most widely used welding process for automotive sheet steels. This technique
has several benefits including, low distortion of welded sheets, energy efficiency, high
productivity, no filler material and high-cost effectiveness.
In RSW there are different tests available for assessing the weldability of a steel. Weld
growth curves (weld size vs. welding current) and weldability lobes form the basis of
weldability studies. These give a means of comparing the available welding current range
(“welding range”) capable of producing acceptable welds for a particular welding schedule
(electrode force/weld time combination) for different steels. The width of the weldability lobe
gives information of the anticipated tolerance of a particular welding schedule in production.
The target is to maximize the welding range to achieve the greatest safety margin on weld
quality. Spatter will occur if the welding current is too high, which will result in poor weld
quality. If the welding current is too low, the weld diameter will be too small (which results in
reduced weld strength). For measuring of the weld diameter destructive tests are used, for
example tensile shear testing (EN ISO 14273) or cross tension testing (EN ISO 14272). After
the destructive test, measurements of the weld diameter are made on broken specimens
according to EN ISO 14329. In EN ISO 18278-2 the assessment of the available welding
current range is described in more detail (SSAB Docol, 2018).
82 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

The minimum weld diameter (dmin) which can be accepted often differs between different
companies and also between different standards. According to several industrial standards
minimum size of the weld size to ensure pull-out fracture mode follows the relationship D =
K√t, where D is weld diameter in mm, K is a constant dependent on the process, which varies
between 3 and 6 and t is the sheet thickness in mm (Sun et al., 2007; Huin et al., 2016).
AHSS steels have a good weldability in RSW. Due to its relatively higher electrical
resistivity comparing with conventional steels, it will need a lower welding current for welding
a sheet of the same thickness. In Figure 9 it can be seen a transversal section of spot weld of a
DP1000 in 1.2 mm (Marconi et al., 2018).

Figure 9. Macrographs of the points on DP1000 in 1.2 mm for 6 kA, with a welding time of 10 cycles
(Marconi et al., 2018).

When RSW is conducted for zinc coated steels the welding current must be raised due to
the lower electrical resistance of the zinc coating in comparison with the base metal (Zhang and
Senkara, 2011).
Due to the high cooling rates imposed by the refrigeration of the electrodes there is a
favorable evolution of the HAZ. Nevertheless, in the nugget usually forms martensite in AHSS
(Marya and Gayden, 2005; Ma et al., 2008). Consequently, it takes place a drastic increase in
the hardness from the base metal to the fusion zone, where austenitization temperature is
reached, producing a microhardness profiled with a “hat” type (Zhang and Senkara, 2011).
However, for AHSS there is a softening zone in the Sub-Critical Heat Affected Zone
(SCHAZ) (Dancette et al., 2011; Nayak et al., 2013; Tumuluru, 2015).
The fracture modes in RSW are define as pull-out, interfacial or mixed, where the first one
is the preferred mode due to its higher absorbed energy (Pouranvari and Marashi, 2013). The
fracture mode depends on the weld size and pull-out mode is promoted with the increase of it
(Zhang and Senkara, 2011).
It has been reported that the fracture toughness of the RSW spot also depends on the weld
size as well as sheet thickness, tensile fracture load, welding time and welding current (Marya
and Gayden, 2005; Ramazani et al., 2015). Also, it has been mentioned that HAZ hardness is
another factor affecting the transition in the fracture mode. Softening in HAZ of a DP780
promotes a pull-out mode (Baltazar Hernández et al., 2008).
TSS and Cross Tension Strength (CTS) are generally function of the strength of the base
metal (UTS). It has been shown for several AHSS that TSS increases with the UTS of the BM,
while CTS decrease (Baltazar Hernández et al., 2008). Also, TSS increases with weld diameter.
However, there was an inflection point in the trendline where the failure mode changed from
interfacial fracture to pull-out failure. Ghassemi-Armaki et al. (2017) report that TSS increases
linearly with base metal tensile strength up to about 800 MPa, and then deviates from linearity
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 83

(Figure 10). In contrast, CTS appears independent of the base metal UTS. Additionally, suggest
that the correlation of HAZ softening and spot weld mechanical behavior shows that the TSS
increases, even with increasing HAZ softening, although there is a discontinuity in the trendline
with the onset of HAZ softening. However, CTS appears to be independent of HAZ softening.

Figure 10. Scheme of TSS vs. BM tensile strength for different AHSS.

Typical microhardness profiles for a DP600 and a M1500 are shown in Figure 11, in a
dissimilar joint. It can be seen the HAZ softening, especially for the higher strength steel
(M1500) (Huin at al., 2016; Ghassemi-Armaki et al., 2017).
Sheikhi et al. (2020) also studied the critical nugget size at which the failure in tensile shear
test change from the interfacial (IF) to pull-out one (PF). It was found that the effect of steel
composition, defined by a function ϕ(ϕ=127+949%C+27%Si+11%Mn+8%Ni+16%Cr), is
crucial, especially for the sheets thicker than about 1 mm, whereas predicted nugget sizes by
previous models could not guarantee the pull-out failure mode (Figure 12).
In order to simulate automotive manufacturing conditions, the spot weldability of cold
deformed, in tension by 10%, TRIP800 steels were investigated by Emre and Kaçar (2016).
They found that the properties of the weldment are directly related to parameters used for the
process and deformation of base metal prior to welding. The button diameter and button size
ratio of deformed TRIP800 steel spot welds should be at least 4√t and 0.14–0.30, respectively,
for pull-out failure mode, acceptable shear strength, and surface quality.
Ashiri et al. (2018) reported that for a TRIP1000 steel, due to its higher electrical resistivity
and lower heat conductivity in contrast to the conventional low carbon steels, results in more
weld penetration depth, as well as in lower welding currents required for the formation of the
weld nugget. However, the size of the weld button in the tensile experiments was less than the
corresponding nugget size. This can be an indication of the existence of the weld
discontinuities, inhomogeneities, and stress concentration factors in the welds obtained at high-
heat input conditions.
Mohamadizadeh et al. (2019) work in the development of a novel model to analyze the
relationships between nugget size and strength, as well as RSW parameters and expulsion, in
commercial hot-stamping AHSS. They indicated that the occurrence of expulsion may decrease
the strength of the spot weld up to 10 kN in PHS1500 steel (45%) and leads to 4 kN strength
84 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

loss (23%) PHS600, with ± 1 kN error. Figure 13 shows the fracture location with and without
expulsion, for both materials.
Park et al. (2018) studied the mechanical properties of the nugget zone in resistance spot-
welded DP980 steel joints, using micro-specimens extracted from the welded nugget zone.
There is little discrepancy in the material properties of that zone and that the flow stress is
relatively high compared with that of the base metal, due to the formation of coarse martensite
phase, associated to the rapid cooling after the resistance spot-welding process.
The failure of AHSS spot welds is a critical issue for automotive crashworthiness.
Pouranvari (2018) suggested that the ratio of the fracture toughness to the hardness of the fusion
zone is the critical factor governing the interfacial failure mechanism: ductile shear failure
(controlled by the fusion zone hardness) vs. cleavage crack propagation (controlled by the
fracture toughness). This result could be helpful to a more accurate modelling of interfacial
failure of spot welds of AHSS, enabling a proper post-weld heat treatment design to improve
the weld mechanical performance.

Figure 11. Microhardness profiles of DP600 and M1500 steels, in a dissimilar RSW joint (Huin et al.,
2016).

Figure 12. Scheme of the map of the failure modes based on standard recommended nugget sizes.
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 85

Figure 13. Schemes of the spot welds after failure, showing the location of failure: A- PHS600 (no
expulsion); B- PHS600 (expulsion); C- PHS1500 (no expulsion); D- PHS1500 (expulsion).

Significant variations in fatigue performance of spot welds of AHSS suggest that

improvements may be achieved through optimization of the RSW procedures. Vanimisetti and
Sigler (2014) found that fatigue life correlates well with the location and orientation of the fine-
grained heat affected zone (FGHAZ) in a DP600 and a TRIP590. In welds with high FGHAZ
angles, the fatigue crack is deflected either toward the sheet surface along the FGHAZ or into
the harder coarse-grained HAZ and nugget, where crack growth is either retarded or arrested.
Modelling confirmed that stress intensity at the tip of the fatigue crack is lower for steeper crack
orientations, which slows crack growth and improves fatigue life.
Highly non-uniform temperature gradient experienced by work pieces during resistance
spot welding (RSW) can lead to the formation of a region prone to “premature” failure at the
subcritical tempered zone (SCTZ) of AHSS containing a high-volume fraction of martensite.
Accurate prediction of spot weld properties such as nugget size and local hardness of SCTZ is
essential for computer-aided, engineering-based design of welded automotive structures that
are lightweight and impact resistant.
Lu et al. (2019) developed a 3D fully coupled thermo-electromechanical model for RSW
of a three sheet (3T) stack-up of dissimilar AHSS. The model was capable to accurately predict
the nugget size under a wide range of welding currents, and the nugget formation during RSW
was numerically investigated based on the calculated temperature profiles. Using the obtained
kinetics parameters for the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) it was achieved a
precise prediction of the local softening of SCHAZ for the 3T stack-up.
The effects of single and double pulse in RSW on the microstructures of an automotive
AHSS were studied by Eftekharimilani et al. (2017). The double pulse welding schemes
partially remelt the primary weld nugget and anneal the area at the fusion boundary of the
nugget. Phosphorus was redistributed at the primary weld nugget edge of the double pulse
welds, while the mean block width and ellipticity of the prior austenite grains were smaller
compared with single pulse weld. A favorable failure mode was obtained for the double pulse
welds, although behavior did not correlate with the measured grain size.
Chabok et al. (2018) also studied double pulse in RSW in a DP1000-GI. They found that
double pulse welding at low welding current decreases the maximum cross tension strength and
86 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

mechanical energy absorption capability of the welds. Local residual stress mapping reveals
that the compressive residual stress perpendicular to the plane of the pre-crack either decreases
or is fully released at the weld edge of double pulse welds. Orientation imaging microscopy
analyses show that the martensite formed in front of the pre-crack of double pulse weld (Rex
zone) has a lower fraction of high-angle grain boundaries and a coarser structure of Bain groups
as opposed to the corresponding area of single pulse weld. Both aspects would explain the
lower mechanical strength of the double pulse welds. Figure 14a shows a macrograph of a
double pulse RSW joint of 15MnB22 PHS, with a micrographic detail of the PMZ (Figure 14b).

a b

Figure 14. a) OM macrograph showing different zones at the cross section of double pulse weld of a
15MnB22 steel, b) Micrographic detail of the PMZ with a local lower hardness value (Lee et al., 2020).

Kim et al. (2019) used a pulse-profile to improve the welding quality of CP1180 in RSW.
Three pulses with two cooling times were used in the developed multi-pulse welding (MPW)
schedule. The first pulse increases the contact area between the sheets to improve the current
flow pattern. The second pulse was designed to extend the sheet-to-sheet contact area and
corona bond for preventing rapid nugget growth. Using these designs, the nugget size was
maximized through the third pulse. The maximum nugget size using the designed schedule was
18.5% greater than that of the single-pulse welding schedule and the weldable current range
was extended by 130%.
Zinc-coated AHSS are known to be susceptible to liquid metal embrittlement (LME)
cracking during RSW. Murugan et al. (2020) work on the classification of cracks based on the
cracking mechanism. LME cracks were concentrated at certain weld locations and exhibited
different features in terms of length, number, and orientation, owing to the synergetic effect of
temperature, stress, microstructure, time of exposure to liquid zinc, and time of exposure to
tensile stress at the corresponding locations. The effect of time of exposure to liquid zinc and
tensile stress on LME cracking revealed the time dependency of LME in RSW. The nature of
contact between the electrode and the sheet, and the heat input during welding, were found to
be the main reasons for the difference in the thermal, mechanical, and metallurgical
characteristics of various crack locations, which caused the formation of various LME crack
types. Figure 15 shows the different types of LME cracks, based on the formation location
(Jeon et al, 2020).
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 87

Figure 15. Classification of cracks produced by LME in a RSW joint according to its location (Jeon et
al., 2020).

Figure 16. LME sensitivity of RSW of TRIP and DP steel with different types of coatings (Jeon et al.,
2020).

He et al. (2019) also studied LME in TRIP 1100 and TRIP 1200 steels. They added
aluminum interlayers between the electrode and steel contact surface, reducing LME. TRIP
1100 with aluminum interlayers showed complete strength recovery while TRIP 1200 with
aluminum interlayers resulted in a recovery of strength by 90%. Aluminum interlayers suppress
LME by the formation of iron aluminides that inhibit liquid zinc contact the steel substrate.
In Figure 16 it can be seen results from several investigations about LME sensitivity of
different AHSS (TRIP and DP) with different types of coatings (Jeon et al., 2020).

5. LASER WELDING OF AHSS

LW is increasing its application in the automotive industry due to its inherent advantages
like the strength of welding, high welding speed, adaptability to complex weld geometries, and
lower part distortion, as well as a smaller heat affected zone (HAZ). Some disadvantages of
88 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

laser welding are high investment costs and the need for accurate joint preparation and, in some
cases, fixturing of the sheets.
Laser butt welding is, for example, used in the production of TWB and in the roll forming
process when closing the profile in the roll forming line. In the assembly welding of different
components to a roll formed profile, LW has a great advantage compared to GMAW and RSW
(SSAB Docol, 2018).
Laser welding is often used for AHSS lap (overlap) joints, but of course using different
parameters compared to seam butt joint configurations. Welding is performed in the same way
as for mild steels, but the clamping forces needed for a good joint fit-up are higher with AHSS.
Lap joints tend to provide a larger process window, which can compensate for some of the
manufacturing difficulties with AHSS, including springback and part distortion (Hickey, 2018).
Typical hardness profiles across laser welding of AHSS are depicted in Figure 17. The
weld center systematically has a high hardness compared with the unaffected base material,
due to its very high cooling rates. The HAZ, adjacent to the fusion zone, can either harden or
soften. DP steels of low strength, such as DP450 exhibit only hardening. Some softening can
occur in higher-strength DP steels with an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) higher than 600 MPa
and stronger DP steels (Cretteur, 2015), as can be seen for DP800 and DP1000 (He et al., 2021).

Figure 17. Microhardness profiles of LW of DP800 and DP1000 steels, in similar and dissimilar joints
(He et al., 2021).

Lakshminarayana et al. (2018) investigated the influence of heat input on microstructure,

microhardness, and mechanical properties of welded structures of DP590. The weld zone
microstructure is composed predominantly by martensite due to its rapid solidification, with an
increase in the hardness of this zone up to 350-380 HV. The width of the Heat Affected Zone
and Weld Zone decreased as the heat input decreased.
Laser welding applied to three types of dual-phase (DP) steel sheets (DP590, DP780, and
DP980) was analyzed by Huan et al. (2019). The welded joints of three different materials all
contained a hardened zone (HZ) that was composed of a fusion zone, a coarse-grained heat-
affected zone, and fine-grained heat-affected zone, with a microstructure mainly martensitic.
The microhardness of the HZ was 1.2-1.9 times higher than that of the base metal (BM).
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 89

Moreover, the joint efficiency was elevated in all cases, and the elongation of welded joints
decreased with increase of the BM strength. In Figure 18 it can be seen Trues Stress vs True
Strain curves for different steels and its respective LW joints. The high joint efficiency is
observed for all cases (Evin et al., 2017).

Figure 18. True stress vs. True strain curves of HC340LA (HSLA), HCT600X (DP600), RAK40/70
(MP700) and its respective laser welded joints (Evin et al., 2017).

Gonçalves et al. (2020) analyzed coupons of TRIP750 steel sheets subjected to different
laser welding conditions in order to analyze their impact on the microstructure, hardness, and
mechanical strength of the material. The fusion zone was almost completely martensitic, while
the heat-affected zone had a mixture of ferrite and martensite. The average hardness of the
fusion zone was 530 HV and the heat-affected zone was 550 HV, compared with 270 HV of
the base material, with a tensile strength of the welded coupons of 740 MPa and a ductility of
22% in uniform deformation. The Erichsen index for the welded sheets attained 15 mm for a
load of 48.5 kN, similar with the non-welded base material. In both cases the fracture was
located at the base material away from the weld, showing a good toughness of the welded
component.
Jia et al. (2016) also worked with laser welding of DP980. They could reach an UTS of the
low heat input welded joint of 99.7% of base metal, while the joint with high heat input was
95.6%. The sub-critical heat affected zone (HAZ) was softened with obvious yielding platform,
and higher heat input caused lower strength of local HAZs. It is more significant for higher
strength steels (Farabi et al., 2010). The low heat input welded joint fractured at base metal,
while the joint with high heat input failed at sub-critical HAZ with significant lower fracture
strain. The simulation results revealed that UTS of joint decreased with the increase of HAZ
width and HAZ softening degree. Moreover, there were critical values of HAZ width and
softening degree to predict the failure location of the joint. With the increase of fusion zone
width, the UTS of joint increased gradually closing to that of base metal, and the joint tended
to fail at base metal due to biaxial stress intensification effect.
During a crash situation, TWBs are subjected to local high strain rate (HSR) deformations.
Hence, understanding the effects of fiber laser welding on the microstructure and subsequent
dynamic (1 to 100 s-1) tensile properties of the recently developed medium-Mn transformation-
induced plasticity (TRIP) steel is essential. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis
indicated that Mn segregation during rapid solidification of the FZ resulted in retention of
90 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

austenite within interdendritic regions. Moreover, it was found that the lower stability of
retained austenite within the intercritical heat-affected zone (HAZ) resulted in double yielding
behavior of the welds due to discontinuous yielding (Luders banding). However, by increasing
the strain rate, the second yield point decreased and shifted to higher strains. In the dynamic
loading range, the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elongation of welds showed positive
strain rate sensitivity (SRS) (Razmpoosh et al., 2019).
For tailor-welded product the stretchability is a relevant property. Erichsen and Olsen cup
test can be used for assessment of the formability of the laser weld. AHSS with tensile strengths
up to 800 MPa show good Erichsen test values (Figure 19). The hardness of the laser welds for
AHSS is higher than for mild steels. However, good stretchability ratios in the Erichsen test
can still be achieved when the difference in hardness between weld metal and base metal is
only slightly higher for AHSS. If the hardness of the weld is too high, a post-annealing
treatment may be used to reduce the hardness and improve the stretchability of the weld
(Beenken, 2004).
In this sense, Luo et al. (2019) have reported that two stages of laser heat treatment (LHT)
were proven to be effective in the improvement of the face- and back-bending property of laser-
welded of M1700 joints. After the first LHT, the joints can be roughly divided into two regions:
austenitized zone near the face and tempering zone near the back. The back-bending property
of laser-welded joints could be improved by the first LHT. More than a 90-deg back-bending
angle with 1280 MPa tensile strength was obtained. However, the face-bending angle was about
37 ~ 62°, which is still unsatisfactory. The second LHT was performed to improve the face
bending property of joints after the first LHT. Lower power was used in the second LHT to
soften the austenitized zone with less effect on the back-bending property. More than 90° face-
bending angle was obtained with an UTS of 1205 MPa.

Figure 19. Hardness and stretchability of laser butt welds with two AHSS sheets of the same thickness
(Erichsen test values describe the stretchability (Beenken, 2004).

Post-weld residual stresses and distortions are significant issues in laser welding as they
reduce fatigue strength and toughness. Mitra et al. (2019) studied a DP600 1.2 mm laser welded
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 91

butt joints, evaluating different heat input and welding speed conditions. Residual stresses
increased with welding speed. Welding speeds beyond 0.08 m/s resulted in longitudinal cracks.
Hot cracking during LW of AHSS is reported to be a serious problem by automotive
manufacturers. Gao et al. (2018) investigated on hot cracking susceptibilities of TRIP and DP
steels based on a multiscale modelling approach with experimental measurements to validate
the finite element (FE) model. Compared to the DP steel, the TRIP steel has a broader
solidification range, a greater pressure drop at the inter-dendritic regions, and an increased
phosphorus segregation at the grain boundaries; all these make this steel more susceptible for
hot cracking. Figure 20 shows images of solidification cracking in a TRIP steel during LW,
obtained with a high-speed camera (Agarwal et al., 2018).

Figure 20. High-speed camera images of solidification cracking during welding of a TRIP steel: a)
Initiation of solidification cracking at the trailing edge of the mushy zone, b) full fracture (Agarwal et
al., 2018).

During the production of TWB involving AHSS, the surface of the blank needs to be
protected against oxidation and decarburisation. Protective coatings are used to protect the steel
surface, with Aluminium-Silicon or Zinc-based coatings being the most popular.
To achieve good laser-welded overlap joints for Zn-coated AHSS, a small intermittent gap
(0.1-0.2 mm) between the sheets is recommended, which is identical to Zn-coated mild steels.
In this way, the Zn does not get trapped in the melt, avoiding pores and other imperfections.
An excessive gap can create an undesirable underfill on the topside of the weld. It was reported
that laser welding Zn-coated steels can be done without using a gap between the overlapped
sheets, using dual laser beams. While the first beam is used to heat and evaporate the Zn coating,
the second beam performs the welding. The dual laser beam configuration combines two laser-
focusing heads using custom-designed fixtures (Hickey, 2018).
Khan et al. (2020) analyzed the laser welding of coated PHS 22MnB5 grade to be used in
the production of TWB. During LW of Al–Si coated 22MnB5, the coating melts and mixes into
the molten weld pool. This leads to the formation of a dual-phase region in the FZ comprising
of ferrite and martensite in both the as-received welded (ARW) and the as-received welded
then hot-stamped (ARWHS) conditions. This effect produced an extreme loss in mechanical
properties of the joint in the ARWHS, compared to the condition of the hot-stamped base
material (HSBM).
He et al. (2020) analyzed the fatigue behavior of DP steels LW joints in thin sheets. Figure
21 shows the obtained fatigue curves for the different combinations studied. They found that
the fracture location was in all cases in the weld bead at the surface.
92 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Figure 21. Fatigue curves for LW of DP steels in similar and dissimilar joints (He et al., 2021).

Farabi et al. (2010) have been also studied the fatigue performance of LW joints of different
DP steels. They reported that the presence of the soft zone in the LW joint of a DP980 produced
a significant reduction of the fatigue limit, compared with the corresponding for the base metal.
Nevertheless, for a DP600 steel the existence of that soft zones has a little or minor effect on
the fatigue behavior of the welded joint. DP980 welded joints failed at the mentioned soft zones,
while DP600 failed both at the soft zones or at the base metal, depending on the stress level
applied.
Dissimilar joints between AHSS or with HSLA is a currently situation in automotive
manufacturing. Cui et al. (2017) studied single and multiple dissimilar joints between DP980
and a HSLA galvanized steels. The tensile properties of the dissimilar joint between the strong
DP980 and the relatively soft HSLA reflected only the properties of HSLA with plastic
deformation, and final fracture took place entirely in HSLA. The fatigue properties of the
dissimilar joints were more intriguing, with the strong DP980 outperforming at high stress
amplitude and the ductile HSLA outperforming at low stress amplitude. For different load
amplitudes, fatigue failure occurred in different materials and at different locations. The fatigue
strength of DP980 was more negatively impaired by weld defects than that of HSLA.
Also, the microstructure and tensile deformation behavior of the fiber laser-welded similar
and dissimilar DP steel joints over a wide range of strain rates from 10-3 to 103 s-1 were
investigated by Liu et al. (2018) focusing on the further applications on the lightweight design
of vehicles. The yield stress (YS) and ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the dissimilar
DP780/DP980 welded joints were lying in-between those of the DP780 and DP980 base metals,
and all materials exhibited positive strain rate dependence on the YS and UTS. Due to the
microstructure heterogeneity, the welded joints showed relatively lower ductility in terms of
total elongation (TE) than those of the corresponding base metals. The strain localization tended
to occur in the vicinity of the minimum hardness zone of the welded joint, which was in the
subcritical HAZ at the DP780 side.
Hur et al. (2020) also studied the mechanical properties of weld zones in LW of dissimilar
DP steels and its effect on the formability. The flow stress of the HAZ of DP590 side is
comparable to the DP590 base material, whereas the flow stress of the HAZ of DP980 side is
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 93

lower than the corresponding base material. The fusion zone is the hardest region in the weld
zones. Modelling of cup drawing processes was performed showing good agreement with the
experiments.

6. GAS METAL ARC WELDING OF AHSS

GMAW is frequently employed in automotive manufacturing when the geometry limits the
use of RSW process or when the design requires additional strength or stiffness of the joint.
For its application with AHSS is particularly important for design and production engineering
to understand the factors which affect the microstructural evolution and consequent mechanical
properties of structures welded with GMAW (Kapustka et al., 2008; Feng et al., 2009).
One of the characteristics of this arc welding process, in comparison with other welding
techniques (resistance spot welding, laser welding) is the high heat input. Consequently,
microstructural degradation (softening zone) as well as sheet distortions must be considered,
particularly for AHSS. In many applications, single-sided welded lap joints are often used. The
strength of a lap joint is lower than the strength of a butt joint. This is due to the unsymmetrical
loading and the extra bending moment associated with this type of loading for the lap joint. The
extra bending moment increases the stresses near the weld toe. In addition, sometimes it is also
important to have a high penetration into the base metal. To reach this penetration target, the
heat input must be chosen with regard to both strength and penetration (SSAB Docol guide,
2018).
For GMAW of thin sheets of uncoated AHSS a mixed shielding gas of argon (Ar) and
carbon dioxide (CO2) is normally used in combination with a solid welding wire. Welding of
thin sheet steel places strict demands on the welding parameters used. To avoid burning-
through and to minimize distortions of the sheet, it is important to use a low heat input. Another
benefit with a low heat input is also a higher tensile strength of the welded joint. The strength
of the welds for AHSS increases with increasing base metal strength (Figure 22).

Figure 22. Strength of GMAW welds vs. Base Metal tensile strength for different AHSS (filler metal
AWS A5.28 ER 110S-G, mixed shielding gas of Ar and CO2) (SSAB Docol guide, 2018).
94 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

For DP1000 or M1400 the strength of the welds is lower than the base metal strength, due
to the formation of the mentioned soft zones in the heat affected zone (HAZ), which is typical
for GMAW process. This difference increases with the strength of the base metal. Generally,
the fracture position in the tensile testing is located close to these soft zones. The amount of
softening depends on the welding procedure used. With a low heat input, the softening is less
than for a high heat input (SSAB Docol guide, 2018).
In Figure 23 it can be seen the microhardness map of the DP980 GMAW lap joint weld,
where the fracture of the tensile test is located at the soft zone in SCTZ (Feng, 2007).
Zinc coated steels are more difficult to weld than uncoated steels, because of the effect of
the coating in the arc instability, porosity in the weld metal, spatter, and irregular penetration.
The reason for these problems is that zinc quickly gasifies during welding (SSAB Docol, 2018).
Ahsan et al. (2016) investigated the feasibility of cold metal transfer (CMT) gas metal arc
welding of zinc coated steel over a wide range of heat inputs in terms of porosity formation and
mechanical performance. They found a minimum heat input to avoid porosity and developed a
map of welding conditions with “safe areas” in order to produce sound welds with adequate
mechanical strength of the joints (Figure 24).

Figure 23. Microhardness map of the DP980 GMAW weld. Correlation of the fracture zone in tensile
test with the soft zone in HAZ (Feng, 2007).

Figure 24. Scheme of weldability envelope diagram presenting different “safe zones” for coated steels.
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 95

Recently, special consumables for GMAW of AHSS thin sheets have been developed. Wu
et al. (2020) studied a Low Transformation Temperature Welding (LTTW) metal-cored wire
applied on DP980 welds. They found that it can efficiently reduce the tensile residual stress
because the volume expansion associated with the martensitic transformation compensates for
the thermal contraction during cooling. In comparison to conventional wires, this LTTW wire
generated an opposite distortion pattern. The fatigue life of DP980 steel lap joint panels using
this consumable (EH200B) wire nearly doubled that of conventional (ER70S-3) wire. This
improvement was attributed to the high strength and low residual stress in the weld and HAZ
immediately adjacent to the weld.
Fatigue behavior of GMAW of AHSS for automotive applications is usually a relevant
aspect. Park et al. (2019) investigated the notch effect of pulsed GMAW (P-GMAW) of DP980
on the fatigue performance of the welds, taking into account different heat inputs and filler
metals, one flux-cored LTTW (FCW) wire and a conventional solid wire (SW). They found
that the FCW have a better fatigue performance, due to the improved toe geometry, low residual
stresses and high hardness. The fatigue fractures were located at the toe of the weld, thus the
HAZ microstructure is an important factor related to the fatigue resistance. Representative
samples from different HAZ regions were fatigue-tested using a Gleeble thermo-mechanical
simulator. It was found that the fatigue resistance of the different HAZ regions decreases with
the increase of heat input. Also, the lower fatigue strength was observed for ICHAZ.
Ahiale and Oh (2014) studied the high-cycle fatigue behavior of GMAW butt weld joints
of AHSS (DP490, DP540 and M1400). They found that despite the strength of each material,
the fatigue resistance of the welded joints was similar, with a drastic reduction compared with
the base metals. The fracture was located at the welding toe in all cases, due to the stress
concentration introduce by the weld bead, revealing the more relevant effect of the geometry
over the local microstructure. Nevertheless, to minimize the degradation of fatigue resistance
of AHSS both effects, geometry and softening, must be controlled.

7. BRAZING WELDING OF AHSS

In recent times, Brazing-Welding processes have been incorporated to the technologies
used in automobile manufacturing (Shome, 2015).
Among the available brazing processes GMAW-B is perhaps one of the most suitable, due
to the good surface appearance and lower heat input, which produces less distortions and
microstructural degradation in the base metal. These are relevant aspects for AHSS welding.
Welding equipment for GMAW-B is almost the same used for GMAW welding. Inverter,
synergic weld sources are recommended for GMAW-B due to its capacity for regulation and
control of the welding parameters (Weman and Lindén, 2006). To minimize the weld heat input,
short-circuit or pulsed transfer modes are usually employed.
Welding procedure affects the characteristics of the joints, modifying the wetting length
and the softening of HAZ. Figure 25 shows the cross sections macrographs of DP1000 GMAW-
B joints obtained with different welding speeds (6 and 10 mm/seg) and transfer mode (short-
circuit (SC) and pulsed (P)) (Marconi et al., 2020).
96 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Figure 25. Cross section macrographs of GMAW-B of DP1000. a: SC-10, b: SC-6, c: P-10 and d: P-6
(Marconi et al., 2020).

Generally, due to the action of the electric arc, certain fusion of the base metal near the root
of the arc takes place. This is associated to the cathodic spot throughout arc is established.
Dilution must be minimized to limit its negative effect on mechanical properties (Weman and
Lindén, 2006).
Mechanical properties of GMAW-B joints are defined by the wetting lengths, the interface
integrity and microstructural degradation in the HAZ (Shome, 2015). An intermetallic
compound (IMC) is usually formed at the interface (Figure 26a), which depends on its thickness
and continuity could affect the mechanical properties of the joint (Figure 26b) (Kai et al., 2015;
Marconi et al., 2020). In the case of CuSi3 used as filler metal the IMC is mainly Fe2Si and
Fe5Si3 combined with Cu, which is generally harder than the weld and base metal (Makwana
et al., 2016; Sharma et al., 2017). Its thickness is in the order of 5-10 microns and it increases
with the heat input.

a b

Figure 26. a- IMC in DP1000 GMAW-B joint interface, b- IMC affecting associated with the fracture
in shear tension test (Marconi et al., 2020).

Basak et al. (2015) also studied on the effect of process parameters of GMAW-B lap joint
of zinc-coated DP600 steel sheet using Cu-Al filler wire. They obtained a joint efficiency of
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 97

98% using Cu-Al filler wire due to dispersion hardening effect of fusion zone consisting of
dispersed iron from base metal in copper matrix. Also, an FeAl IMC (∼6 μm thick) has been
found at the interface. High-cycle fatigue life increases with heat input increasing. Interestingly,
three different fatigue failure paths were observed with different loading cycle, such as
interfacial failure; fusion zone failure and fine grain heat-affected zone failure where the bead
geometry played an important role in brazed joint under dynamic loading condition.
To meet corrosion resistance requirements a percentage of AHSS are produced with a
protective coating, mainly Zn and Al-rich coatings. These steels require special precautions
during welding. GMAW-Brazing process has been developed mainly for coated sheets. The
risk of elimination of the coating is reduced due to its lower input energy (20% lower than
GMAW) (Shome, 2015). Chovet and Guiheux (2006) have found that the low heat input of
GMAW-B of DP600 reduces the width of the HAZ and limit the degradation of Zn coating at
both sides of the bead and root.
Sharma et al. (2017) worked on GMAW-B joints of hot-dip galvanized steel sheets (GI) in
lap joint configuration using CuSi3 filler wire. They proposed a model for the pore formation
at the fused zone (Figure 27) based on the vaporization of Zn coating.

Figure 27. The schematic diagram to show the formation of pores in GMAW-B galvanized steels lap
joints.

They suggested that for a pore-free bead structure, the heat input should lie in the range of
59–94 J/mm for the arc brazing of GI sheets.
Singh et al. (2019) investigated CMT brazing technique for lap joining of 1.2 mm thick
galvanized DP780 steel using CuAl10Fe filler wire with the aim of evaluate the role of bead
shape and dispersion of intermetallic phases in the deposited bead and their effect on load
bearing capacity of the joints. Fe-Al-Cu intermetallic phases were formed and distributed in the
deposited bead due to melting and dissolution of base metal. Bead shape and amount of
dispersed intermetallic phases in the bead significantly affected joint strength. The modes of
failure could be categorized as horizontal interface failure (mode 1), bead failure (mode 2) and
vertical interface failure (mode 3) depending on effective wetting lengths (LH, LV) and LH/θ
ratio (Figure 28). Failure load also increased with phase fraction of dispersed intermetallic.
98 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Figure 28. Schematic failure modes in GMAW-B lap joints.

In addition, the joint fracture could also be located at the base metal. Reisgen et al. (2017)
reach this fracture mode in galvanized DP780 joined with CMT using CuAl8 filler metal.
Marconi et al. (2020) also obtained the fracture at the base metal for DP1000 using CuSi3
(Figure 29).

Figure 29. Fracture at the base metal in a GMAW-B lap joint of 1.2 mm DP1000 steel (Marconi et al.,
2020).

In recent years, a rapidly growing demand for laser brazing in the transportation industry
for automotive parts joining to improve the productivity, quality of the joints and cost efficiency
reasons. Due to this, LBW technology is extensively used in the major manufacturing
companies as their opening bulk production solicitation on various parts of vehicles. One of
these applications is typically the roof/body side panel (Krishnaja et al., 2018; Heitmanek et
al., 2014) (Figure 30).

Figure 30. a) Cross section of a LBW joint of roof/body side panel, b) A schematic illustrating the
principle of laser brazing (Krishnaja et al., 2018).
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 99

An exemplary result obtained with the brazing simulation model was obtained by Dobler
et al. (2016). Simulations were performed for brazing of zinc coated steel sheets with CuSi3
filler wire. The focus of the analysis performed was on a typical zero-gap joint geometry of
roof and side panel (Figure 30a).
In LB of DP steel, also could be observed the IMC formed at the interface and some degree
of HAZ degradation, as it was observed with other welding processes, but in minor degree,
both for the absence of fusion of the base metal and for the high intensity of laser source (Piccini
et al., 2014).

8. FRICTION STIR WELDING OF AHSS

FSW technology was invented in 1991 by The Welding Institute (TWI), in the United
Kingdom, became an important subject of research in the last three decades. Magalhaes et al.
(2017) have reported that the transportation industry, with a focus on automotive, was the main
industrial segment investigating and patenting the FSW technology, followed by the metal
working sector.
Motivated by the considerable loss of the mechanical properties in the case of arc welding
due to different precautions including adding under-matching filler metal, the feasibility of
FSW for joining ultra-high mechanical properties steel has been demonstrated by El-Batahgy
et al. (2016). Tool rotational speed and welding speed have a strong effect on the weld quality,
tool durability as well as productivity. A defect-free weld was produced on 2.2 mm plates of
M1600 steel. Acceptable mechanical properties comparable to those of the base metal were
achieved for the stir zone due to the similarity in their microstructures. However, the overall
tensile strength of the welded joint is negatively influenced by the remarkable decrease in the
hardness of the HAZ.
Lee et al. (2015) investigated FSW of a DP980 in a thin sheet of 1 mm thick achieving a
high joint efficiency of 93.2%, associated to a slight softening in the HAZ as is shown in Figure
31. A hardness increase is also observed at the stir zone (SZ), due to grain refinement and a full
martensitic microstructure.
FSSW is a variant of FSW process invented in 2003 by Mazda. It has been shown enough
potential to replace another joining processes such as RSW, SPR or Clinching in some
applications. Although it was initially developed for aluminum alloys, it has demonstrated its
viability for welding AHSS (Aldanondo et al., 2011). The main process variables are rotational
and indentation speed, dwell time, tool indentation and the tool design (Mishra and Mahoney,
2007).
Wang et al. (2019) studied FSSW of 1.2 mm thick DP1180, with additional water cooling.
It was successfully welded. Softening of the HAZ was substantially suppressed and the lap
shear strength of the joints was significantly enhanced via water cooling. It was attributed to
the grain refinement, the formation of the untempered martensite and the effective restraint of
tool softening in underwater condition.
100 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Figure 31. FSW of DP980: Macrograph and Microhardness profile (Lee et al., 2015).

During FSSW, the rotating tool penetrates the sheets being weld and is then retracted
producing a stir zone region that comprises a fine dynamically recrystallized microstructure.
Hsu et al. (2018) studied comparatively the welding of a DP780 AHSS (1.6 mm thick) spot
weld conducted using RSW and FSSW. For the analyzed conditions RSW could reach higher
bonded area, thus reaching higher maximum fracture loads. Nevertheless, for the same bonded
area FSSW showed higher strength (Figure 32).

Figure 32. Failure load vs. bonded area for the RSW and FSSW of DP780 (Hsu et al., 2018).

Tool indentation depth and rotational speed are two of the main welding parameters in
FSSW. Zhao et al. (2020) studied FSSW of the 1.2 mm thick DP590. During welding, the
rotation speed ranged from 600 r/min to 1000 r/min and the penetration depth ranged from 0.1
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 101

mm to 0.3 mm. The size of the SZ increased with the increase in rotation speed as well as the
penetration depth of the tool. Comparing with the banded ferrite and martensite structure of the
base metal, a mixed microstructure of ferrite and tempered martensite, refined bainite structure
and coarse martensite structure were found in the HAZ, thermo-mechanical affected zone
(TMAZ) and SZ of the joints, respectively.
Shear tensile tests reach the maximum value when the rotation speed and penetration depth
were set as 800 r/min and 0.3 mm, respectively. The specimen was fractured through plug
failure mode.

9. WELDING OF DISSIMILAR AHSS-AL ALLOYS

Multi-materials structures in automotive industry offer several advantages as weight
reduction and acceptable costs, which have promoted the application of this concept. It is
expected that this tendency increases in the near future.
The incorporation of AHSS and light alloys (aluminum and magnesium alloys) to
automotive structures is a fact that has been occurred in the last years to reach the global
regulations of CO2 emissions and crash impact resistance (ICCT, 2020).
Joining aluminum to steel is challenging due to their different thermo-physical properties,
which leads to the occurrence of several problems as the formation of hard Intermellic
Compounds (IMC) at the interface, porosity, hot cracking, among others (Singh et al., 2019).
Several welding processes have shown potential to produce dissimilar welded joints for
automotive industry, involving AHSS and aluminum alloys. RSW, LBW, GMAW-B and FSW
have been widely analyzed in the last years (Yang et al., 2015; Krishnaja et al., 2018; Chen et
al., 2019).
RSW of dissimilar AHSS to Al alloys is currently highly active topic of research. Figure
33 shows a RSW joint of DP1000 to AA6063 (Marconi et al., 2019).

a b

Figure 33. a- Macro and b- micrograph of cross section of RSW dissimilar joint of DP1000-AA6063
RSW (Marconi et al., 2019).

The welding procedure for this type of joints is different of the conventionally used for
similar materials. In this case, the joint occurs at the interface with the aluminum in the liquid
phase but the steel in the solid state, although there is fusion of both materials, but in the case
of the steel, it is not at the interface. In this zone an IMC Fe-Al is formed, as can be seen in
(Figure 34). The control of IMC growth is the main aspect relative to the integrity of the Al-
Steel RSW weld joints (Pouranvari, 2017). When reaction layer is thicker than a critical value,
the joint fails via crack propagation through brittle IMC (Chen, N. et al., 2017).
102 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

Figure 34. IMC at Al-Steel interface in a RSW joint (Consigli et al., 2019).

Kim et al. (2017) studied RSW joints of DP590 to AA5052 using inverter and delta RSW
process. In this last variant it uses a metal tape as additive to improve the joint quality. They
found that the delta RSW produced higher TSS and nugget diameters, compared with
conventional RSW.
Singh et al. (2019) reviewed the GMAW-B process to produce Al-Steel joining for
automotive applications, with the focus mainly on CMT process. Singh et al. (2020) studied
GMAW-B of DP780-AA5052 aluminum alloy of different thicknesses, using CMT + Pulsed
process. Figure 35a shows the fracture mode for low upper sheet thickness (higher fracture
load), while Figure 35b describes the fracture mode for high upper sheet thickness (low fracture
load).

a b

Figure 35. Scheme of fracture mode depending on top sheet thickness in GMAW-Brazing of DP780-
AA5052 joints: a) low thickness of upper sheet, b) high thickness of upper sheet.

Fracture load decreases when the top sheet thickness is increased, associated to a lower
wetting length on the steel surface (Singh et al., 2020).
Wang et al. (2016) have reviewed the different variants for joining Al to Steel using LB
technology. In this process, the joint near the aluminum side is fusion welding and near the
steel side is brazing welding, taking advantages of both fusion welding and brazing welding.
Different laser beam configurations, such as single-beam laser, dual-beam laser, and laser-arc
hybrid, were realized for fusion-brazing welding.
Dharmendra et al. (2011) investigated laser brazing welding of 0.77 mm thick galvanized
DP600 to 1.2 mm thick 6016-T4 aluminum alloy by adding 85Zn15Al filler wire feed. Zn
reduced the formation of brittle Fe-Al IMCs.
Solid state welding processes are which present better results for dissimilar AHSS-Al
joints, particularly those related to FSW (Bhushan and Sharma, 2019). Good results have been
reported in DP-Al alloys joints using FSSW (Chen, K., 2019). There are two main
configurations of FSSW of dissimilar Al-Steel. One implies the mixing between the Al and the
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 103

steel (Figner et al., 2009; Marconi et al., 2017) (Figure 36a). In the other, there is no mechanical
mixing between both materials (Piccini and Svoboda, 2017; Piccini, 2017) (Figure 36b).
In the first type, due to the tool is attained against the steel, the material required for the
tool must be high performance one, mainly WC, W-Re alloy or PCBN (Polycrystalline Cubic
Boron Nitride). Another feature is the hook formation. When the pin of a rotating tool
penetrated into the lower sheet, the hook is formed at the interface of two sheets due to upward
bending of the sheet interface. Mostly, the hook is believed to be a geometrical defect that
causes fracture initiation (Li et al., 2014). Salari et al. (2014) mentioned that a larger-size hook
had a more negative impact on mechanical properties, while Liyanage et al. (2009) believed
that the presence of a hook increased mechanical interlocking of the sheets due to clinching.

a b

Figure 36. FSSW of Al to Steel dissimilar joints: a- with mixing (Marconi et al., 2017), b- without
mixing (Piccini, 2017).

In the second type of FSSW joining there is no contact of the tool with the steel sheet which
enables the use of tool materials of lower costs, typically H13 tool steel. In this case there is
also the formation of IMC induced by the pressure and temperature under the tool action (Feng
et al., 2011). Haghshenas et al. (2014) used friction stir welding for joining sheets of 5754
aluminum alloy to coated AHSS (DP600 and 22MnB5) by promoting diffusion bonding in an
overlap configuration. They showed that reducing the welding speed improves mechanical
properties of the Al 5754/DP600 joints. However, this has a negligible effect on the strength of
Al 5754/22MnB5 joints for travel speeds of 16 mm/min and 45 mm/min.
Several works have evaluated the effect of the welding parameters on IMC formation and
mechanical properties of FSSW Al-Steel joints (Figner et al., 2009; Bozzi et al., 2010).
Niroumand et al. (2018) have analyzed different welding conditions in FSSW of 6061-DP590
joints. They found that the IMC thickness which optimized the tensile shear strength was near
of 2 microns.
Kang at al. (2020) studied the FSSW of an Al alloy and Al–Si-coated PHS steel. The shape
of the hook, which is formed during FSSW, changes from bent to straight shape due to the
presence of Al–Si and the HPF process (Figure 37).
The joint strength of the straight hook-shaped specimens is lower than that of the bent
hook-shaped specimens. This difference in strength is because the hard Fe–Al–Si intermetallic
(IMC) layer on the outer surface of the hook disturbs the bending of the hook during the
welding.
104 C. D. Marconi and H. G. Svoboda

a b

Figure 37. Schematic diagram of failure at: a- Al matrix and b- the hook.

Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding also known as Friction Spot Welding (FSpW) or FSSW
keyhole-free process is a variant of FSSW in which the design of the tool enables to avoid the
final keyhole typical of FSSW (Figure 38a to e). In the last years, there have been profuse
workings in the area. Feng et al. (2020) have reviewed the recent advances on this process. It
has been produced free defect welds in dissimilar joint between Al alloys and steels.
Mechanical performance of FSpW of Al alloy-Zn coated steel is mainly dependent on the
thickness intermetallic compounds. A high heat input induces the formation of a thick defective
Zn-rich Al layer and Fe–Al intermetallic at the interface, which deteriorates the mechanical
properties. In Figure 38f it can be seen a macrograph of a FSSW-KH of DP600 and AA6082.

(f)

Figure 38. Schematic diagram of dissimilar Al/steel keyhole-free FSSW process: (a) welding initial
stage, (b) warming-up stage, (c) welding stage, (d) welding end stage, (e) cooling stage, (f)
Macrograpgh FSSW-KF of DP600-AA6082 (Zhang et al., 2020).

The formation of a solid–liquid structure of an Al solid solution in Mg–Al rich Zn liquid

induced by the Zn melting and the dissolution of Mg–Al into the Zn liquid coupled with stress
gives rise to microfissuring in the Zn-rich Al region (Suhuddin, 2017).
Friction Stir Lap Welding (FSLW) is a variant of FSW which in the last times has been
widely studied in its application for Al to Steel joints, due to its relevance in automobile
industry. Since 2004 several works have been published in this topic, involving different
combinations of Al alloys and steels, with particular interest in AHSS (da Silva et al., 2010).
 Welding of Advanced High Strength Steels for Automotive Applications 105

Shen et al. (2015) studied FSLW of the AA5754 to DP600, detecting the formation of IMC at
the interface. They found that penetration depth into the steel substrate plays a decisive role in
determining the weld strength. Figure 39 shows a cross section macrograph of a FSLW of Al-
Steel, with intermixing between both materials at the interface.

Figure 39. Cross section macrographs of a FSLW joint of Al-Steel thin sheets.
Leitao et al. (2016) analyzed multipass FSLW of 6082-T6 to S355J2+N steel, evaluating
fatigue performance also. They did not found IMC at the interface.

CONCLUSION
The AHSS is a family of advanced steels in continuous development, with special interest
in automotive industry for structural applications. Welding is a mature technology essential for
the applications mentioned, with a permanent evolution looking for the optimization of its
performance. The use of AHSS in automotive applications is expected to be increased in the
next years. In this sense, welding of AHSS for automotive industry will continue being a highly
active field for research and development.
To optimize the welding of dissimilar Al-AHSS and Mg-AHSS, as well as steels of higher
strength levels (>1200 MPa) in thin sheet with different coatings could be some of the more
challenging topics for near future.
For dissimilar joining of AHSS with Al or Mg alloys, RSW, LW, MIG-Brazing and FSW
in its different variants seems to be the more promising process. Nevertheless, there is still a lot
of work to be done to solve some issues like defects formation, productivity, IMC
characteristics, mechanical properties, corrosion behavior, among others.
Related to the welding of ultra-high strength AHSS for automotive applications, softening
and corrosion resistance are the main aspects to be studied, particularly for Hot Forming Steels.
Also, the development of 3rd Generation AHSS will generate the need of welding processes and
procedures adapted for those materials.

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Chapter 5

WELDABILITY OF METAL FOAMS USING DIFFERENT

PROCESSES: A REVIEW

G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

Industrial Engineering Department,
University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy

ABSTRACT
Foam materials, especially aluminum-based, have peculiar properties as a
consequence of their intrinsic porous structure. The unusual physical-mechanical
properties of metal foams make this class of materials highly promising for application in
various branches of industry: low weight constructions, energy and vibrations absorbers,
soundproofing systems and many others. The extensive application of metal foam is
possible just producing high-quality joints and from this point of view it is extremely
important to investigate the weldability of this kind of material, developing suitable joining
technologies. Until today Al and its alloys, Ti, Cu, Fe, Ni, stainless steel foams have been
successfully manufactured. Sandwich panels and filled tubes have been considered too.
Problems in the production of metal foams usually arise due to the lack of knowledge about
controlling the process parameters, dealing in many cases with a gas dispersed in a liquid
unstable phase. The results are frequently uneven and unpredictable variations in the
structure and properties of semi products and final products have been experienced. Similar
problems arise also during metal foams joining due to the cellular structure. Different
joining technologies (FSW, laser, ultra-sonic spot, arc-welding) are detailed in this
chapter. A comprehensive review of common and less common joining processes are
described. The main problems have been focused and solved thanks to some
technological modifications applied to consolidated processes. Welding of metal foams
allows the manufacturing of novel geometries, complex structures and customized parts
with minimum waste. Continuous researches and development in joining techniques,
including novel materials, design methods, welding and brazing technologies have helped
to overcome many challenges and increase the industrial applications. The research results


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
116 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

have been focused on the improvement of the joining processes; current issues and
open problems are highlighted too.

Keywords: welding, metal foams, microstructure, mechanical behaviour, modelling

1. INTRODUCTION
Metal foams (gas dispersion in a solid metal, Tab. 1) combine unique properties of low
density, good mechanical properties and ability of noise and vibration attenuation. Nowadays
many metals and alloys can be manufactured: Al (Costanza et al., 2011), Ti (Matsushita et al.,
2017), Fe (Costanza et al., 2016 a), Cu (Singh et al., 2019), Pb (Costanza et al., 2013),
superalloys (Banhart, 2001) and so on. The possible applications of metal foams (Costanza et
al., 2003) are depending on the base metal and on the porosity morphology (open or closed-
cell, size and dimension of the cells and density). Light structures are usually based on a
stiffness/weight ratio as higher as possible (Brugnolo et al., 2015). The topic of the parameters
affecting energy absorption in metal foam has been focused by Costanza et al. 2018. Cu-tube
filled with Al foam (Costanza et al., 2014) have been characterized by means of X-Ray
computer tomography to investigate on the porosity morphology (Costanza et al., 2012) and
AISI 316 tube filled with Al foam (Costanza et al., 2015) have been subjected to compression
tests for the mechanical behaviour. In light structures, metal foams are usually in competition
with honeycomb. By the way foam-based structures are easier to be manufactured also in
different geometries. Weldability of metal foams is a fundamental issue for the realization of
complex structures.
The main goal of this chapter is to describe the most common techniques adopted for
joining metals foams, highlighting the problems and the selected solutions in order to get good
mechanical joints and with mechanical properties comparable to that of the starting metal
foams.

Table 1. Scheme of dispersion of one phase into another one.

Each phase can be in the three states of matter

is dispersed in a gas is dispersed in a liquid is dispersed in a solid

when a gas gas mixture foam solid foam (cellular
solid)
when a liquid fog emulsion gel
when a solid smoke suspension slurry embedded particles

2. METAL FOAMS: MANUFACTURING

AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES

Many ways are available for the production of metal foams. Some methods are quite similar
to techniques used for foaming aqueous or polymer liquids. Other ones are specially designed
by taking advantage of characteristic properties of metals. The various methods can be
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 117

classified according to the state the metal is processed in. An overview of the four families are
summarized in Tab. 2 according to the starting state of the matter: from liquid metal, from solid
metal in powdered form, from metal vapour or gaseous metallic compounds, from a metal ion
solution. Foam can be classified in closed-cell and open-cell, according to the different kind of
porosity (Figure 1).
The most common used method is based on powders: base metal, blowing agent and
stabilizing agent, in powder form, are mixed together and then compacted up to obtain a
precursor. After that the precursor is placed in a oven at temperature higher than the melting
temperature of the base metal. Gas release of the blowing agent in the molten metal allows the
foam to grow. The process is completed with water quenching in order to freeze at room
temperature the porous structure. The optimization of the process parameters for manufacturing
such kind of Al foams has been decribed in Costanza et al. (2005), Costanza et al. (2008).

Table 2. Various production methods for cellular metallic materials

cellular metals
metal vapour liquid metal powdered metal metal ions
vapour deposition direct foaming with gas sintering of hollow electrochemical
spheres deposition
direct foaming with gas entrapment
blowing agents
gasars slurry foaming
casting sintering of posders or
fibres
powder compact melting pressing around fillers
spray forming reaction sintering
extrusion of
polymer/metal mixtures

Figure 1. Closed cell foams (left) and open cell foam (right).

Typical stress-strain curves for Al alloy closed-cell metal foams (Al-Si in particular) are
reported in Figure 2. The initial elastic phase of the curve is followed by a stable phase
characterized by the presence of a plastic plateau during which the stress is more or less
constant. The final step is the densification of the foam, characterized by a fast increase of load
118 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

in correspondence of a reduced deformation. The higher the silicon content, the upper the
mechanical characteristic of the foam.

Figure 2. Compression stress-strain diagram of Al-Si closed-cell foams with different compositions
(Brugnolo et al., 2015).

3. WELDING OF METAL FOAMS

3.1. Brazing of Metal Foams

Joining ceramic to metal is of great significance in both scientific and industrial areas. A
brazing process of aluminum foam to get satisfactory joints with higher strength than the base
metal has been developed and described in Nannan et al. (2013). Butt joints of aluminum foam
made by three different brazing processes including brazing with multilayer filler metal in high
vacuum of 10-3 Pa, brazing with multilayer filler metal in low vacuum of 1 Pa and brazing with
monolayer filler metal in high vacuum of 10-3 Pa have been compared. The results indicate that
the brazed specimen can achieve a satisfactory joint when brazed with multilayer filler metal
in high vacuum. The fracture of aluminum foams can be considered as quasi-cleavage fracture.
The main reasons for it are the second-phase substance and foreign particles in the material,
which dissever the metallic matrix thus resulting in the decrease of strength and ductility. The
bending strength of the joint is higher than that of the base metal. However the bending strength
of the joint is lower than that of the base metal when brazed with multilayer filler metal in low
vacuum and it is slightly lower when brazed with monolayer filler metal in high vacuum. A
sketch of the Al-foam joining process is reported in Figure 3.
A general method for brazing ceramics to metals using a compliant metallic foam as a
buffer layer has been developed by Shirzadi et al. (2008). There are many potential applications
where joints between ceramics and metals can be usefully exploited in engineering structures.
A common joining method is brazing using filler metals, containing Cu, Ag and Ti. This can
give integral joints but because of the thermal expansion differences between the metal and
ceramic, the joints do not perform well during thermal cycling. Indeed, the joining process itself
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 119

introduces residual stresses in the system during cooling from the brazing temperature. Using
stainless steel foams, bonds between alumina and 316 stainless steel with shear strengths up to
33 MPa have been achieved.

Figure 3. Joining Al to Al foam using metal glass foil (Bangash et al. 2018).

The resultant ductility enhances the resistance of the joint to thermal cycling; AlN-Inconel
600 bonds exhibited good thermal shock resistance. Alumina–stainless steel bonds withstood
more that 60 thermal cycles between 200 and 800 °C in air. The use of a metallic foam as a
buffer layer between ceramic and metal could be an effective way of avoiding thermal
expansivity mismatch between the two materials when bonded together by brazing. It has been
demonstrated that the joints are tolerant to severe thermal cycling tests. The number of thermal
cycles (200–800 °C in air) to failure was more than 60 during the thermal cycling test. During
shear testing, the failure mode was ductile due to the plasticity in the foam-based region. The
maximum shear strength of the alumina–316 stainless steel bonds has been 33 MPa.
Zirconia toughned alumina (ZTA) ceramic and Ti6Al4V (TC4) alloy can be successfully
brazed using Cu foam as interlayer. The interfacial microstructure and mechanical properties
of the joints have been investigated by Whang et al. (2018). The metallic foam has strong
deformation and absorption capacity due to its three-dimensional framework structure. During
brazing, the brazing filler metal fills the gap of metallic foam, so that the filler metal and the
metallic foam are cross-distributed in the brazed joint. Cracks are not easy to prolong in such
interface. In addition, Cu has good plasticity and its melting point is higher than the brazing
temperature. After brazing process, most of the Cu foam will be retained in the form of solid
solution which can relieve the residual stress.
The Cu foam interlayer has been used to improve brazing ZTA ceramic to TC4 titanium
alloy. Effects of brazing temperature and holding time on the interfacial microstructure and the
joint strength have been investigated in detail. Besides, the reaction mechanism across the joint
has been analysed. The strengthening mechanism of the Cu foam has been clarified. The Ti
element in TC4 alloy diffuses into the brazing seam, forming the Ti-Cu compound layer on the
TC4 side, and reacts with ZrO2 and Al2O3. The width of the brazing seam is significantly
reduced during the temperature rise from 850 to 870 °C due to the collapse of Cu foam. When
the temperature reaches 890 °C, Ti-Cu compounds grow rapidly, and the Cu foam in the seam
is almost completely consumed. With the increase of holding time and brazing temperature, the
shear strength of the joint first increases and then decreases, reaching the maximum value of
120 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

84.5 MPa at 850°C/10 min, which is 95% higher than the joint without Cu foam. Crack occurs
on the reaction layer of ZTA side, propagates into the ceramic along the direction of maximum
shear stress, then it fractures along the ceramic. Interfacial reactions have been analyzed on the
ZTA ceramic side, on the TC4 alloy side and in the middle of the brazing seam.
Medium-density, high-conductivity carbon foams have been joined to titanium using a
two-step process by Singh et al. (2020). Foams have been first exposed to SiO vapor at 1450°C
for 30 min. under vacuum followed by vacuum brazing Ti using Cusil-ABA to the sides of
prismatic foam pieces along the ‘with-rise’ (WR) or foaming direction and the ‘against rise’
(AR) or transverse direction. Well-bonded joints with braze-infiltrated foam and Ti-rich
interfaces formed along WR and AR. The un-bonded foam is stronger along WR (785 kPa)
than along AR (277 kPa) as were the joints made using coated and uncoated foams. Foam
thickness minimally affects joint strength along WR but along AR, joints with thick foam have
been 58% stronger. The coating marginally (9%) lowers joint strength along WR but leads to a
nearly 50% strength drop along AR. The foam is stronger and amenable to coating and joining
along foaming direction than transverse to it.
A transient-liquid-phase (TLP) diffusion bonding method has been employed by Weiqi et
al. (2020) to join ZrC–SiC ceramic and austenitic stainless steel by using Ti foil and various
density Ni foam as interlayer. The Ti–Ni TLP contributed to a firm bonding between ceramic
and foam interlayer while avoiding liquid infiltration in foam structure. The influence of
holding time on the microstructure of the TLP reaction layer has been investigated.
Ductile failure has been shown in the shear tests of the joints with foam interlayer and
improved fracture energy in comparison with the one with dense Ni interlayer. A maximum
shear strength of 117.2 MPa has been reached when the relative density of Ni foam was 0.57.
The density of foam interlayer is a key factor for the mechanical performance of the joints. The
Ti/Ni foam contact reaction on ceramic interface resulted in a continuous layer mainly
composed of TiC, TiNi, Ti3Ni2Si, TiNi3 and ZrNi5. On the 304SS side, the Ni foam was
diffusion bonded to 304SS without forming intermetallic compound. With prolonging of
diffusion time at 960°C, the TiNi region has been gradually replaced by TiNi3 and Ti3Ni2Si.
The pores between TLP reaction layer and Ni foam enlarged due to Kirkendall effect and
fragmentation of ZrNi5. When the diffusion time reached or exceeded 3 h at 960°C, the weak
region of the joint transforms from the 304SS interface to ceramic interface. The joint presented
a brittle/ductile mixed fracture. The ZrC–SiC/304SS joints bonded with foam interlayer showed
residual resistance at the maximum load, which benefited from structure relaxation of foam
interlayer and distributed microcracks in TLP reaction layer. The maximum shear strength and
fracture work of the joints bonded with foam interlayer are 117.2 MPa and 25.5 kJ/m2, 21%
and 90% higher than the one with dense Ni interlayer.
Al2O3 ceramic and 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel have been vacuum brazed by Sun et al.
(2018) using single Ag-Cu-Ti filler metal and Ag-Cu-Ti/Ni foam/Ag-Cu-Ti filler system,
separately. The microstructural evolutions of the brazed joints have been examined using SEM
and EDS, and the mechanical properties of the brazed joints have been investigated through
shear testing. Thermal residual stress has been also simulated with ABAQUS software. Results
show that the wavelike layer (Fe-Ti + Ni-Ti) in the single Ag-Cu-Ti brazed joint has been
corrupted due to the presence of Ni barrier and a crack-free brazed joint was achieved, when
using Ag-Cu-Ti/Ni foam/Ag-Cu-Ti filler system. Shear strength was significantly improved by
292%, from 18.4 MPa to 72.1 MPa. The thermal residual stress in the joint brazed with Ag-Cu-
Ti/Ni foam/Ag-Cu-Ti filler system has been more evenly distributed than that of the joint
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 121

brazed with single Ag-Cu-Ti filler metal thanks to the presence of the Ni foam. At te same time,
due to the accomodation of the Ni foam the maximum thermal residual stress on Al2O3 ceramic
substrate decreased from 449.9 MPa to 74.7 MPa.
An open-cell Ni foam and 304 stainless steel (SS304) have been brazed by Heo et al. (2019)
using a Ni based-alloy (MBF20) as a metallic glass brazing filler by varying the brazing
temperature (1030–1090°C) and dwell time (0–60 min). Microstructures and mechanical
properties of the joints have been investigated to determine the best brazing conditions. When
the brazing temperature was low and the dwell time was short, Ni foam has partially reacted
with the filler metal in the Ni skeleton providing a good bonding strength. At higher bonding
temperature and/or longer dwell time, a large amount of α-Ni and Ni3B phases have been
developed in the skeleton as B in the filler metal diffused into Ni skeleton. The size of Ni3B
and its area fraction increase with higher temperature and longer time. In this stage, it has been
observed that cracks are readily initiated and propagated perpendicular to the tensile direction
through interconnected Ni3B intermetallic compound resulting in degradation of fracture loads
and % elongation. Based on the results, a set of acceptable dwell temperature-time couples have
been determined to the required bonding strength.

3.2. Diffusion Bonding of Metal Foams

Solid-state diffusion bonding (DB) has been adopted for joining closed-cell aluminum
foams (Alporas) by Kitazono et al. (2002). The DB process of aluminum alloys without special
techniques is essentially difficult because of the insoluble oxide layer. The advanced DB
process in aluminum alloy requires the removal of oxide layer followed by the protection of
the surface by coating techniques. A superplastic 5083 aluminum alloy sheet has been inserted
between the foams to assist the DB process. Microscopic observations revealed that the cell
wall of the foams penetrated into the 5083 alloy sheet and their boundary partly disappeared.
Energy dispersion X-ray spectrometer (EDS) confirmed the diffusion of magnesium element
from the 5083 alloy to the aluminum foam regions. The bonding strength has been evaluated
by four-points bending tests. The obtained flexural stress was about 50% of the original foam
at room temperature and was more than 60% at 423 K. The advantage of the DB process in the
high temperature applications has been discussed comparing with the adhesive bonding of
aluminum foams. This result indicates that DB is effective at high temperature condition. The
obtained bonding strength will be improved by controlling the surfaces and atmosphere
conditions to minimize the stable oxide layer at the surfaces of Alporas foams and 5083 alloy
sheet.

3.3. Friction Stir Welding of Metal Foams

A precursor foaming process is one of the fabrication processes used for the mass
production of Al foams with relatively homogeneous pore structures. In this process, solid Al
containing a blowing agent powder called a precursor is first fabricated by a powder metallurgy
route. By heat treatment of the precursor, the gas released by decomposition of the blowing
agent generates pores, resulting in the foaming of Al. ADC12 die-casting precursors containing
122 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

many gas pores have been fabricated (Hangai et al. 2018a) by the friction stir welding (FSW)
route and were foamed by the FSW foaming process only using the friction heat during the
indentation of the tool used for spot FSW. ADC12 precursors can be foamed by the friction
heat generated during spot FSW without using TiH2 as a blowing agent. ADC12 foams can be
obtained without using Al2O3 as a stabilization agent. This is considered to be due to impurities
contained in the ADC12 die-castings. ADC12 foams with Al2O3 exhibited a larger expansion
ratio than those without Al2O3. ADC12 foams with Al2O3 had significantly finer pores than
those without Al2O3. The pore diameters of the ADC12 foams with Al2O3 were approximately
half of those of the foams without Al2O3. This is considered to be due to the higher viscosity of
the ADC12 substrate containing Al2O3.

Figure 4. Aluminum foam sandwich panels fron different manufacturing process: a) metallurgical
joining and b) adhesive joining (Yao et al. 2019). MDPI

Aluminium foam sandwich (AFS) is a laminar composite consisting of aluminium foam

(AF) and face sheets. It has been widely utilized in aerospace, shipbuilding and automotive
fields owing to low density, high specific stiffness, good damping performance and acoustic
reduction property (Figure 4). Traditional preparation methods of AFS include adhesion,
brazing, diffusion welding and precursor foaming. However, these methods usually present
many problems. As an example, the AFS prepared through adhesion cannot be used under high
temperature condition. Brazing is easy to cause the interfacial reaction among AF and face
sheets. As a result, the brittle intermetallic compound is generated. The process of precursor
foaming is relatively complex. Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid state joining technique,
possessing several advantages, such as high quality, low residual deformation and energy
consumption. In recent years, FSW has been widely used in welding dissimilar materials (Peng
et al. 2019). AFS has been successfully prepared through FSW, while the joining of the
AA6061 and AF has been achieved through the plasticized metal flow (Figure 5). Compared to
the traditional adhesion and brazing methods, the AFS had significantly higher flexural strength
with the value of 32.4 ± 2 MPa. Moreover, the AFS presents good toughness and excellent
sound absorption and reduction performance with the average values of 0.357 and 65.82 dB,
respectively, which are higher than those of the face sheets and the AF. It indicates that the
FSW is a good method to prepare AFS.
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 123

Figure 5. Schematic diagram of a FSW process (Laska et al. 2020).

The cross-sectional morphology of AFS has been analyzed by Peng et al. (2019). The face
sheets following FSW exhibited good formability, without any defects such as holes or cracks.
Also, the FSW does not destroy the initial AF structure, because the plunge depth of stir pin
into AF was relatively low (0.2 mm). In addition, the face sheets take place severe plastic
deformation, and the plasticized metal flow between them and AF establishes the integrated
joining. No intermetallic compound has produced in this work. The effect of pressure on an Al
alloy cast behaviour (microstructure and the mechanical properties) has been discussed by
Costanza et al. (2004).
Friction stir incremental forming process for sheet metals can be applied to form the surface
of a closed-cell type aluminum foam. In the process suggested by Matsumoto et al. (2018) the
cell walls near the aluminum foam surface have been plastically deformed and stirred by the
rotation of a forming tool at a very high rate, and the nonporous skin layer is fabricated on the
surface of the aluminum foam. Nonporous aluminum skinlayer with a thickness less than 400
mm has been fabricated at the surface without internal fracture of the aluminum foam under
the following forming conditions: a tool rotation rate of 8000 rpm, a tool feedrate of 60
mm/min, and a total forming depth of 7 mm.
To investigate the mechanism of formation of the skin layer, they were fabricated with
friction stir incremental forming (FSIF) and incremental hammering (IH) have been compared.
The compressive deformation behavior of aluminum foam with a skin surface layer has been
investigated by performing uniaxial compression test. The cell walls near the aluminum foam
surface have been plastically deformed and stirred by a rotating tool with a very high rotation
rate, and the non porous skin layer has been fabricated on the surface of the aluminum foam.
The compressive deformation behavior of the aluminum foam specimens with skin surface
layers fabricated with the FSIF and IH methods have been investigated by performing uniaxial
compression tests. In conclusions, the specific compressive strength of the fabricated aluminum
foam with a nonporous skin surface layer has been found with uniaxial compression testing to
be approximately 20–50% better than that of the aluminum foam without a skin surface layer.
Bilayer tubes consisting of an outer Al-Si-Cu ADC12 foam tube and an inner commercial-
purity Al A1070 tube (ADC12 foam/A1070 bilayer tube) with metal bonding between them
have been fabricated by Hangai et al. (2018b) adopting friction stir back extrusion (FSBE). By
applying FSBE, it has been shown that a tubular ADC12 precursor can be satisfactorily
obtained and that an A1070 tube can be successfully formed and coated inside the tubular
124 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

ADC12 precursor with no gap between them. By heat treatment of the ADC12 precursor/A1070
bilayer tube, the ADC12 precursor can be sufficiently foamed outside of the A1070 tube.
During static compression tests, the uniform ADC12 foam tube has shown brittle
deformation owing to the brittle Al-Si eutectic nature of ADC12, resulting in a non-monotonic
stress–strain curve. In contrast, brittle deformation has been only observed at the surface of the
ADC12 foam tube of the ADC12 foam/A1070 bilayer tube, resulting in a monotonic stress–
strain curve. This is because the inner ductile A1070 tube can prevent the brittle deformation
of the ADC12 foam tube to a certain extent. The combination of the ADC12 foam tube and
inner A1070 tube with metal bonding between them improves the compression properties of
the tube.
One possibility for the joining of Al foam is to insert a bulk aluminium profile made of
alloy with higher melting point than the foamable precursor into the foaming mould before
foaming and then to use this profile as a base material for final FSW (Kramer et al., 2006). In
this paper it is showed an example, where such an insert was foamed-in AlSi10 foam and then
used for welding with the similarly manufactured counterpart. The advantage against simple
welding is significantly lower thermal loading of the part during welding and thus lower
thermal stresses at the foam – insert interface. Moreover a part of foamable precursor, which is
not allowed to foam (e.g., cooled edge) can be used instead of inserts which considerably
simplify the manufacturing of foams for subsequent welding.
It has been shown that FSW technique is a very successful tool for the joining of foamable
materials. No degradation of foaming ability has been observed in foaming of welded AlSi10
precursors. Next step should be the optimisation of the process (tool rotating rate, tool traverse
speed, pin designs) for foamable precursors made of other alloys. The earlier start of foaming
of stirred material if compared with original precursor needs also deeper explanation. Joining
of aluminium foam core sandwich plates via FSW has also proven its feasibility. Heat generated
during welding does not harm the properties of adhesive and interfacial bonding strength stayed
preserved. Further research is needed to optimise the tool and joint design for FSW of thin
coversheets and to investigate systematically the mechanical properties of obtained joints.
An enhanced friction powder compaction (FPC) process has been proposed (Hangai et al.,
2014a) for fabricating a large plate of aluminum foam by the sintering and dissolution process.
In this process, the rotating tool plunged into the die filled with a powder mixture of aluminum
and NaCl during the FPC process has been made to traverse perpendicularly to the direction of
plunging as in the case of friction stir welding. In the enhanced FPC process, no external heat
source, such as an electric furnace or a spark plasma sintering, is necessary for fabricating
aluminum foam, except for the friction heat generated by traversing the rotating tool (Figure
6). It has been found that a long plate of aluminum foam can be fabricated with a length equal
to the tool traversing length. By X-ray computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) observations of the pore structures of the fabricated aluminum foam, it has
been found that the entire sample has a pore structure that is similar to the NaCl morphology,
regardless of the position along the traversing direction. The fabricated aluminum foam has a
similar stress–strain curve to that of aluminum foam fabricated by sparkplasma sintering and
exhibited ductile fracture. This is considered to be attributed to the good bonding between
aluminum particles in the whole sample. The fabricated aluminum foam exhibits almost the
same plateau stress regardless of the position along the traversing direction.
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 125

Figure 6. Scheme of enhanced FPC process based on sintering and dissolution process for fabricating
long Al foam plate (Hangai et al., 2013). a) sketch, b) and c) rotating tool generating heat, d) and e)
passes for friction powder compaction process.

3.4. Laser Welding of Metal Foams

The laser welding process has been successfully performed in the lap joint configuration,
in which a thin plate of the same material was placed on the top of the foam surface (Biffi et
al., 2014). After preliminary welding tests performed with the foams in a bead-on-plate
configuration, weld beads have been obtained because of the large pore size relative to the laser
beam and because of the high porosity of the foams (approximately 66%). Weld beads have
been obtained via the connection between the plate and some of the foam pores. Melted material
from the thin plate is necessary for joining the plate to the foam because it fell into the gaps of
the bulk cellular materials. No cracks have been observed in the proximity of the weld bead.
The mean width of the weld bead ranged between 0.36 and 0.58 mm, whereas the size of the
HAZ, including the width of the weld bead, has been estimated to be approximately 4 mm for
the lowest speed and 3.5 mm for the highest speed. The effect of the process speed (5–20 mm/s)
on the geometrical characteristics of the transverse sections of the joints has been studied and
the heat-affected zone (HAZ) has been identified using the microhardness profile.
Compositional analyses of the weld bead and HAZ have also been performed using a scanning
electron microscope (SEM) coupled with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Therefore
joining of high-reflectivity porous alloys with complex structures and pore sizes on the order
of several millimetres has been proved using a CW fibre laser in the lap joint configuration.
The hardness profile shows that the mechanical properties of the material increases from a mean
value of 90.1HV (BM) to 125–130 HV (MZ). The HAZ softened, which was most likely
dependent on the cooling rate. The compositional analysis does not reveal any significant
modification to the material chemistry. The thermal cycle imposed by the laser beam does not
reduce the Zn content, which is the potentially problematic element due to its low melting and
boiling points. The assist gas flow produces a shielding effect that properly covered the weld
bead.
Lotus-type porous iron plates made from AISI 1018 steel with a width of 40 mm, length of
500 mm, and thickness of 8 mm have been prepared by the continuous zone melting technique
in a pressurized nitrogen atmosphere at 2.5 MPa. The average pore diameter and the porosity
of the specimen have been about 0.37 mm and 17% respectively. Figure 7 shows schematic
views of the weld specimen that exhibits correlationships among the pore growth direction, the
laser beam irradiating direction, and the welding direction (Yanagino et al., 2006). The
wavelength of the Nd:YAG laser beam is 1064 nm and is delivered by using an optical fiber of
126 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

diameter 1.0 mm. This laser irradiates the surface of the specimen at an angle of 58° to prevent
damage to the optics by the reflected laser beam. Argon with a flow rate of 4,2 x 10-4 m3 s-1 has
been used as the shielding gas. The diameter of the laser beam on the specimen surface was
about 1.0 mm.
The weld bead surface of the lotus-type porous iron (Figure 8) has been found rough with
pits and dents irrespective of the pore growth direction—perpendicular (Ʇ), parallel I (// - //),
or parallel II (// - Ʇ) to the specimen surface. This is due to volume reduction on melting the
porous metal and blowing the remaining gas from the closed pores. The penetration depth in
the perpendicular (Ʇ) case is slightly greater than that in the parallel I (// - //) and parallel II (//
-Ʇ) cases. However, the remarkable effect of the pore growth direction on the penetration depth
of the weld bead, as already observed in the case of the lotus-type porous copper and
magnesium, has not been observed in this study. This was due to the unstable weld bead
formation caused by the relatively large sized pores and the blowing of the remaining gas from
the closed pores as well as the smaller anisotropy of the thermal diffusivity as compared to the
copper and magnesium cases.

Figure 7. Schematic views of the lotus-type porous iron specimens showing different combinations of
welding directions and pore growth directions (Yanagino et al., 2006).

Laser stake-welded steel sandwich panels are widely used in engineering due to their high
stiffness-to-weight ratios. The welds are thinner than the plates they join so that there are two
crack-like notches on each side of a weld. As a consequence, the welded joints are susceptible
to fatigue. An investigation on the fatigue strength of empty and foam-filled laser-welded steel
sandwich beams has been focused by Kartunen et al. (2017). The beams have been tested
under 3-point-bending for stiffness, ultimate strength and fatigue. In the fatigue tests, the failure
mode has been crack propagation at the laser-stake welds and finally cohesive fracture in the
foam. The results are in good agreement with literature in terms of static and ultimate strength,
but the fatigue life improvement is far better than expected; the load level at 2 million cycles
increases by a factor of 8.5 when the beams are filled with a low-density polyvinylchloride
foam (Divinycell H80). This is a clear indication that the filling technology is a very effective
way to improve the fatigue strength of lightweight sandwich panels. This means that the order
of limit states needs to be reconsidered in design. The fatigue problems in laser-welded
sandwich panels are due to shear-induced warping and these deformations are often very local
in the plate domain. Thus, it is recommended that the filling of a sandwich panel is carried out
only at the locations of high out-of plane shear opposite to the web-plate direction. However,
before such functional grading can be done one must be able to explain the underlying physics
of crack propagation in three-dimensional plate structures.
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 127

Figure 8. Appearance of laser weld beads (top) and cross section view (bottom) of the laser weld beads
(Yanagino et al., 2006).

Cu65Zn35 [wt%] open cell foams with large pore size have been lap joined with brass
plates by laser beam welding (Biffi et al., 2016). The microstructural and mechanical properties
of the welded beads have been investigated. Cross sections of the welded beads have been
analyzed by optical microscopy and micro-hardness profiles were also performed across the
joints. Finally, the strength of the laser welded plate/foam lap joints have been tested and
compared to the plate/bulk reference ones. The mechanical properties of the plate/foam welded
beads, evaluated through micro-hardness and tensile tests, have been compared to those of the
reference material performed in the plate/bulk lap joint. Because of rapid solidification the
center of the welded bead (x=0 mm) has been characterized by the highest hardness values (125
HV and 135 HV for the plate and foam, respectively). A softening effect has been identified in
the HAZ of the plate (approximately 85 HV). Vice versa, the softening effect is less evident in
the HAZ of the foam, which is characterized by microhardness scattering correlated to the
bimodal dendritic structure of HAZ foam. The extent of the HAZ has been evaluated to be
about 2 mm, including both microstructural modification and softened area, on both plate and
foam. The strength of the welded beads, evaluated in shear configuration, has been investigated.
Upon loading, the plate/bulk curve shows an almost continuous increase in normalized force
up to the failure (about 170 MPa). These results are in good agreement with the literature. As
expected, the plate/foam lap joint shows reduced mechanical performances. A maximum values
of 83MPa, about 50% less than the plate/bulk sample, has been measured. The strength
reduction is related to foam porosity while the normalized force fluctuation for plate/bulk is
due to irregular bead penetration. The joining has been carried out in lap joint configuration
and the welded bead has been successfully realized without filler material. The upper plate,
once melted by the laser beam, fills the foam pores close to the top. Fine dendritic
microstructure has observed in the MZ while the HAZ, one hundred of microns in width, shows
a bimodal microstructure made up of fine and course dendritic structure. On the other hand,
microhardness profile indicated a softened area of approximately 2 mm in the plate, not in the
foam. Mechanical tests show that the plate joined to the foam can offer a maximum normalized
128 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

force equal to half of the value offered by the plate lap joined to the bulk alloy. This effect is
certainly related to the foam porosity and to the discontinuous bead along the welding
trajectory.
A study on the fiber laser welding process has been carried out by Biffi et al. (2015)
employing a 1 kW continuous wave fiber laser on Cu based foams. The foams, mean size of
the pore about 3.5 mm, have been produced by means of infiltration of leachable space holders
inside the metal in liquid state. After preliminary welding test in a bead on plate configuration
performed only on the surface of the foams, samples in lap joint configuration have been
realized for evaluating the cross section of the welded bead. The effect of the process speed on
the geometrical characteristic features of the joints has been studied. The extent of the heat
affected zone has been evaluated directly by optical microscopy and indirectly by executing
micro-hardness test. Then the heat affected zone extension has been corrected to the process
speed. Welded beads have been realized through the connection between the plate and some
pores of the foam in lap joint configuration. The material, melted from the thin plate, was
necessary for producing the joining, thanks to its fall in the gap of the bulk and cellular
materials.
No evident cracks have been observed in proximity of the welded bead. The process speed
is able statistically to influence the width of the welded bead. The increase of the hardness (125-
130 HV) has been detected in the MZ for the finer microstructure, obtained thanks to a rapid
solidification of the material. The extent of the HAZ has been defined through an observation
of a softening of the material (about 85 HV) in the order of 3.5 - 4 mm (melted material
included). Only a small reduction of the extent of the HAZ has been noticed from 5 mm/s to 20
mm/s. Compositional analysis does not show any significant modification of the material
chemistry in both the MZ and the HAZ. The laser welding does not allow the Zn vaporization,
which is usually quite common. The presence of the thin plate, placed on the top surface of the
foam, helps the generation of the welded bead, as that melted material could fall down for
filling up the pore voids. Besides, electron scanning microscopy, coupled with electron
dispersive spectroscopy, has been adopted for the compositional analysis of the welded beads.
It has been shown that the laser joints could be achieved in lap joint configuration, allowing
high reflectivity porous alloys with complex structures and average pore size of the order of
millimeters to be connected.
The feasibility of the joining process of two aluminum foam cores contained in a tubular
profile exploiting laser foaming of a solid precursor has been investigated by Campana et al.
(2013). It has been examined the foaming process, by means of external laser irradiation of a
hollow steel profile, which contains two separated aluminum foam cores intermingled by a
foamable solid aluminum precursor. The process consists in irradiating, by means of a CO2
laser beam, the external surface of a stainless steel tube containing the resident foams and the
solid foamable precursor. The relative motion between the laser beam and the surface has been
achieved making the tubular specimen rotate by means of a brushless motor. Experimental
process feasibility areas have been assessed and mathematical formulas have been calculated
in order to understand the actual relationships between the main process parameters. The
experimental activity has shown that three process parameters should be taken into account in
order to obtain a sound foam: interaction time, laser beam power density and total amount of
beam energy delivered to the workpiece. In particular, thanks to the computation of two graphs
(a laser beam power density vs. interaction time and a process energy vs. interaction time), the
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 129

selection of optimized process parameters in order to achieve a good foaming condition has
been possible.

3.5. Metal Inert Gas Welding of Metal Foams

Metal inert gas (MIG) arc welding process is a type of arc welding in which the metal
electrode is melted, then dripping and solidifying to form welds on the material to be jointed.
MIG welding is very applicable to thicker plate materials (thickness up to 3 mm) such as
stainless steel, aluminum, and aluminum alloy. The MIG machine has long been used in the
welding process because of its small volume size, easy set-up, and low equipment cost.
Moreover, shielding gas is an important factor in MIG welding. The effect of different gas
mixture on the MIG weldability of austenitic stainless steeel has been discussed in Costanza et
al. (2016b).
Principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with Taguchi methods have been employed
(Shiang et al., 2011) in the study for multiple quality characteristics optimization of MIG arc
welding aluminum foam plates. The quality characteristics investigated are the micro-hardness
and the bending strength of the weldments. Eight control factors selected are the type of filler
material, MIG current, welding speed, MIG gas flow rate, workpiece gap, MIG arcing angle,
groove angle, and electrode extension length. The aluminum foam plate to be welded in the
study has a dimension of 100 mm x 50 mm x 10 mm. It is a cellular structure containing a large
volume fraction of gas-filled pores and has a very low density of about 0.74 g/cm3. PCA
coupled with Taguchi methods are very effective and efficient in developing the processing
technology with multiple performance characteristics optimization of MIG-welded aluminum
foam plates. In conclusion have been determined: the welding parameter combination for the
multiple performance characteristics optimization of MIG-welded plates, filler material (5356),
MIG current (100 A), welding speed (80 mm/min), MIG gas flow rate (13 l/min), workpiece
gap (1.7 mm), MIG arcing angle (50°), groove angle (20°), electrode extension length (15 mm),
the three factors having the greatest effect on the variation of the multiple performance
characteristics of MIG-welded plates as MIG current, welding speed and workpiece gap.

3.6. Tungsten Inert Gas Welding of Metal Foams

Innovative methods of preparation of aluminium and composite foams top layer have been
proposed by Nowacki et al. (2015) in order for the foams to be TIG and laser beam welded.
Preliminary tests have shown that due to high porosity of aluminium foams, welding them using
the TIG method proves effective to a very limited extent. Therefore, it is necessary to develop
a method of foam surface layer modification so that its porosity would locally decrease. Such
an endeavour led to the invention of a unique method of foam top layer preparation through its
deformation that makes it possible to obtain gradient decrease in porosity in joint area. The
process of aluminium foam preparation for welding in variants (a) and (b) involved: inducing
a high temperature plasticity using welding arc heat of the surfaces meant for joining, heated,
pressing the elements designed for welding together in order to reduce the porosity of the
130 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

contact area until the pressing force increased by about 50%, which reduces the length of a
specimen by about 13 mm.
Single pass TIG welds have been conducted with alternating current of 15–30 A, using
filler material – AlSi5 wire of 1.6 mm diameter, with argon with purity higher than ≥99.996%
as shielding gas. It has been proved that it is possible to weld aluminium foams by means of
the TIG method. However, while applying the method originating from conventional welding
of non-porous materials to welding of foams in a strict sense, which is equivalent only to the
use of low welding currents, it is necessary to pay attention to unavoidable joint defects, such
as high ratio of filler metal in the weld or non-gradual changes in properties on the boundary
of parent material and a weld. Another drawback of the TIG method is time-consuming
preparatory activities – compression while the material is partially melted and pad welding.
Consequently, in such form, the method should be considered a last resort in joining of
aluminium foams. In case of composite foams, however, the filler consumption is also
considerable, but the foams themselves do not require taking any preparatory measures, which
makes the welding process relatively efficient. A possibility for the local mechanical
characterization of TIG welded joints by means of the FIMEC test has been evidenced by
Montanari et al. (2004).

3.7. Ultrasonic Welding of Metal Foams

Open-cell copper (Cu) foam has comprehensive application prospects in the thin-film
electrode production of high-capacity batteries. However, the lack of high-quality welding
techniques for open-cell Cu foam has thus far limited its further application. High porosity
open-cell Cu foam and aluminum sheet have been reliably joined utilizing ultrasonic spot
welding under very low welding-energy conditions (Feng et al., 2018). The real-time
temperature, three-dimensional surface morphology, tensile strength, weld interface
morphology and composition, fracture morphology, and electrochemical performance of the
joints were systematically evaluated. The welding was performed using a lateral-derive
ultrasonic spotwelding system (SONIC MSC4000-20) with a maximum power of 4.0 kW, and
a frequency of 20.0 kHz.
The structure and properties of the foam copper have been preserved to the greatest extent,
and the optimum joint tensile strength was about 89% of the Cu foam base metal. All the joints
show good toughness characteristics and favorable corrosion-resistance quality, fractures
occurred at the edge of the weld spot on the Cu foam side. The peak temperature of the welding
interface is much lower than the Al-Cu solid-solution temperature. No intermetallic compounds
have been found at the weld interface. The open-cell Cu foam and solid Al sheet have been
joined through atomic diffusion and mechanical locking. USW have been demonstrated to be
a feasible method for reliably joining open-cell Cu foam and Al sheet. All the joints fail through
transverse-through-partial-thickness mode rather than interfacial failure mode, fractures
occurred at the edge of the weld spot on the Cu foam side. The open-cell Cu foam/Al USW
joints presented good toughness characteristics, the peak loads of the joints were between 72%
and 89% of the Cu foam base metal. The peak temperature at the weld interface was 77.7°C,
which is much lower than the solid solution temperature of Al-Cu. The weld produced at
optimal weld energy shows a favorable corrosion-resistance quality. USW have been
demonstrated to be a feasible method for reliably joining open-cell Cu foam and solid Al sheet.
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 131

3.8. Concentrated Solar Energy Welding of Metal Foams

Concentrated solar energy has been applied to welded foam plates in non-protective
atmosphere as evidenced in Cambronero et al. (2014). Commercial aluminium plate with a
thickness of 25 mm obtained by melt route has been used as base foam to be joined. Al-foam
plates are made of aluminium with approximately 1.5% calcium and a similar amount of
foaming agent TiH2, both added during the melting process. The filler is a pore-generating
aluminium–silicon alloy placed between two commercial aluminium foam plates. The heating
device provides enough energy to melt and foam the filler. Concentrated solar energy enables
a rapid precursor heating rate, which avoids problems related to low decomposition temperature
of the foaming agent (TiH2).
The heat affected surfaces on foam plates and welding mechanisms have been correlated
to the heating conditions. Test plate thickness controlled filler foaming, and two runs have been
necessary to complete foaming. Weld characterization through tensile tests and microstructural
study has been performed. The role of the oxide layer on the weld has been analyzed and the
main welding mechanisms identified: a mechanical form-fit and a metallurgical connection.
Welding device used enables continuous welding and low heat-affected surface on test
plates. This device controls the heated plate surface, allowing filler foaming. Filler does not
foam completely due to its thickness, and overheating to permit full foaming will increase heat-
affected surface on test plates. In addition to a mechanical form-fit joint, several metallurgical
joints have been obtained on aluminium foam test plates approximately 25 mm thick, even in
non-protective atmosphere. Cell wall oxidation during heating and natural oxide layer on cell
wall make it difficult to achieve metallurgical bonding. Filler melt viscosity and shear forces
during filler expansion lead to mechanical and metallurgical bonding, and weld fracture
occurred on test plates.

4. MODELLING OF METAL FOAM JOINTS

A semi-analytical model aiming to study the thermo-mechanical behavior of the
insulation/metallic shell assembly of cryogenic reservoirs during the fueling step has been
proposed by Randrianalisoa et al. (2011). The proposed model is applied to explore the
influences of material properties and insulation dimensions on the stress distributions, and the
ranges of applicability of the classical design formula. The parametric study shows that the
Poisson’s ratio strains have significant effects on stress fields in the insulation. The through
thickness shear deformation in the insulation must be taken into account for avoiding erroneous
failure prediction. The maximum normal and shear stresses occur respectively at the center and
close to free borders of the insulating panel. The failure of the assembly will occur in the
insulating foam component or at least at the foam/adhesive interface due to the higher stiffness
and strength of cryogenic adhesive layer than the foam. In addition, the adhesive layer can be
neglected in the modeling by assuming the insulation put in direct contact with the metallic
shell. The strength of the insulation is strongly dependent on its mechanical properties and also
on its dimensions. These parameters should be considered carefully in the dimensioning
processes. On the other hand, for low temperature applications, the adhesive can be disregarded
in the modeling involving polymer foam panel as, at least, one of adherends because of its high
132 G. Costanza and M. E. Tata

rigidity and strength. The stresses present a two-dimensional behavior due to the biaxial nature
of loads, the Poisson’s ratio effects, and the possible anisotropy of the insulating material.
Therefore, the use of 1D model is not realistic and a 2D modeling as presented here is required.
Moreover, the adherend shear deformation, at least in the insulating material must be accounted
for a realistic failure prediction.
The optimal design for empty and foam-filled tailor welded tubes (TWTs) is illustrated in
(Gedikli, 2013). Specific energy absorption, peak force and crushing force efficiency (CFE)
have been used to determine energy absorbing capacity in empty and foam-filled tubes using
both finite element and smooth particle hydrodynamics methods.
Numerical analyses has been performed by using the non linear finite element code Ls-
Dyna with optimization module of Ls-Opt. Johnson–Cook isotropic material model (MAT15),
which is capable of performing complex structural and thermal analyses, has been utilized in
modeling of empty and aluminum foam-filled TWT-S (AL6061 or AISI1018) and TWT-M (Al
6061 & AISI 1018) tubes. Numerical results have shown that specific energy absorption (SEA)
and peak force increased with increasing thickness of upper part and foam density while peak
forces were significantly low in TWTs made from different materials. Moreover, CFE
decreases with increasing thickness of upper part and with decreasing welding location whereas
CFE slightly increased with increasing foam density.

CONCLUSION
Over the recent years, metal foams received attention from many industries interested in
the design and manufacturing of novel components. Welding of metal foams allows the
manufacturing of novel geometries, complex structures and customized parts with minimum
waste. Although metal foams are usually considered difficult-to-weld, many research results
show that different joining processes have been set-up for this goal. Scientific knowledge based
on experimental activities and numerical studies are of significant help in understanding the
joining processes and complex phenomena involving many interrelated mechanisms and
thermal processes. Continuous researches and development in joining techniques, including
novel materials, design methods, welding and brazing technologies have helped to overcome
many challenges and increase the industrial applications.
In this chapter a comprehensive review of common and less common joining processes
have been described. The experimental results of research activities and progress to date of
numerical analysis of metal foams joining are reported. After a short introduction on metal
foam, production method and mechanical properties, different types of joining techniques and
modifications respect to the standard process are considered: brazing, diffusion bonding,
friction stir welding, laser, metal inert gas, tungsten inert gas, ultrasonic and solar energy.
Finally advances in numerical analysis of metal foams joining are illustrated. The references
presented in this paper comprehensively represent the subject area. Moreover further research
is required to characterize the most important factors for metal foams joining and to develop
novel and quality consistant porous structures.
 Weldability of Metal Foams Using Different Processes 133

FUNDING
This research received no external funding

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 6

FRICTION STIR PROCESSING

AND WELDING TECHNOLOGIES

Catarina Vidal1,, Daniel Braga2, Pedro Moreira3

and Virgínia Infante2
1
UNIDEMI, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, NOVA School of
Science and Technology, NOVA University Lisbon, Caparica, Portugal
2
IDMEC, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
3
Instituto de Ciência e Inovação em Engenharia Mecânica e Engenharia Industrial
(INEGI), Porto, Portugal

ABSTRACT
Advanced joining processes are key enablers in structural design. In order to overcome
the evermore stringent requirements of vehicles and machinery, their structures must be
highly optimized, multipurpose and capable of enduring complex load cases and
environmental conditions. In this context, structural joining technology is a critical factor
for achieving such goals. The limitations imposed by joints may require mitigation through
structural design, although in the case of advanced technologies, they may also serve as
key enablers, through high strength, low mass, multi-material joints. One set of joining
technologies that fits into this category is solid-state joining processes. The solid-state
joining nature involves lower heat inputs and as such mitigates or eliminates many of the
disadvantages of conventional fusion processes, while at the same time resulting in higher
performing joints with the ability of being dissimilar material joints. One solid-state
technology that has been the focus of the research community and several industries alike
is Friction Stir Welding (FSW). FSW was initially developed at The Welding Institute
(TWI) in 1991 and was mainly focus in welding of softer metal alloys, such as aluminum
alloys (Thomas et al., 1995). In its most basic configuration, FSW is performed by having
a tool composed of a shoulder and probe made of a harden alloy that rotates, plunges, and
moves along the abutting faces of two workpieces to be joined. The rotation generates
friction heat between the tool and the workpieces, which softens the material to join. The


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
138 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

constant relative movement of the tool regarding the workpieces, causes mixing of the two
materials to be welded. The relative tool movement may be achieved either by moving the
tool along an axis while the workpieces remain stationary, or by having the tool axially
stationary while the table containing the workpieces moves. The excellent mechanical
properties and the potential of the technique led to extensive development, including the
extension to joining other materials and dissimilar materials, as well as new variant
processes (Magalhaes et al., 2018). Examples of such variant processes are Friction Stir
Processing (FSP) (Mishra et al., 1999), Friction Stir Channelling (FSC) (Vidal et al., 2019;
Vidal et al., 2020), Friction Stir Deposition (FSD) (Phillips et al., 2019), Refill Friction Stir
Spot Welding (RFSSW) (Brzostek et al., 2018) and Friction Riveting (FricRiveting) (Pina
Cipriano et al., 2018), among others. Regarding materials that have been successfully
joined through FSW beyond aluminum alloys, much effort has been put onto steel joints
(F. C. Liu et al., 2018), but titanium alloys have also been researched (Mironov et al.,
2018). These materials present particular challenges, due to the high weld temperatures and
the considerable flow stress countering the weld tool as it moves through the workpiece
(Reynolds, Tang, Gnaupel-Herold, et al., 2003). In the case of titanium alloys, the low
thermal conductivity and reactivity to oxygen creates further challenge to FSW of these
alloys (Wu et al., 2014). In order to extend the application cases of FSW, hybridization,
primarily with the combination of FSW and adhesive bonding, has been investigated
(Braga et al., 2019). By integrating adhesive onto FSW lap joints it is possible to overcome
the limitations of these joints, mainly the stress concentration at the weld edges left by the
material stirring. These leads to the increase of quasi static strength, fatigue life and
corrosion resistance.
In this chapter, the principles of friction stir welding will be presented, including
metallography, mechanical behavior of joints, fatigue, and fracture. Firstly, welding of
aluminum alloys will be addressed as they were the original alloys to be friction stir welded
and for which more extensive research was conducted. Following, welding of harder alloys,
such as steels and titanium alloys will be addressed. Advances in welding of polymers and
composites through FSW and FSW variants will then be discussed. Hybridization of FSW
will be discussed focusing primarily on the combination of FSW and adhesive bonding.
Dissimilar material joining through FSW will be discussed. Finally, more recent variants
of solid-state processes, such as the FSC, a technology of manufacturing, in a single step,
continuous sub-surface channels into monolithic metal components and, the FSP, presented
as a method of manufacturing multifunctional metal matrix composites will be reviewed
and discussed.

Keywords: friction stir welding, hybrid friction stir welding, adhesive bonding, friction stir
channelling, friction stir processing, aluminium alloys, welding of composites and
polymers, dissimilar welds

1. INTRODUCTION
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state joining process invented and patented by The
Welding Institute (TWI) in 1991 (Thomas et al., 1995). Its development represented a major
breakthrough in the metal joining field of technology, since it allows welding materials that are
hard or even impossible to be welded by common fusion welding methods with good
mechanical properties. FSW is an autogenous process (does not require filling material) with
working temperatures below the fusion temperatures of the base materials. This characteristic,
shared by all solid-phase welding processes, reflects itself in fewer distortions and residual
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 139

stresses, when compared with fusion welding, result of the lower heat input involved. The
standard method is based on a very simple concept: a nonconsumable rotating tool (consisting
of an especially designed pin extended from a tool shoulder) is plunged into the joint until the
shoulder begins contacting with the top surface of the workpiece (Figure 1). The heat generated
from this process is achieved through friction between the tool and the workpiece which softens
it and forces it to endure plastic deformation. After the achievement of the optimal thermo-
mechanical conditions, the rotating tool begins its linear movement stirring the workpiece
material from the front to the back of the pin.

Figure 1. FSW tool movement stages.

The main parameters that can be controlled in the FSW process are:

 Tool transverse speed – defines the distance covered by the FSW tool along the
positive x-axis, per unit of time;
 Tool rotation speed – begins before the plunging phase and it only ends after pin
extraction. The tool rotation has a great importance during welding, particularly in the
microstructure of the welded joint. This topic will be further explored in one of the
following sections.
 Tool downward force – Probably the most sensitive parameter. This force is
responsible for maintaining the tool shoulder in contact with the top surface of the
workpiece. The optimal force value helps the base material to keep the necessary
friction to continue in the plastic domain and at the same time preserves the stability
of the tool movement.
 Tool geometry – Since the discovery of FSW, the topic of tool geometry has been
discussed in depth. The shape and geometry of both the tool shoulder and the pin have
a great deal of influence in the process itself. Nowadays, there are several well
established tool formats that proved to be very efficient and reliable in FSW of mainly
Al-alloys.
140 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

 Tool material – Like tool geometry, tool material has been a focus point for the FSW
researchers. The tool has to withstand severe wear and high temperatures. However, it
has been verified that some materials, such as the tool steel and tungsten carbide, are
well capable of support the conditions present during the welding of aluminium,
copper and their alloys. When it comes to harder alloys such as steel or titanium, the
requirements are much more challenging, given the higher hardness and lower heat
dissipation coefficient of these materials. For welding of these materials, refractrory
material tools are required.

These, alongside with other variables like the tool tilt angle, machine torque, speed and
tool plunging time, are the ones that can be used to control the entire process in order to create
welded joints with the desirable mechanical and microstructural properties as well assure a
good reproducibility factor, a major concern, especially in an industrial environment.
Tool tilt angle (Figure 2) is one of the significant process parameters among the weld
parameters. Rajendran et al. (2019) studied the effect of tool tilt angle on strength of friction
stir lap welding of AA2014-T6 aluminium alloy. The tool tilt angle was varied between 0° and
4° with an equal increment of 1°. For a tool tilt angle of 1° to 3° defect-free weld joint was
obtained. The joints produced using tool tilt angles of 1° and 3° yielded inferior lap shear
strength due to unbalanced material flow in the weld region during FSW process.

Figure 2. Tool tilt angle.

FSW technology has been successfully and extensively implemented in aluminum and has
been also easily applied to copper and magnesium. The low strength of these materials allied
to the difficulty of achieving satisfactory results in welding some aluminum alloys by common
fusion welding processes, promoted FSW research and turned it into a widely applicable
industrial process, concerning the metals mentioned above.

2. FRICTION STIR WELDING

The advantages of the FSW process can be sorted out in five different categories (Dursun
& Soutis, 2014; Kou, 2002):
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 141

 Economical
˗ There is no need for material consumables since FSW is an autogeneous process;
˗ The workpiece does not need to have any kind of special cleaning or surface
treatment;
˗ Because of its simple mechanical concept and nonconsumable tools, the
maintenance required is reduced when compared with fusion welding processes;
˗ In addition to the previous point, FSW can be easily automatized, which allows
the inclusion of a FSW equipment in a standard industrial production line;
˗ Globally, as a result of the two advantages mentioned above, FSW can be
considered a less time-consuming welding technique.
 Technical
˗ The process can be carried out in all positions - vertical and overhead;
˗ FSW can be used to weld dissimilar materials, which is hard or even impossible
by common fusion welding processes;
˗ It can replace multiple parts structures joined by bolts or rivets;
˗ As it is an almost fully automatized process and it is, in general, not influenced by
room conditions, this method has a very good repeatability factor;
˗ The welding parameters can be easily and accurately controlled and adjusted,
allowing optimized, sound quality welded joints;
˗ There is a wide range of depths that can be welded by FSW and its adjustment is
very simple to do: just by changing the pin’s length, it is possible to change the
welded depth.
 Mechanical and Metallurgical
˗ Since it is a solid-state welding process, there is no material fusion involved, which
allows the welded materials to keep most of their initial microstructural properties;
˗ Less heat involved results in low distortion welded joints (one of the most
important problems in shipbuilding);
˗ Low heat inputs also results in almost no loss of alloying elements and less residual
stresses in the welded area;
˗ The previous point reinforces the FSW capability of producing welded joints with
good mechanical properties, with fine microstructure and high tensile strength;
˗ Production of defect-free welded joints without typical imperfections, namely
cracking, segregation or porosity.
 Energetical
˗ Less heat input implicates, in the present case, less energy consumption;
˗ By replacing some bolted and riveted joints, leads to less production of these
elements, which also involve energy consumption;
˗ This previous statement leads to lighter structures as well. Particularly for ships or
aircrafts, less weight reflects in less fuel consumption.
 Environmental, Health and Safety
˗ Absent of smokes and radiation, which turns the workplace less harmful and
welding in an environmental cleaner process;
˗ Less noise involved;
˗ The possibility of remote control of FSW, helps to keep workers far from possible
problems that may occur;
142 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

˗ The workers do not need any special concerns or safety measures besides than the
ones that are usually implemented in common industrial facility;
˗ FSW of light alloys does not require shielding gas.

The main disadvantages of the FSW process can be listed as follows:

 In most FSW applications, the workpiece must be very well rigidly fixed to ensure
welding quality and accuracy;
 Although the FSW tools are nonconsumable tools, they have to withstand severe wear
conditions, which decrease their lifetime. This is a major problem in FSW of steel
components;
 The FSW equipment is not easily portable;
 When in comparison with other processes is quite slow;
 An end of run keyhole is left as the FSW tool pin is withdrawn, that sometimes needs
to be filled in;
 It is an expensive process, mainly applicable for high productivity production lines. In
FSW of steel, there is also another economical problem related to the high price of the
pin and shoulder materials.

2.1. Friction Stir Welding Tools

The major obstacle in the welding of high resistant materials is the high temperature
required to mingle the pieces. In order to comply with this limitation, several tools composed
by materials with high thermal strength have been developed throughout the years.

Figure 3. FSW tool.

 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 143

Typically, a non-consumable cylindrical tool composed of a shoulder and a customizable

pin (Figure 3) is inserted while in rotation into the pieces to be welded and transverses along
the weld line. While the shoulder provides heat to the material surfaces to be welded, the pin is
mixing the materials to be joined.
Three types of FSW tools can be identified concerning the tool geometry (Infante & Vidal,
2014): fixed, adjustable and self-reacting. The fixed probe tool corresponds to a single
component comprising the shoulder and the probe. In adjustable tools, the shoulder and the
probe are independent components allowing adjustments in the probe length and making up
different configurations shoulder/probe facilitating the welding of a large number and varied
components. The self-reacting tools are composed by three different components: the top and
bottom shoulders and the probe.

Type of shoulder

Flat

Concave

Convex

Figure 4. FSW shoulders.

The combination of tool rotation and translation leads to movement of material from the
front of the pin to the back resulting in the continuous formation of the joint. In studies like (X.
C. Liu et al., 2018), it was shown that the material in the weld rotation flow zone travels with
the tool and evolves upwards slowly, finally depositing in the weld upper part (upward and
outward motions). So basically, the tool is slowly plunged into the workpiece material until the
shoulder of the tool forcibly contacts the upper surface of the material. That is called the “dwell
time”, in which a downward axial force is applied until the pin is a short distance from the
144 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

backplate. Thermal fields develop, preheating the material which softens along the joint line.
At this point, a lateral force is applied in the direction of welding (travel direction) inducing the
translation until the end of the weld. After welding, the tool is extracted from the plate leaving
behind a characteristic keyhole.
Typical shoulder outer surfaces (Infante & Vidal, 2014) are: Flat, Concave and Convex
Shoulders (Figure 4).
The most common probe designs are (Figure 5): Cylindrical Probes, Truncated Cone
Probes, Whorl and MX Triflute Probes, Trivex Probes, Threadless Probes.

Type of probe

Cylindrical

Conic

Triflute

Trivex

Threadless

Figure 5. FSW probes.

In the FSW of thin sheets, commonly the tools have probes with a smaller surface area for
features because the embodiment of any thread would severely weaken the tool probe, causing
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 145

its premature failure. Thus, thin sheets, are commonly friction stir welded using special probe
tools.
Several authors (Aldanondo et al., 2020; Ji et al., 2017; Z. Liu et al., 2018) studied the
influence of different probe geometries on the FSW lap joint (Figure 6) production concluding
that the design of the probe was critical on the resulting lap joint properties. The authors also
concluded that the tool design and the welding parameters influence the promotion of welding
defects that are characteristic of this joint configuration. During the process, the interface
surface next to the pin on the advancing side generates an upward flow of material, pushing an
area of non-welded material and curving that section upwards, generating a defect called hook
(Figure 7 b)). Another visible defect is the cold lap defect (Figure 7 c)). This defect appears on
the retreating side and is a consequence of the initial upward flow due to the tilt of the pin,
followed by a downward flow to fill the space at the bottom of the pin.

Figure 6. Scheme of FSW lap joint.

New challenges have emerged with the requirement of welding materials such as metal
matrix composites, titanium or steel. The tool material and shape after overcoming the problems
related to temperatures and weld parameters in order to produce defect-free welds, got back to
center of the development and research. The need for materials and tool shapes, from which
would be able to produce FSW tools capable of withstanding the severity of the process
conditions without wearing or breaking, was the ultimate step to take in FSW of steel and
composites investigation.
Various studies were conducted into account the probe geometries to predict and improve
the tool life. In the flat probe the high forge force during plunging is the major limitation. A
round or domed end shape can reduce the force and tool wear upon plunging, increasing the
tool life. For the tapered probe, severe tool wear can be observed due to high temperature and
hydrostatic pressure present in the welding process (Zhang et al., 2012). TWI together with
some tool manufacture companies published results of their studies, coming up with
groundbreaking results in terms of tool material, shape and life (MegaStir, 2010; TWI, 2010).
The process started with gathering the knowledge obtained until then and try to summarize the
most important requirements for a FSW tool.
146 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

Figure 7. Example of hook and cold lap defects FSW lap joint (Aldanondo et al., 2020): a) effective lap
width; b) hook height at the advancing side; c) cold lap defect and hook height at the retreating side.

Tool material essential properties:

 Strength at service temperature;

 Wear resistance;
 Creep resistance;
 Ability to be processed to complex shapes;
 Inert with workpiece material;
 Good friction couple.

Functions required:

 Heating and softening the workpiece material;

 Dispersing the oxide layers in the joint;
 Moving material from front of the tool to the back and from the top to bottom of the
joint;
 Consolidating softened material to form a solid phase joint.

Next, the entire published tool materials listed for FSW process are presented and described
(Infante & Vidal, 2014):

 Tool Steels. Tool steel is the most widely used tool material for welding aluminium
alloys. Within the tool steels, AISI H13, a chromium–molybdenum hot worked air
hardening steel, has been the most commonly used material for this purpose.
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 147

 Nickel and Cobalt Based Alloys. Nickel and cobalt based super alloys were initially
created for aircraft engine components applications because they are able to offer high
strength, ductility, good creep and corrosion resistance.
 Refractory Metals. Tungsten, molybdenum, niobium and tantalum are used as tool
materials due to their high temperature capabilities and high densities.
 Carbides and Metal-Matrix Composites. Carbide materials that are commonly used in
machining tools offer superior wear resistance and the reasonable fracture toughness
as a probe/shoulder material for FSW at room temperature.
 Cubic Boron Nitride. Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) was chosen as a
friction stir tool based on its prior success in extreme machining applications.

2.2. Friction Stir Welding of Aluminium Alloys

Due to the induced plastic deformation and heating, which for aluminum alloys causes
temperatures between 400 and 480ºC (Tang et al., 1998), the material undergoes a complex
recrystallization process which leads to a modified metallographic structure in the joint
cross-section. The resultant material can be subdivided into four zones with different physical
and mechanical properties. Ergo, the joint will be composed by (Bahemmat et al., 2010) (Figure
8):

 Base material (BM) - it is the parent material, where no deformation has occurred, so
both the microstructure and the mechanical properties of such a remote material zone
have not been affected by the heat flux.
 Heat affected zone (HAZ) - in this region, the material has undergone a thermal cycle,
causing softening, which has modified the mechanical properties. However, it is
unaffected by plastic deformation.
 Thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) - the material has been plastically
deformed by the tool, and the heat flux can significantly affect the material properties.
The material is softened and plastic flow is noticeable here by the elongated and re-
orientated grains. Grain growth and coarsening of strengthening precipitates occur in
this region (Heidarzadeh, 2014).
 Weld nugget (WN) or stir zone (SZ) - the original grain and subgrain boundaries
appear to be replaced with fine, equiaxed recrystallized grains characterized by a
smaller nominal dimension of a few micrometres. This zone’s shape depends on both
the welding parameters employed and the base material. The pin used is also a defining
factor, the larger the pin diameter, the larger this zone will be and the rounder the
nugget zone shape (Reynolds, 2000).
148 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

Figure 8. Cross-sectional image of a butt welded joint showing the different process regions and the
corresponding microstructures.

The literature on Friction Stir Welding of Aluminium alloys is quite vast. Several studies
were developed during the last decades such as:
Chen et al. (2006) investigated the effects of the condition of the base material on the
characteristics of the FSW. The experimental results indicate that the condition of the base
material has a significant effect on the welding morphology, defects, and mechanical properties.
The alloy AA2219 was studied in states “O” and “T6”. When in the “O” state, there was no
clear border between the nugget and TMAZ and defects were formed in the lower half of the
weld bead. In the “T6” state, particle alignments were observed at the interface between the
nugget and the TMAZ and in the lower area processed by the base of the pin, forming defects,
preferably in the upper half of the weld. As for the mechanical properties, in uniaxial tensile
tests, efficiencies of the welded alloys were obtained in relation to the base material of 100%
when the alloy was in the “O” state and 82% when it was in the “T6” state. Finally in relation
to the fracture zones, when the advance speed is less than 400 mm/min, the alloy in the “O”
state tends to fracture in the BM while in the “T6” state it tends to fracture in the HAZ on the
side in setback. In the case of higher speeds, the fracture occurred in the HAZ on the advancing
side, for both conditions. It is thus proved that the morphology of the alloy plays an import role
in the location of the fracture and mechanical properties of the weld.
Amancio-Filho et al. (2008) studied the microstructure and mechanical properties of
dissimilar welding of aeronautical aluminum alloys AA2024-T351 and AA6056-T4. They
started by welding joints by varying the feed rates (150-400 mm/min) and the rotation speeds
(500-1200 rev/min) and keeping the vertical forging force and tool geometry constant. The
analysis of the microstructure and the hardness tests carried out indicated the advance speed of
150 mm/min and rotation speed of 800 rev/min as optimal parameters. The tensile tests showed
a resistance of 90% compared to the weakest component, the alloy AA 6056-T4 and of about
56% in relation to the alloy AA2024-T351. The fracture took place in the TMAZ of the
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 149

AA6056-T4 alloy, where the point of least hardness was recorded. This study showed that in
dissimilar welds it is the weakest component that dictates the performance of the joint.
Still regarding this type of welding, Khodir and Shibayanagi (2008) investigated the effects
of the advancing speed on the microstructure, hardness profile and mechanical properties of
dissimilar joints of AA2024-T3 and AA7075-T6 alloys, frequently used in aeronautical
construction. The EDS analysis carried out in the SEM revealed a heterogeneous distribution
of alloy elements in the nugget and the presence of onion rings. The maximum tensile strength
of 423 MPa was obtained in joints produced with a feed speed of 1.67 mm/s when the alloy
AA2024-T3 was located on the forward side. These authors found that the increase in speed
promotes the appearance of pores and defects of the kissing bond type, especially when the
AA2024-T3 alloy is on the receding side. The minimum hardness was observed in the HAZ on
both sides of the bead, with an increase of this value having been registered with the increase
of the advance speed.
Derry and Robson (2008) investigated the toughness of the AA6013-T6 alloy in joints
welded by linear friction and concluded that the minimum value occurs at the border between
the nugget and the TMAZ due to the variations in resistance caused by the alignment and
concentration of coarse particles in this zone from the dissolution of precipitates. The effect of
yield strength on the toughness of these joints is secondary when compared to the distribution
of intermetallic particles.

2.3. Friction Stir Welding of Steel

After the success that was the introduction of FSW to the industrial world mainly in
aluminum, researchers started to study the possibility of enlarging the material’s list that could
be welded with this process. Steel, being such a widely used material with so many different
applications, came up as a front runner for continuing the FSW investigations. The first
publications relating to this topic dated from 1997 using a FSW tungsten tool (TWI, 1997).
Because of tungsten’s known brittleness at room temperature, the tool was pre-heated to about
500ºC. The inert gas coverage of the steel was not practicable since the high cooling rates were
responsible for the surfaces of the steel, still being somehow oxidized.
The ductile-brittle transition temperature of tungsten can be decreased below room
temperature by the addition of other elements such as rhenium, which allowed the use of this
for tool material without pre-heating. During 1998, many trials were conducted, resulting in the
manufacture of FSW tools made of a W-25Re alloy which showed improvement from the
tungsten tools (Johnson, 2005).
However, it was only in 1999 that the feasibility of FSW steel was firstly demonstrated as
a form open literature (Thomas et al., 1999). In this paper, Thomas showed that plain low
carbon steel and 12% chromium alloy steel can be welded in a single pass in thickness from 3-
12 mm, and demonstrated, after some tensile and bend testing, that the mechanical properties
of the welded joints of these materials could be compared with the parent metal ones. As a
downside, the authors pointed out the issue of the tool wear, a problem that is still a major
concern in FSW of steel.
Some years later, studied the FSW of mild steel (hot-rolled AISI 1018). Their experimental
procedure included testing FSW at different speeds (both rotational and transverse) and
measuring the temperatures and forces applied during the entire process.
150 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

In the following year Lienert et al. (2004) tested FSW in a 6.4 mm thickness DH-36 steel
plate for shipbuilding industry. Their results confirmed most of the conclusions mentioned
above and started to establish some of the characteristic aspects of FSW of steel, nowadays
more deep-rooted and widely accepted.
Konkol et al. (2003) published some work on FSW of HSLA-65 steel also in 2003. This
was one of the first papers where FSW was successfully accomplished and a full analysis of
FSW joint properties was completed. The reason behind this situation is that HSLA-65 (or
ASTM A 945) was, at that time, a new structural steel of great interest in the shipbuilding
community (already a widely user of FSW for aluminum structures). For this publication,
transverse tensile and bend tests, as well as hardness, ductility, toughness and corrosion tests
(aside from metallographic evaluations), were performed in FS weldements (single pass in 6.4
mm thickness plates and double-pass in 12.7 mm plates) using argon as a shielding gas.
The results obtained, showed, for example, a region in the heat affected zone in which the
microhardness was lower than the base material’s (170 HV versus 174.2 HV in a double-pass
weldement and 182.2 HV versus 186.3 HV in a single-pass) due to grain growth in the welding
phase. In relation to the top hardness peaks in the stirred zone, its values were placed near 225
HV.
The transverse tensile tests carried out on the FS welded joints demonstrated an increase
in strength compared to the base material, which corroborates the results from previous authors’
works (Reynolds, Tang, Gnaupel-Herold, et al., 2003). They registered values of approximately
500 MPa (yield strength) and 570 MPa (Ultimate Tensile Strength) for the double-pass weld
and about 400 MPa and 570 MPa respectively, for the single pass weld. Some of the specimens
welded with low rotation speed and travel speed (respectively 400 rev/min and 2 mm/s) showed
higher strength and elongation superior of the plate specification.
Later, in 2005, TWI published a status report regarding the problems of tool geometry and
materials (Johnson, 2005). In this publication, it was pointed out that many of the previous
studies had their results influenced by the lack of capability of FSW tools to withstand the wear
and high temperatures required by the FSW process. In order to try to overcome these problems,
tests were made in 2005 in TWI, in two C-Mn steels (S355 and RQT701), in order to study the
tool-life evolution. The tool materials and shapes used were the ones that showed the better
results up to date with some new features until then.
This status report was a very important reality check in the FSW of steel history because
compared the two most promising materials for FSW tools and stated clearly their stronger and
weaker points. This allowed the further investigations to be focussed principally on the aspects
mentioned as bad ones in this report. Another important thing was that the author and his team
have made a substantial amount of trials, which conferred solid ground to support the
conclusions mentioned above.
The evolution mentioned in tool materials and shapes in the previous sections, cleared the
path for some more investigation: FSW became a reality in most steels for short length joints.
So, for that brief period of good welding conditions, there was some space for comparing
welding parameters and also for mechanical characterization of FSW joints.
Fujii et al. (2006) studied particularly the influence of the welding speed (and consequent
decrease of heat input) in three different carbon content steels (an ultra-low carbon steel, AISI
1012 or S12C and AISI 1035 or S35C and concluded that the changing of welding parameters
results in very different microstructures not only from one trial to another, but also along the
thickness of each steel joint.
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 151

Reynolds, Tang, Posada, et al. (2003) had tried to study different welding conditions in a
carbon steel (DH-36) too. Nevertheless, because of the achieving of A3 temperature alongside
with high cooling rates, martensite was formed it the phase transformation of the welded
microstructure remained incomplete.
Fujii et al. (2006) by trying diverse welding combinations, managed to maintain the steels
below A3 temperature (650ºC) in order to build trend curves for each one of the welded steels.
These curves showed that every one of those steels reacted differently to welding speed
variation: while the ultra-low carbon steel’s ultimate strength was not affected by changing
welding speed, AISI 1012 showed a linear proportion increasing with the increase of the
welding speed. The situation for the AISI 1035 was even more interesting, because it was
registered an ultimate strength peak (for this parameter, the optimal condition) around 200
mm/min at 400 rev/min. This publication was also very important because it was the first
example of welding general steels without any transformation and because the authors were
able to analyze simultaneously the different types of microstructures along the plates’ thickness
(1.6 mm) and the variation of welding speed conditions.
A couple of papers were published later regarding other types of steels that until then,
because of the issues mentioned above, had not been conveniently studied (Cui et al., 2007;
Sato et al., 2007).
Cui et al. (2007) performed FSW in a high-carbon steel (S70C with 0.72 wt% C) and
studied the influence of the welding parameters as a way to control the process temperature.
The results were very satisfactory: the steel was successfully friction stir welded without any
pre or post-heat treatment. The reason behind this is the fact that, by controlling the welding
speed (in this case either with very high values of transversal speed - 400 mm/min- and very
small ones – 25 mm/min – both with a constant rotational speed of 200 rev/min) the process
peak temperature stayed below A1 (723ºC) which reduced the cooling rate and produced an
optimal condition two phase free of martenstite high strength microstructure made of refined
grains of ferrite and globular cementite with a uniform hardness profile across the joint.
One of the other relevant studies that were conducted in that same year was made by Sato
and his co-workers (Sato et al., 2007). They worked with an ultra-high carbon steel (1.02 wt%
of C) in order to produce defect-free welds and assess the different regions in the microstructure
and their properties.
According to their results, the martensite produced led to a great increase in hardness (from
300 HV of the base material to a hardness peak of 850 HV). Also the results showed clearly
the different regions of the welded joints, with special attention to the almost-none existence of
TMAZ (although the regions A and B exhibit some distinct features in their cementite
distribution because of their different cooling speeds, both of them are mainly a martensitic
structure) unlike typical aluminum FSW joints.
Some works regarding FSW of RQT-701, a low alloy steel, were found in the literature
(Barnes et al., 2008; Johnson, 2007). In the first, made by Johnson (2007), among many other
results and analysis, it was stated that the FSW joints, did not showed a symmetrical or uniform
hardness profile, having the advancing side exhibited regions with higher values than the
retreating side. Adding to this fact, the work also reported the existence of residual stresses in
the joint above the yield stress.
In the second, Barnes et al. (2008) performed extensive microstructural and mechanical
analysis to the welds produced in TWI.
152 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

In 2009 and 2010 some works were published regarding mild steel and HSLA-65 that
functioned as consolidation in terms of results, for the process of FSW of steel. Especially in
the work present in Faila II’s master thesis and the paper published by Lakshiminarayan and
his co-workers, it can be seen a very complete analysis of both the microstrucutral and
mechanical properties of the FSW steel joints. Faila II, worked with 12.7 mm HSLA-65 steel
plates and, using different parameter combination (Failla, 2009), identified the same
microstructures as Konkol in his work with the same steel in 2003 (Konkol et al., 2003). The
author also studied the influence of advancing and rotational speed in the visual aspect of the
weld (increase of both the rotational and advancing speed improved the visual aspect of the
weld surface with narrower heat affected areas), microstructutre (where an increase of these
two variables resulted in the appearance of bainite) and hardness. In terms of hardness, the best
result was achieved with an intermediate level of rotational speed (from the range 700-1100
rev/min tested) and the lowest value of advancing speed from the range 1.39-3.39 mm/s. The
hardness test result, which has hardness peaks of about 300 HV (higher than the ones showed
in Konkol’s work (Konkol et al., 2003)) but using a different method to assess the hardness
values was presented.
In the other work (Lakshminarayanan et al., 2010) performed extensive mechanical testing
to FS welded steel joints of AISI 1018 mild steel. Having worked with plates of 5 mm of
thickness, rotational speed of 1000 rev/min and advancing speed of 50 mm/min, they achieved
average hardness results near 200 HV (but with a hardness peak in the stirred zone of 492 HV),
which represented an increase of about 60 HV from the base material’s. In relation to the tensile
tests performed, all of the samples broke in the base material region (a very good indication of
the weld quality pointed out by the authors).
For Nathan et al. (2015) the limits of the FSW process were identified when 6 mm thick
butt welded DH360 steel was subjected to an increasing tool deviation from the weld centreline.
The tolerance to a centreline weld defect was found to be 4 mm of tool deviation, at a level of
90% of the average parent material yield strength. Nathan et al. (2016) and Sun et al. (2013)
studied the microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints of naval grade high strength
low alloy. The joint produced by FSW process shows a higher resistance due to grain
refinement in NZ. Avinash et al. (2014) studied the welding paramenters control namely the
peak temperature and cooling rate presented during a typical weld. In this work, the computed
results show that the martensite formation can be prevented only at fairly low rate of heat
generation.

2.4. Friction Stir Welding of Titanium Alloys

Titanium is one of the materials selected for several industrial applications and, is
extensively used for chemical, aeronautical, aerospace, and nuclear applications due to the
challenging of its exceptional corrosion resistance, high specific strength, mechanical
properties, concurrent weight and biocompatibility (Gangwar & Ramulu, 2018; Karna et al.,
2018; Vivek et al., 2017).
Titanium is a transition metal that has an allotropic transformation at around 883°C. Below
this temperature its crystalline structure is compact hexagonal, being called α phase. The β
phase has a cubic structure with a centered body, being formed at temperatures above 883°C
and remaining stable until the metal melts. Titanium alloys are classified according to the
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 153

concentration of added alloy elements to modify their microstructure and mechanical

properties. The alloy elements are divided into α and β stabilizers according to their influence
on the allotropic transformation temperature of titanium. The beta titanium alloys contains beta
stabilizing element and small amount of alpha stabilizers which allow second level phase
strengthening (Vivek et al., 2017). Temperature above which only β phase exists is known as
β transus temperature. Upon cooling from above β transus temperature, the titanium alloys can
be manipulated to obtain a variety of microstructure with tailored mechanical properties. α, and
near α alloys have iron (Fe), and oxygen (O) as alloying elements. Mo, and V are β stabilizers,
hence aid in lowering the β transus temperature. An intentional addition of α (Al or Sn), or β
stabilizer (Mo or V) can have a significant effect on the microstructure (Gangwar & Ramulu,
2018).
The specific characteristics of titanium alloys such as high material reactivity with oxygen,
hydrogen, nitrogen with consequent embrittlement of the joint promote several difficulties to
weld by traditional fusion welding techniques.
Fusion welding processes promote large thermal cycles during welding leading to problems
such as distortion of weld joints, oxidation of weld surface and sputtering. Also, there are some
disadvantages connected with conventional joining processes of Ti-6Al-4V, namely brittle
coarse microstructure, epitaxial growth and coarse β grains, and distortions with a high residual
stress (Gangwar & Ramulu, 2018; Karna et al., 2018; Kerans, 1982). According to several
researchers, friction stir welding (FSW) is the best process to avoid the problems associated
with the production of a complex joint. However, solid-state welding techniques are not able
to produce quality joints in case of dissimilar combinations of titanium to stainless steel,
aluminium, magnesium, etc. Joining high strength or high melting temperature materials by
FSW is a challenge due to severe tool wear and change in the shape/size of the tool and a special
attention is needed for selecting the FSW tool design, tool rotation, traverse speed, tool depth,
plunge depth, etc. (Vivek et al., 2017).
(Lienert, 2007) published a review about mechanical and metallurgical properties of
friction stir welding of titanium alloys for research papers published until year 2007. Over the
last ten years several titanium alloy sheets of different thicknesses have been welded by FSW
due to the use of this welding technique in aerospace industry (Gangwar & Ramulu, 2018).
Optical microscopy and electron back scattered diffraction were used to study the grain
structure evolution during FSW of commercial purity α – titanium with Mo based alloy tool.
The development of grain boundaries induced by deformation in the stir zone has been shown
to be influenced by the evolution of texture (Mironov et al., 2008).
The friction stir welding tools used for fabrication of several high strength materials should
have superior strength at working high temperature environments and a good wear resistance
during friction stir welding process (Karna et al., 2018). Tool wear will not only reduce the
lifetime of the tool but also probably affect the material flow and mechanical properties of the
welds. W-Mo, W-Re, W-1% La2O3, cobalt based alloys and molybdenum alloy are examples
of material used to manufacture FSW tools to weld titanium alloys (Atapour et al., 2010;
Gangwar et al., 2016; Karna et al., 2018). Rai et al. (2011) published a review on tools used for
friction stir welding detailing the selection of tool material, tool geometry and pin profiles.
Edwards and Ramulu (2010) have studied the Ti-6Al-4V material concerning the welding
parameters and thickness of alloying sheets along with tool dimensions. Primary
microstructure, and β transus temperature of the titanium alloys are fundamental to understand
the evolution of the microstructure in the WN, TMAZ/HAZ (Gangwar & Ramulu, 2018). Ji
154 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

and Li (2017) performed a study about friction stir lap welded Ti-6Al-4V concluding that the
hook defect can be reduced with a slight penetration into lower sheet. Optimized cooling rate
and higher energy inputs can influence the evolution of the microstructure through thickness of
the weld nugget. Also, the high temperature and vertical pressure at the end of the tool observed
in the rotating and advancing process promote the tool degradation due to hot adhesion (Farias
et al., 2013).
Several researches have developed new methods of heating on top plate of the sheet aided
friction stir welding which have high-melting temperatures to reduce the wear of the FSW tool
(Karna et al., 2018). Ji and Li (2017) have studied the back heating assisted FSW of Ti-6Al-4V
alloy in terms of tool wear. The results show the tearing defects formation at different rotating
speeds. The authors also observed that the welds after FSW reveal material adhesion in the tool
surface.
Atapour et al. (2010) studied the influence of mechanical and microstructural properties of
FSW titanium alloys on the fatigue behavior. It is also concluded that the residual stress
formation is related with the fatigue properties of the welds. Another studied observed that the
fatigue strength was increased due to fine grain microstructure in the processed region in
annealed specimens (Muzvidziwa et al., 2016).

3. POLYMERS AND COMPOSITES FSW

The numerous advantages of FSW, as well as the increase of industrial demand for
lightweight designed structures, led to the development of FSW based technologies to be
applied on non-metallic materials (Nelson et al., 2004), as joining polymer-polymer (Bozkurt,
2012), polymer-aluminum (Liu et al., 2014) and composites (Kumar et al., 2019). The
commercially available joining techniques for polymers are usually limited on materials’
thicknesses and configurations, and usually require expensive equipment or produce low
mechanical properties joints. Also, non-standard joint configurations or demanding surface
preparation are difficult to be tackled if polymeric joints are needed, and only the already
established technologies are available (Kah et al., 2014; Thoppul et al., 2009).
Considering that FSW is prone to be applied when difficult to weld materials must be
joined, a new research line is being followed aiming at the development of FSW base
technologies (Nelson et al., 2004). Since polymeric materials behave differently than metallic
ones, this is not a straightforward approach. Polymeric materials present a low melting point,
thermal conductivity and hardness (Grewell et al., 2003). In particular, surface finishing is
critical when working with polymers. So, the welding tool plays an essential role to achieve
welds with sound surface quality, and a disruptive tool design must be considered (Eslami,
2019). For polymer FSW there are three tool design and joint configurations categories:
 Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW)
 Friction Stir Welding (FSW)
 Stationary Shoulder Friction Stir Welding (SSFSW)
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 155

3.1. Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW)

FSSW is a technique that benefits from the same concept as FSW but without a linear
motion, Figure 9. This joining method was developed for overlapped configurations to replace
mechanical fastening. FSSW was developed to replace Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) for
aluminum plates (Sakano, 2004). During FSSW the tool is plunged into the base material under
an axial force and it dwells. Afterwards, and without any linear motion, the tool retracts only
when the desired temperature is reached. The main benefits of FSSW compared to the other
similar techniques are related to its ecofriendly signature (Sun et al., 2014). However, for
polymeric materials applications, obtaining quality welds is challenging due to the mechanical
behavior of polymers.

Figure 9. FSSW schematic representation.

Several works on using FSSW to weld polymers, such as High Density Polyethylene
(HDPE) (Bilici & Yukler, 2012), Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) (Bagheri et al., 2013),
Polypropylene (PP) (Bilici, 2012), Polyethylene (PE) (Mishra & Ma, 2005), Polymethyl
Methacrylate (PMMA) (Oliveira et al., 2010) can be found in the literature. It was verified that
all the tool related parameters have a significant effect on the weld quality, as it is responsible
for heat generation, forging and stirring (Rai et al., 2011). Among FSSW tools, there are two
different classes: rotating shoulder, and stationary shoulder welding tools. Hira et al. (2013)
investigated the FSW behaviour for several polymeric materials using the rotating welding tool.
It was verified that among the tested thermoplastics, PE is the only polymer suitable to be
welded at room temperature, while the remaining required the use of an additional heating
source to compensate lack of the generated heat due to polymers mechanical behavior.
If a conventional rotating shoulder tool for polymers is used, the soft material tends to be
ejected from the weld zone, leading to an unacceptable surface finishing and material loss in
156 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

the stir zone. The phenomenon can be tackled using a tool containing a stationary shoulder
(Dashatan et al., 2013). The stationary shoulder forges the nearly molten material inside the
stirring zone under the axial force, avoiding the appearance of flash and blisters defects.
However, to avoid the heat loss on the stirring zone, a material with low thermal conductivity
should be chosen for the stationary shoulder. The effective welding parameters on the weld
quality are plunge rate, rotational speed, and dwell time.
A new spot joining method called FricRiveting was developed (Amancio-Filho et al.,
2007). This innovative joining technique was initially developed for polymer-metal hybrid
structures. The process combines friction welding and riveting specifications, creating a
mechanical interference and adhesion between the parts (Amancio-Filho, 2011). The process
consists of a high-speed rotating cylindrical rivet plunged in a polymeric base material under
an axial force, (Altmeyer et al., 2015). The frictional heat generated by the rotating rivet melts
the polymeric material and forms polymeric layers around the rivet tip. With the increased
temperature, the rivet is plasticized, and under more pressure its tip deforms and locks the two
parts (Blaga et al., 2013). The FricRiveting method was investigated for a variety of dissimilar
materials and proved to be an interesting alternative joining technique for dissimilar composite-
metal joints, with high mechanical performance (Blaga et al., 2015).

3.2. Friction Stir Welding (FSW)

If a rotating shoulder FSW tool is used, most of the frictional heat is generated by the
rotating shoulder on top of the plate’s surface, while the probe stirs the plasticized materials
under the applied axial force. In order to analyze the joint strength using a conventional welding
tool, different polymers were tested. Studies on different materials are: PP (Kiss & Czigany,
2012; Panneerselvam & Lenin, 2013), PE (Azarsa & Mostafapour, 2014), PA6 (Mishra & Ma,
2005; Panneerselvam & Lenin, 2014), PVC (Mendes et al., 2014; Mishra & Ma, 2005),
Polycarbonate (PC) (Shazly & El-raey, 2014) and PMMA (Simoes & Rodrigues, 2014).
If a conventional tool is used it must be emphasized the importance of the probe geometry
on the heat generation, material flow and weld strength. The probe geometry and length have
significant effect on the weld quality (Ahmadi et al., 2012). Also, the probe tip geometry,
should be threaded (Ahmadi et al., 2012) or grooved (Eslami et al., 2015) in order to stir the
materials properly. However, even with such cares, a conventional FSW tool is not the
recommended option for welding polymers. To avoid the flash defect, the polymer soft material
cannot be subjected to a high axial force, consequently, which results in a lack of frictional
heat, and low thermal conductivity.
To solve the insufficient heat generation using a rotating shoulder, some attempts to weld
polymers by adding an auxiliary heating source to compensate lack of heat can be found (Squeo
et al., 2009). In order to reach the desired temperature, it is necessary to heat up the parent
materials, rather than heating the welding tool directly. Using a hot plate at the bottom of the
parent materials as an additional heat source created very strong welds, nevertheless a
significant lack of repeatability was found (Scialpi et al., 2009).
FSW is not suitable to join long fiber composites as the fibers will be damaged or cut during
the process, which lowers the structural integrity of the joint. On the other hand, short fiber
thermoplastics are a promising option to be used with FSW. In Manicke and Helder (2009) a
technical solution to weld short fiber thermoplastics was developed. It was verified that
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 157

randomly distributed short fibers composites can be successfully welded, keeping a volume
fraction of reinforcing fibers within the joint path similar to the parent material (Manicke &
Helder, 2009).
In a different approach, the possibility of manufacturing Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic
(CFRP) and PC hybrid joints was studied (Lambiase et al., 2020). In this method, the probe
fully penetrates the PC top plate, and a small penetration occurs on the CFRP plate to remove
a thin ply of the CFRP and replace the epoxy with the plasticized polymer under axial force.
The joint soundness is significantly influenced by the tool’s plunging depth, which is
responsible for a good adhesion between the PC and the first ply of fibers.

3.3. Stationary Shoulder Friction Stir Welding (SSFSW)

Since the tool plays a fundamental role in the FSW process, improved technological
solutions are necessary. With absence of a rotating shoulder, the frictional probe generates
insufficient heat. To compensate the lack of heat generation, a different approach regarding the
tool design is required. A stationary shoulder welding tool called “hot shoe” was developed
(Nelson et al., 2004). It consists of a stationary shoulder made of aluminum and coated with
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), in order to avoid flash defects by keeping the material inside
the stirring zone. The static shoulder, forces the soft materials into the weld nugget under the
shoe’s axial force. A heater and a thermocouple are placed inside the aluminum shoe to measure
and control the applied additional heat. Afterwards, several researchers investigated different
polymers and configurations using the hot shoe concept in order to optimize and evaluate the
effect of this tool on the weld quality (Azarsa & Mostafapour, 2014; Mendes et al., 2016). It
was verified that the tool creates strong welds with good surface quality and repeatability.

Figure 10. FSW tool without an external heat source.

Recently, a new tool concept (Figure 10) was developed, with the purpose of developing a
stationary shoulder tool capable of producing quality welds without an additional heat source
(Eslami et al., 2015). To compensate the lack of frictional heat due to the absence of a rotating
shoulder, a copper sleeve was added around the rotating probe. The probe’s rotation and its
158 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

axial force inside the copper sleeve generated enough heat to plasticize the base material.
Similar and dissimilar polymers were tested using this tool concept (Eslami et al., 2018). Using
this tool, the dwell time is critical to heat up the copper sleeve before advancing. The tool shown
in Figure 10 is able to generate frictional heat up to 400ºC and produce joints with a tensile
strength within 97% of the base material’s UTS.

4. FRICTION STIR WELDING HYBRIDIZATION

As discussed previously, FSW when in butt-configuration results in excellent mechanical
properties, and was shown to have great potential in lightweight, high performing structures.
This is especially the case of bolted or riveted structures, such as aeronautical fuselages
(Pacchione & Telgkamp, 2006). However, welding large shell structures in butt-joint
configuration significant challenges arise in terms of geometric tolerance management. Even
when edge milling the abutting faces to join, gaps may arise due to welding forces and thermal
expansion and contraction. Gaps and misalignment significantly affect the weld integrity, as it
leads to the appearance of defects and reduction of joint strength. As an example of such, Shultz
et al. (2010) studied the effect of gaps in 5 mm thick aluminum alloy AA5083-H111 butt-joints
and showed that gaps over 0.5 mm caused significant joint efficiency reduction. Clamping loads
were also shown to have a significant effect on the generated gaps in FSW. When studying the
effect of clamping forces on residual stress and distortion on AA2198-T851 butt-joints, with a
a specially made clamping system capable of measuring both the axial clamping loads, as well
as horizontal clamping loads, Richter-Trummer et al. (2012) found that even welds that initially
had 0 mm gap when welded with low clamping forces resulted in a measurable gap at the end
of the weld. By employing higher clamping forces, the appearance of gaps was avoided, and
lower residual stress and distortion was achieved. However, the repeatability of clamping, edge
milling of the abutting faces and correct alignment of panel to FSW is especially challenging
when welding complex shapes with robotic FSW. Wanjara et al. (2013) studied the effect of
gaps when robotic welding 3.18 mm thick AA6061-T6 and found that defects such as
wormholes were found even in gaps lower than 0.5 mm, even though their effect on hardness
or mechanical performance was only noticed at gaps above this value.
Overlap FSW can overcome the geometric tolerance challenges raised by butt joining
FSW. However, in these welds the edge of the weld in the advancing side forms a hook like
defect, which diminishes the joint strength (Fersini & Pirondi, 2007). When joining 2 mm thick
AA6082-T6 in overlap through FSW, Ericsson et al. (2007), achieved only a joint efficiency
(joint ultimate load compared to base material ultimate tensile strength) of about 55% in quasi-
static loading, and 20-30% fatigue strength at 105 cycles. Some authors have proposed multiple
pass welding to improve joint strength (Pantelakis et al., 2013). This way, it is reduced the out
of plane bending and peel load at these unwelded tips. However, weight savings gains are
diminished, given that to accommodate the shoulder diameter and clamping, the overlaps must
be larger. Also, tool wear and lead time is increased, which makes the process less economically
viable.
Alternatively, combining overlap FSW with other joining methods, can improve
mechanical performance of overlap joints, resulting in hybrid joining techniques. Adhesive
bonding is a prime candidate to combine with FSW, forming FS Weld-bonding, given the broad
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 159

range of mechanical and chemical characteristics of structural adhesives as well as their ability
to bond dissimilar materials.
Weld-bonding, the combination of welding and adhesive bonding, was reportedly
developed in the former USSR for the type AN-24 aircraft (Schwartz, 1979). In this case,
resistance spot welding was performed prior to bonding, with a low viscosity adhesive being
applied in the overlap. This method is designated as “flow-in”. The “flow-in” method is
however highly laborious and not adequate for mass production. As an alternative a “weld-
through” method can be employed, where adhesive bonding is preformed prior to welding and
the welding procedure is done on an already adhesively bonded overlap. These two methods
are shown schematically in the following Figure 11.

Figure 11. a) “weld-through” and b) “flow-in” weld-bonding methods.

Employing a hybrid welding and adhesive bonding joining method, results in the following
benefits:

 Ability to carry different simultaneous loads in the joint (e.g., shear and peel);
 Combining different mechanical properties in one joint (e.g., high ductility and
strength);
 Ability to carry load and not fail catastrophically even if part of the joint fails (damage
tolerance);
 Improved fatigue strength and life;
 Reduced noise and vibration dampening (improving noise vibration and harshness
(NVH) in vehicles);
 Improved corrosion resistance (the adhesive serving as a sealant).
160 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

Given that FSW is a much more recent joining technology than conventional fusion
welding, the hybridization of FSW with adhesive bonding has not been as extensively studied
or implemented as other welding processes. One of the first reported uses of a combined FSW
related process and adhesive bonding was made by Chowdhury et al. (2013) to spot join
dissimilar magnesium aluminum joints. In this case friction stir spot welding (FSSW) was used
in combination with an epoxy based one component adhesive (Terokal® 5089). The weld-
though method was used, with the adhesive being cured for 20 minutes at 170ºC before welding
the 2 mm thick AZ31B-H24 and AA5754-O alloys. The authors compared these joints with
FSSW joints and varied which was the alloy in the top plate (the one in contact with the welding
tool). Given the dissimilar material combination, hard intermetallic compounds (IMC) were
formed, such as Al, Mg and AlMg. In the case of FSSW where the top plate was the aluminum
alloy, most of the boundary between materials was covered by IMCs but with varying
thickness. When FSSW with adhesive and the Mg alloy on the top, the IMC layer thickness
was reduced with some of the formed IMCs being dispersed in the adhesive layer which was
present in the interface between the materials. The reduction in the IMC layer thickness and
addition of the adhesive resulted in improved mechanical performance, both in quasi-static lap
joint strength as well as in fatigue strength (at load ratio R=0.2). The authors also reported that
for both monotonic and cyclic loading, the joint with Mg alloy on the top performed better than
the ones with the Al alloy on the top. This was due to the lower melting point of the Mg which
led to further softening of the material, and consequently increased mixing with the bottom
plate, resulting in more interlocking. The welds with adhesive beyond higher quasi-static
strength also showed improved ductility and as such toughness. The failure modes were also
found to be different with FSSW failing through the weld bead while the FSSW with adhesive
failed through nugget pull-out.
Hybrid friction stir weld-bonding has been also studied for continuous joints. Maciel et al.
(2019) used a two-part epoxy adhesive (Araldite® 420) to join 2 mm thick AA6082-T6
aluminum with weld-through method. The authors varied plunging forces and consistently
achieved higher quasi-static joint strengths in friction-stir weld-bonding than in friction stir
welding. Maciel et al. (2020) benchmarked friction stir weld-bonding against friction stir
welding and adhesive bonding in both quasi-static a fatigue strength. The maximum joint
efficiency achieved for quasi-static loading in FSW was ≈62.8% while for friction stir weld-
bonding was ≈95%. Although similar joint strength was achieved between friction stir weld-
bonding and adhesive bonding, the latter presented higher ductility. Joint strength in overlap
FSW was found to be very dependent on FSW process parameters, with joint strength
increasing with plunging force. The higher plunging forces may result in higher thermal input,
which leads to further softening of the workpiece. This higher softening may than improve
mixing and lead to a reduced hook defect size. Friction stir weld-bonded joints did not show
such a clear trend with varying plunge force, with higher joint strength being achieved for 450
kgf of plunging force. The decrease in joint strength above this value of plunging force may
also be related to the higher thermal input, as it may result in degradation of the surface to bond
and/or the adhesive. Lertora et al. (2019) studied friction stir weld-bonding of 2mm thick
AA6082-T6 alloy with weld-through and flow-in configuration. It was reported that flow-in
resulted in higher quasi-static and fatigue strength. In weld-through joints a “pop-in”
phenomenon was observed when quasi-static loading, with different failures for the adhesive
and the weld. Unlike the previous mention works, no significant improvement is achieved when
friction stir weld-bonding in weld-through method, which the authors suggest is due to
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 161

chemical deterioration of the adhesive during welding. This highlights the importance of
correctly choosing an adhesive with a flash point higher than the temperatures it will be
subjected during welding.
Braga et al. (2019) studied friction stir weld-bonding of a 1.6 mm thick AA2024‐T3 in bare
condition (non‐Alclad), which is an alloy used in aeronautical metallic fuselages. A two-part
epoxy adhesive (Araldite® 420) was used, in surfaces prepared with a sol-gel solution that acts
as a phosphoric acid anodization replacement and weld-through method was used. The authors
found a significant improvement in quasi-static and fatigue strength from overlap FSW to
friction stir weld-bonding, from ≈76.2% joint efficiency to 90%. In cyclic loading, the friction
stir weld-bonding joints achieved a joint efficiency of 47.6% at 1 × 105 cycles, which was
higher than even double pass overlap FSW reported in Pantelakis et al. (2013).
Hybrid friction stir welding processes and adhesive bonding have also been applied to non-
metallic materials. Adibeig et al. (2020) joined 5 mm thick high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
with FSSW and adhesive bonding. A two-component epoxy adhesive (Araldite® 2011) was
used. Through numerical modeling the authors demonstrated that by adding the adhesive layer
to the FSSW overlap, stress gradients around the weld zone were reduced. This way an increase
in joint strength was achieved. The quasi-static strength of the joint was improved by 34% with
the addition of the adhesive.
Andre et al. (2016) studied the use of polymer film, acting as an adhesive in refill friction
stir spot welding (rFSSW) of 2 mm thick aluminum alloy AA2024-T3 and 2.17 mm thick
carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (phenylene sulfide) laminate. A low and high heat input
parameter sets were used. Ultimate joint strength was improved by about 55% with the addition
of the polymer film for the low heat input condition. The higher heat input condition resulted
in a decrease of the polymer film viscosity and as such resulted in the film to be squeezed out
as flash leading to a lower increase in mechanical performance when compared to the low heat
input set. The increase in strength for this parameter set was of about 20%. The justification for
the improvement in mechanical performance of the joints with the addition of the polymer film,
according to the authors, was the larger bonding area (590 ± 50 mm2 compared to 355±10
mm2), as well as better load distribution from the hybrid joining mechanism. The failure
surfaces also demonstrated improved micro-mechanical interlocking between the CFRP and
the aluminum when using a polymer film interlayer.
Hybrid friction stir welding and adhesive bonding have been extended to aluminum-steel
lap joints (Maggiore et al., 2020). In this study, overlap joints of AA5083-H321 non-heat
treatable aluminum alloy and S355J2 steel were made with BetamateTM 1496S epoxy adhesive
followed up by the welding procedure. The higher heat input required to weld these alloys
results in higher temperatures under and near the shoulder during welding, than when welding
aluminum alloys. These higher temperatures will result in degradation of the adhesive, which
for this adhesive was set to be around 410ºC, leading the authors to leave a 60 mm width area
in the overlap under the tool without adhesive (total width of overlap was 80 mm).
Nevertheless, the authors achieved an average increase of 56% in joint strength and 33% in
joint ductility, when compared to FSW lap joints.
162 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

5. FRICTION STIR CHANNELLING AND PROCESSING

The disruptive nature of the friction stir welding (FSW) process has led to the development
of several solid-state technologies based on its working principle. Friction stir channelling and
processing (FSC/P) are two examples of this. Both are solid-state technologies that use a
non-consumable rotating tool with a probe and a shoulder that travels through a metal
workpiece creating friction and promoting plastic deformation. FSC is used to manufacture
sub-surface channels whereas FSP is employed either to refine the microstrure and
consequently improve the mechanical properties or to fabricate metal matrix surface
composites.

5.1. Friction Stir Channelling

Friction stir channelling (FSC) is an innovative process within solid-state manufacturing

technologies able to produce continuous and integral sub-surface channels, with any path, in
monolithic metal components in a single step, that was firstly proposed and patented by Mishra,
in 2005, as a method of manufacturing heat exchangers (Mishra, 2005). Mishra has shown that
by reversing the material flow pattern, making it upward, and by selecting the appropriate
processing parameters of friction stir welding (FSW), it is possible to produce continuous sub-
surface channels inside solid metal components. This first known method was initially based
on the concept of converting the cavity defect, an internal defect in friction stir welded joints,
into a stable manufacturing technique where all the material extracted from the metal workpiece
is laid on the processed zone below the tool shoulder, within a clearance between the tool
shoulder and the metal workpiece. To perform the FSC process, according to this concept, a
non-consumable rotating tool with a specially designed threaded cylindrical probe and a
concave shoulder is plunged into the solid metal workpiece to be stirred channel and
subsequently traversed along a predetermined linear or curved path keeping a clearance
between the tool shoulder and the top surface of the metal workpiece as shown in Figure 12 a).
The FSC process results from the application in the viscoplasticised workpiece material of an
upward action along the threaded probe, generated by rotating a left-hand threaded tool counter-
clockwise (or a right-hand threaded tool clockwise), that moves the material from the base of
the tool probe to the surface depositing it on the top of the channel nugget under the base of the
tool shoulder filling the clearance.
A new concept of the FSC process was developed by Vidal and Vilaça (2011) and patented
by Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in 2011. In fact, the authors have re-invented the process.
The developments carried out enable to promote a distinct material flow, where a controlled
amount of viscoplasticised material from the metal workpiece flows out from the processed
zone producing the sub-surface channel without any gap between the tool shoulder and the
solid metal. Thus, the material flowing from the interior of the solid metal workpiece is not
deposited on the processed surface but directed outside of the processed zone in the form of
self-detachable flash, as represented in Figure 12 b). The scrolls on the tool shoulder enable
this material flow from under the shoulder center to the periphery of the processed zone. The
position and size of the channels can therefore be controlled, and the processed surface can be
left at the same initial level. To perform the FSC process according to this new concept the tool
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 163

shoulder scroll is kept in contact with the solid metal workpiece. The channels’ formation
results from the application, in the viscoplasticised workpiece material, of an upward action
along the threaded probe combined with an outward action along the scrolled shoulder, which
forces part of this viscous material to flow out from the processing zone. Simultaneously, the
top of the processed zone is closed by the action of the tool shoulder that imparts a compacting
pressure, enabling the creation of a continuous sub-surface channel.

a) b)

c) d)

e)

Figure 12. Schematics of the friction stir channelling concepts and techniques: a) FSC with clearance
between the shoulder and the metal workpiece; b) FSC without clearance between the shoulder and the
metal workpiece; c) Modified friction stir channelling; d) stationary shoulder friction stir channelling
and e) Hybrid friction stir channelling.
164 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

In 2013, Rashidi et al. (2013) presented the third concept of performing FSC named
modified friction stir channelling (MFSC). In this technique, a non-threaded tool probe with tilt
angle and a clearance between the shoulder and the top surface of the metal workpiece are used
for extracting material and creating the channel as represented in Figure 12 c).
Recently, TWI has patended the stationary shoulder friction stir channelling (SSFSC)
(Gandra, 2019). The viscoplasticised material around a rotating probe is extruded by a
stationary shoulder in wire-shaped as schematicaly represented in Figure 12 d). This friction
stir tool concept and geometry promotes a higher heat input and, therefore a thermal profile
different than that of the convencial FSC with and without clearance with the shoulder and the
metal workpiece. Owing to the higher forging capability of the stationary shoulder, this
technique presents several advantages such as an improved surface finishing, a reduced surface
undercut and surface heat input and lower processing forces (Gandra, 2019).
A new disruptive hybrid sub-surface channelling technique has been developed by
Karvinen et al. (2019), characterized by fabricating a sub-surface channel and a weld
simultaneously by a non-consumable rotating tool (Figure 12 e)). FSC and FSW are performed
in hybrid friction stir channelling (HFSC) in a single processing step through a specially
designed tool probe comprising features similar to those of the FSC without a clearance
between the shoulder and the metal workpiece and, welding features with smaller thread pitch.
Regardless the FSC concept, the presence of discontinuities in the material flow field
during processing leads to the channel formation. Due to the orientation of the probe threads
and the direction of the tool rotation speed, the plasticised material is pulled upwards from the
base of the tool probe to the tool shoulder. Thus, the friction stirred channel size is related to
both, the volume of plasticised material that can be displaced by the tool probe threads and the
compacting force that is applied on the channel top during the tool forward movement
(Balasubramanian et al., 2009). At any instant, during the process operation, forces are imparted
on the tool probe by the material flowing around it. The net effect of these forces moves the
tool probe elastically from its centerline. During the tool forward movement, the probe is in
contact with the new material in front of it, along its leading edge, which imparts a compressive
force on its surface. As the tool rotates, the material is plastically deformed, displaced from the
base of the tool probe and moved along the advancing side-leading edge into the clearance
between the tool shoulder and metal workpiece. The tool probe-processed material builds up in
the clearance and it is then moved by the shoulder that travels it from the advancing side to the
retreating side. As the tool shoulder spreads this material from the leading edge to the retreating
side, it applies a downward forging force on the material. The channel top is thus formed as a
result of the consolidation of the material flowing from the tool probe base to the tool shoulder
and the downward forging force applied by the latest. The material in the trailing edge applies
a compressive force on the tool probe that would be relatively lower in magnitude compared to
the force applied by the material at its front (Balasubramanian et al., 2011).
Concerning FSC conventional techniques, it was found that an increase in the tool rotation
speed leads to the closure of the channels reducing its area. Although, the volume of plasticised
material displaced from the tool probe base increases with the tool rotation speed, at a constant
tool travel speed, the channel area diminishes. As the tool rotation speed increases, the process
pitch decreases, hampering the material removal by the tool shoulder scroll and leading to its
accumulation between the shoulder’s base and the workpiece. This suggests that a higher
compacting pressure is applied, improving the shoulder stirring effect and closing the channels.
It was also found that the tool travel speed strongly influences the closing of the channel nugget.
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 165

Higher tool travel speeds result in an increase of the channel area, as well as, contribute to a
tool probe shorter lifetime. The tool travel speed also influences the channel top and retreating
side profiles. For a constant tool rotation speed, the channel area slightly increases with the tool
travel speed. As such, the increasing of the tool travel speed enhances the upward flow of the
tool probe-sheared material, producing channels with higher advancing sides, however, it
weakens the stirring effect of the tool shoulder. Higher tool travel speeds result in colder
processing conditions (Balasubramanian et al., 2010), as well as, shorter processing periods.
Both conditions promote the material removal and enhance the flash formation and detachment.

5.2. Friction Stir Processing

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a versatile solid-state technology that has been developed
for:

 localized modification of microstructures in near-surface layers of processed metallic

components for specific property improvement (Figure 13 a)).
 manufacturing sub-surface metal matrix composites (MMC).
 producing functional graded materials (FGMs).

In this chapter, the FSP technique is only addressed as a functional MMC manufacturing
technology due to the high importance that these composite materials have increasingly gained
in a wide variety of engineering applications (Gandra et al., 2011; Gandra et al., 2013; Jain et
al., 2019).
Surface composites were initially fabricated by depositing a layer of powder ceramic
particles mixed with methanol on an aluminium substrate and processing it afterwards (Mishra
et al., 2003). Notwithstanding different techniques of particles deposition on metal substrates
have been developed, the most commonly employed reinforcement techniques to produce
MMC by FSP are those involving machining/drilling of grooves/holes (Abreu et al., 2017;
Balakrishnan et al., 2015; Dixit et al., 2018; Karthik et al., 2017; Liu et al., 2013; Rathee et al.,
2018; Sudhakar et al., 2018; Thankachan et al., 2019). In the groove technique (Figure 13 b)),
one or more grooves are machined on the plate surface and filled in with reinforcement
particles, which are then either compacted in the groove(s) (usually using a tool without probe)
or covered with a thin metal sheet to prevent particles sputtering during processing (Bakshi et
al., 2010; Eskandari et al., 2016; Hashemi & Hussain, 2015; Narimani et al., 2016). The
substrate/particles arrangement is then processed by FSP. In the blind hole technique (Figure
13 c)), a similar procedure is adopted, a pre-defined blind hole pattern is drilled on the substrate
surface and the holes are then filled in with particles before processing. Although, several
authors claim that this last technique promotes a more uniform distribution of the reinforcement
particles in the metal substrate (Gerlich, 2017; Miura et al., 1988; Ni et al., 2014; Su et al.,
2013; Wang et al., 2013; Yu et al., 2016), Rathee et al. (2018) report that surface composites
produced by combining the groove and the tool offset techniques are more homogenous than
those obtained via the blind hole technique.
166 Catarina Vidal, Daniel Braga, Pedro Moreira et al.

Figure 13. Schematics of the friction stir processing techniques: a) modification of the microstructure;
c) groove technique and c) blind hole technique.

Clustering of reinforcement particles is a major issue in MMC fabrication by FSP as it

negatively affects the mechanical strength and fatigue life of the composites. Multi-pass FSP
leads to a reduction in size of cluster and uniform distribution of reinforcement particles and
thus decreases the grain size of the metallic matrix. Guo et al. (2014) assessed the effect of the
number of FSP passes on the distribution of nano-sized Al2O3 reinforcement particles in an
AA6061 matrix. The authors used the blind hole technique to pre-place the particles in the
aluminium plate and found that multiple passes lead to a more uniform distribution of the
particles. Regarding the composite homogeneity, the best results were obtained after the fourth
pass. A similar study was conducted by Yuvaraj et al. (2015). Micro and nano-sized B4C
particles were incorporated in an AA5083 matrix by using the groove technique. Composites
were produced by varying the number of FSP passes from one to three. These authors found
that, on one hand, a single pass methodology leads to particles’ agglomeration, but, on the other
hand, the subsequent ones tend to eliminate the agglomerates and redistribute the particles in
the aluminium matrix. Nascimento et al. (2009) report that the number of FSP passes required
to achieve a homogenous processed area depends on the aluminium substrate. The heat-treated
aluminium alloys tend to require less passes than the non-heat treated ones. Gandra et al. (2011)
studied the effect of the overlapping direction in multi-pass FSP and concluded that overlapping
by the retreating side generates smoother surfaces, while overlapping by the advancing side led
to a more uniform distribution of the particles along the thickness of the substrate.
Tool rotation and travel speeds determine the heat input level in the stirred zone, which in
turn affects the microstructure and resulting properties. The grain refinement in the stirred zone
increases with the heat input decreasing, however the heat input must be sufficient to
viscoplasticise the metallic material. Asadi et al. (2010) have reported that an increase in tool
rotation speed leads to an increase in grain size while increasing the tool travel speed decreases
the grain size, pointing that a higher tool travel speed decreases the exposure period to the
process heat. In surface MMC manufacturing, the exposure period to high temperature is
determinant regarding the chemical reactions among the metal matrix and reinforcement
particles elements.
 Friction Stir Processing and Welding Technologies 167

CONCLUSION
In the present chapter, advanced joining and manufacturing solid-state technologies were
addressed, covering a wide range of applications and materials, as well as their state-of-the-art
fundaments and main features.
The increasing demand for lightweight structures combined with the numerous advantages
of friction stir welding, led to the development of several friction stir based technologies, either
use to join metallic or non-metallic materials such as polymers and composites or
manufacturing functional components and/or metal matrix composites.
The non-consumable tool used to perform the friction stir processes is the key to improve
the technologies performance as well as to develop new processes and techniques. Friction stir
welding of hard materials such as steel and titanium alloys, friction stir spot welding, friction
stir channelling and stationary shoulder variants are examples of processes that have been
developed based on the tool design and material modifications.
The development of friction stir welding hybridization has also contributed to improve the
joints performance and structural integrity. Adhesive bonding combined with solid-state
welding can be applied to similar and dissimilar joints, including those of non-metallic
materials.
Regarding manufacturing of functional components, two solid-state friction stir based
technologies were addressed in this chapter: friction stir channelling and processing (FSC/P).
Both are currently undergoing significant technological developments envisaging their
potential for industrial and medical applications. FSC is able to produce conformal and
customized cooling/heating systems in metallic components and FSP, functional or
multifunctional metal matrix composites with properties gradients for a wide range of
substrate/reinforcement particles combinations.

FUNDING
This work was supported by FCT, through IDMEC under LAETA, project
UIDB/50022/2020.
Catarina Vidal acknowledges Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT - MCTES) for
its financial support via the project UIDB/00667/2020 (UNIDEMI).

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 7

FRICTION STIR WELDING OF ALUMINUM ALLOYS:

SIMILAR AND DISSIMILAR MATERIALS

H. G. Svoboda1,2, and L. N. Tufaro1,3

FIUBA – Departamento de Ingeniería Mecánica, Facultad de Ingeniería,
1

Universidad de Buenos Aires, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

2
CONICET – Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas,
Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
3
INTI – Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Mecánica,
Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial, Buenos Aires, Argentina

ABSTRACT
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a process that has revolutionized the welding
technology in the last thirty years. As a solid-state process has several advantages in
comparison with the fusion welding processes, especially for aluminum alloys. In the last
years there have been a lot of industries interested in applying it, but the transportation
industry takes advantage, particularly in aerospace and aeronautical, railway, shipbuilding
and automotive, for structural applications. This process can be applied to a lot of materials,
nevertheless, FSW has been widely used to join aluminum alloys. The analysis of the
welding parameters on the microstructural evolution and mechanical properties has been
deeply studied, as well as heat and material flow, tool materials and design, types of joints,
defects, residual stresses, numerical modelling, among other aspects. In the last years, the
need of dissimilar welding has positioned FSW as an interesting alternative for these types
of joints, being an active field of research and development. In this chapter, the state of the
art of FSW of aluminum alloys in similar and dissimilar joints is reviewed, remarking the
main aspects of the technology, the recent advances and the perspectives for the future.

Keywords: FSW, process parameters, heat generation, material flow, microstructural

evolution, mechanical properties


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
180 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

1. INTRODUCTION
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid state welding process invented in 1991 by The
Welding Institute (TWI) and has become the most important subject of research in welding
technology of the last three decades. Mainly, it was aimed to analyse the application of FSW
to materials or joints difficult to be welded by fusion processes, to understand the thermo-
mechanical phenomena occurring during FSW and its industrial applications. Also, different
variants of the initial process have been developed, not only to weld but also for processing
materials. The quantity and diversity of published works on FSW and related technologies
became very profuse, both for research and development as for its industrial applications.
Nevertheless, there are still a lot of challenges to be resolved in the many aspects that this
technology fronts.
Magalhães et al. (2018) have studied the status of research and industrialization of FSW
technology. They reported aluminum alloys have been the main base material on which FSW
has been used for similar joining, in both Research & Development (R&D) and industrial
applications (patents),
Also, application of FSW on other materials have increased, as in ferrous, magnesium and
titanium alloys, or in non-metallic materials. Particularly, in the last years dissimilar materials
joining have been in the focus of the investigations, with special interest in Al to Steel joints.
Multi-materials structure is a concept which is currently being used in numerous
applications, especially in the automotive industry. It needs to achieve reliable and economical
dissimilar materials joints (Al-Steel), which is highly challenging for conventional fusion
welding technologies. In this sense, FSW technology could be a promising solution (Chen et
al., 2019).
In terms of the subjects mainly studied, the focus has been put in microstructure and
mechanical properties, both for similar and dissimilar materials joints. Modelling, material flow
and corrosion are also another topic of interest (Magalhães et al., 2018).
The areas of industrial application for this technology are also wide, but it has been highly
oriented to the transportation industry, with more than 50% of the applications. Automotive
industry also captures most of the attention of the companies, followed by railway,
shipbuilding, aeronautical and aerospace industries (Magalhães et al., 2018). Friction Stir Spot
Welding (FSSW), Friction Stir Lap Welding (FSLW) are variants of FSW which are widely
used in automotive industry, both for similar and dissimilar joining (Haghshenas and Gerlich,
2018).
Among aluminum alloys mainly used in the transportation industry it can be mentioned the
5XXX non-heat treatable alloys (or work hardening alloys), which found major applications in
shipbuilding, automotive and railway. Related to heat treatable alloys series 2XXX and 7XXX
are widely used in aeronautical and aerospace, while 6XXX series are structural alloys used in
different industries (Mishra et al., 2014b).
The aim of this chapter is to present and briefly discuss the main aspects related to the state
of knowledge of FSW of similar and dissimilar joining of aluminum alloys, related to welding
procedure heat and material flow, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties.
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 181

2. FSW PROCESS
FSW is a solid state welding process that produces the joint between two (or more)
workpieces by the action of a non-consumable tool. This tool has a shoulder and a probe or pin
designed to generate the heat by friction and to produce and to contain the material flow during
the welding process. The FSW tool rotates on its axis and it is inserted between the workpieces
edges until the tool shoulder contacts the upper workpiece’s surfaces. To perform the weld, the
rotating tool travels along the joint line and finally it is removed from the weld (Mishra and
Mahoney, 2007; Jenney and O’Brien, A., 2001b). A schematic of the FSW process is shown in
Figure 1.
The welding parameters of the FSW process are the tool rotation speed, the travel or
welding speed, the tool design (geometry and material), the tool tilt angle and the tool plunge
or the vertical force, depending on how the tool position is controlled. Also, a parameter known
as weld pitch or pitch number can be defined as the ratio between the welding speed and the
rotational speed i.e., the tool advance per revolution. These welding parameters define the heat
generation, the temperature fields, the material flow, and consequently the resulting micro and
macrostructure, the mechanical properties, among others (Mishra and Ma, 2005; Nandan et al.,
2008; Mishra and Mahoney, 2007).
Due the asymmetry of the FSW process, it is important to identify the two sides of the
weld. The side of the joint where the tool rotation speed has the same direction of the tool travel
speed is the advancing side (AS) of the weld. The other side, where these speeds have opposite
directions, is the retreating side (RS) (Mishra and Mahoney, 2007).
FSW has various process variants. Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) can be used to
perform spot lap welds, which has a particular interest in the automotive industry. Using a self-
reacting tool with two shoulders, bobbin-tool friction stir welding (BTFSW) allows welding
without a backing plate and eliminates the possibility of an incomplete root penetration (Mishra
and Mahoney, 2007). Stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW) variant consists in a
tool with a non-rotating shoulder which slides over the surface of workpieces, while the rotating
pin almost entirely generates the heat and the material flow (Wu et al., 2015). Furthermore,
friction stir processing (FSP) is used to produce a microstructural change to improve local
properties of a workpiece such as abrasion resistance, strength, ductility, fatigue life,
formability, and superplasticity (Mishra and Mahoney, 2007).
FSW can be used to weld various types of joint configurations, as butt joints, lap joints,
tube-to-sheet joints, T-joints, corner joints or double corner joints, among others (Jenney and
O’Brien, A., 2001b). For each joint design, backing plate and fixture devices must be designed
to react to the forces and torque generated and to prevent the workpieces displacement during
the process. Although fundamentals are the same for all joint configurations, the differences in
geometry and relative position of the workpieces generate issues to be taken into account in
each case.
Tool design is an important welding parameter of the FSW process and involves the tool
material and the tool geometry. The tool material selection depends on the materials to be
welded. In the case of aluminum alloys, tool steels are the most often used. Within the tool
steels, AISI H13, a chromium–molybdenum for hot working steel, has been the most used
(Zhang et al., 2012). The most important material properties to take into account in the tool
material selection are the ambient and elevated temperature strength, dimensional stability,
182 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

creep resistance, wear resistance, fracture toughness, tool reactivity, machinability and
coefficient of thermal expansion, among other (Fuller, 2007; Zhang et al., 2012).
The FSW tool can be made with a single piece or with two pieces, one for the shoulder and
the other for the pin. A tool made in one piece has a fixed pin length, which can only weld
workpieces with constant thickness and if the pin wears significantly or breaks, the whole tool
must be replaced. A tool made with separated pieces allows to select different materials for the
shoulder and pin, to adjust the pin length depending on the workpiece thickness and to replace
the pin when it results worn or damaged. If the pin can move separately from the shoulder in
the tool axis direction, the tool also allows to adjust the pin length to perform the weld of
workpieces of variable or multiple thickness and to eliminate the exit hole at the end of the
weld (Zhang et al., 2012). Moreover, in SSFSW the pin can rotate separately from the shoulder
(Wu et al., 2015).
The tool shoulder geometry can be concave, flat and convex. The concave shoulder is the
most often used due the capability to contain the material flow and reduce the material flash
from the sides of the shoulder. The shoulder surface can have some features to improve the
material flow like scrolls and grooves, among others. There are many pin geometries, as shown
in Figure 2.
The pin geometry can be cylindrical or tapered, smooth or threaded and it can have flats or
flutes (Fuller, 2007; Zhang et al., 2012). The selection of these or other geometry will depend
on the workpiece material and thickness and the balance between the material flow
improvement and geometry complexity.
The action of the tool generates forces and torque during FSW, which can be measured
with load or torque cells or dynamometers. The force in the direction of the tool axis is the
vertical or normal force and the force in the direction of the travel speed is the welding force.
Trimble et al. (2015) studied the forces and torque in FSW of AA2024-T3 using different tool
shapes. The lowest welding force was recorded using the triflute pin, square pin and the
cylindrical pin, respectively, due the increase in plastic deformation and stirring.

Figure 1. Schematic of the FSW Process (Ahmed et al., 2021b).

 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 183

Figure 2. FSW tool geometries (MegaStir, 2014).

In Figure 3 it can be seen the transition values during the plunge and dwell stage and the
pseudo-steady values during the welding of AA6082-T6 with a rotational speed of 1200 rpm
(Forcellese et al., 2018).
Peel et al. (2006) studied the downforce and torque in FSW of similar and dissimilar
material joints of AA5083 and AA6082-T6. Regardless of the pin shape, the downforce
increases with increasing the weld pitch and the shoulder diameter. Also depends on the
mechanical properties on the material to be welded, and for aluminum alloys are typically
between 2 and 20 kN. Figure 4a shows the variation of the peak axial force with rotational and
welding speeds in welds of AA6082-T6 (Forcellese et al., 2017).
In the case of the AA6082 the down force was lower than for the AA5083 due to the higher
softening in the age hardenable alloy, while the value was in the middle in the case of the joint
of dissimilar alloys (Peel et al., 2006).

Figure 3. Axial force vs time in FSW of AA6082-T6 with 1200 rpm of rotational speed, for different
welding speeds (Forcellese et al., 2017).
184 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 4. Variation of axial force and torque with welding parameters: a. Axial force variations in
AA6082-T6 FSW (Forcellese et al., 2017), b. Torque variations in dissimilar AA7050/AA2024 for 600
rpm of rotational speed with different position and orientation of the materials in the joint (R: Rolling
direction, P: Perpendicular) (Barbini et al., 2018).

The torque is influenced by both tool speeds, although the rotation speed has a greater
impact. The torque decrease with increasing rotation speed can be associated with a further
sliding contact condition, in accordance with the model proposed by Schmidt et al. (2003). On
the other hand, the increase with increasing travel speed (Figure 4b) is because the material
flow becomes more difficult at slightly lower temperatures (Nandan et al., 2008). Also, it was
observed an effect of the orientation of the rolling direction with respect to the welding direction
(Figure 4b), associated to the anisotropy of the materials properties (Barbini et al., 2018).
Associated to the differential flow properties of materials in dissimilar joints or friction
coefficients, tool off-set or material position in the joint become additional welding parameters
in this type of joint. Tool off-set enables to manage the heat generation and the material flow
selectively to one of the materials of the joint (Kumar et al., 2015a).

3. HEAT AND MATERIAL FLOW IN FSW

In FSW the heat is generated by friction in the tool/workpiece interface and by plastic
deformation of the stirring material. The heat transfer in the workpieces takes place by
conduction and convection via the material flow. The heat losses arise by conduction through
the tool, the fixture devices and the backing plate and by convection through to workpieces free
surfaces (Schneider, 2007; Simar et al., 2012). A schematic of the heat generation and transfer
in the FSW process is shown in Figure 5.
The heat generation and transfer are affected by many factors like: welding parameters,
thermal and mechanical properties of the workpieces’ material, tool, fixture devices and
backing plate’s material and dimensions.
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 185

Figure 5. Schematic of the heat generation and transfer in FSW.

The prevalence of the heat generation mechanism, friction or plastic deformation, depends
on the contact condition at the interface: sliding or sticking conditions, respectively. Schmidt
et al. (2003) proposed a contact state variable to describe intermediate conditions called sticking
rate (δ), which is defined as the ratio between the material velocity and tool velocity at the
interface (Schmidt et al., 2003; Schneider, 2007; Simar et al., 2012).
The power involved during FSW can be calculated as the product between torque and
rotation speed and the heat input is defined as power divided by travel speed. The power
increases with both speeds increasing, although the difference between the extreme welding
parameters is around 30% of maximum power obtained. On the other hand, the heat input is
more sensitive to variations in travel speed than in the rotation speed (Figure 6). It increases
when the travel speed is decreased and when rotational speed is increased (Ahmed et al., 2021a;
Barbini et al., 2018; Peel et al., 2006). In dissimilar joints, it could also be an effect of the
position of the materials (Figure 6b) (Barbini et al, 2018). It should be noted that a minor
fraction of the generated energy does not flow into the workpiece because it is lost by
conduction through the tool and some of the plastic deformation work is not transformed into
heat (Arora et al., 2009; Simar et al., 2012, Sun et al., 2018).
The net values of power and heat input are more related with the thermal cycles in the
plates. In Figure 7 are shown the acquired thermal cycles at different transverse positions during
FSW of AA7075-T651 for different welding speed (Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014). It can be seen
the effect of the travel speed on the thermal cycles measured at different distances of the weld
centerline.
The thermal history of the welds plays a key role in controlling the microstructural
evolution and material flow. The temperature field at the workpiece can be studied and
predicted with different types of numerical simulations. These could be only thermal models
or could also consider the material stirring such as thermo-mechanical models, or
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models (Simar et al., 2012). Sun et al. (2018) developed
a three-dimensional CFD model to predict the thermal cycles during FSW of AA6061-T6. In
Figure 8 it is shown an example of a mechanistic model for the thermal field produced during
FSW (Du et al., 2019).
186 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 6. Effect of welding parameters on heat input: a. Heat input variation during dissimilar
AA5754/AA5083 welding for different rotational and welding speeds (Ahmed et al., 2021a), b. Heat
input vs. welding speed for dissimilar AA2024/AA7050 FSWed joints (Barbini et al., 2018).

(a) (b)

Figure 7. Acquired thermal cycles during FSW of AA7075-T651: a. 51 mm/min; b. 206 mm/min
(Tufaro et al., 2018).

Figure 8. Mechanistic model for thermal field during FSW (Du et al., 2019).

During FSW, the generated heat softens the material near the tool, allowing the material
flow driven by the tool rotation and translation. The material flows around the pin from the
front to the back of the pin filling the cavity left behind the tool as the tool moves forward
(Mishra & Mahoney, 2007; Chen et al., 2008). Chen et al. (2008) analysed the material flow in
FSW through metallographic observation of samples, where the pin was broken during FSW
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 187

of AA5083-O. The authors suggested that a shear layer is formed and detached in a trailing–
retreating location of the pin, one in each revolution. The detached layers continued to flow,
pushed by the incoming material in the shear zone, filling the stable and forward moving cavity
in the trailing-advancing side. The width of each layer is equal to the weld pitch, i.e., the tool
advances per revolution (Chen et al., 2008).
Although the material flow is mainly in the plane of the plates, it can be improved in the
vertical direction implementing different pin geometries like a threaded pin (Schneider, 2007).
The thermal cycle and the material flow determine the microstructural evolution and the weld
defects formation. In a friction stir weld different microstructural zones can be identified
(Figure 9). These zones are the weld nugget (WN) or stirred zone (SZ), the thermo-
mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), the heat affected zone (HAZ) and the base or parent
material (BM) (Figure 9a) (Mishra & Ma, 2005; Mishra & Mahoney, 2007).
The WN is a zone with a fine and equiaxed grains microstructure generated by the severe
plastic deformation and the dynamic recrystallization during FSW. In this zone, banded or
onion ring structure is often observed, associated with the material flow by layers. TMAZ is
the region where the material is plastically deformed without massive recrystallization. The
boundary between the WN and the TMAZ is relatively diffuse on the retreating side, but quite
sharp on the advancing side (Figure 9b). In the HAZ the thermal cycles modify the
microstructure without plastic deformation. The BM is the zone where the microstructure is not
affected by the experienced thermal cycle (Mishra & Ma, 2005; Mishra & Mahoney, 2007).
The material flow also can be analysed by the numerical models. Andrade et al. (2020)
used a coupled 3D thermo-mechanical numerical model to simulate the FSW process. The
experimental WN has a similar shape to that predicted by the temperature and strain rate fields,
although it is better described by the last one. The streamlines represent the material flow
around the tool during welding. With an increase in welding speed, the streamlines are nearest
to the tool pin and the stirred volume decreases. When increasing the rotation speed, the
material rotated several times under the shoulder, increasing the strain rate in the stirred
volume.

(a)

(b)

Figure 9. Microstructural zones in a cross section of a FSWeld: a. Light microscopy of an AA7075-

T651 joint (Sun et al., 2020); b. EBSD of a dissimilar AA6061-T6/7A52 joint (Jia et al., 2019).
188 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 10. Temperature (a) and Equivalent strain rate (b) distributions in a numerical model for FSW of
AZ31 magnesium alloy (Dialami et al., 2018).

(a) (b)

Figure 11. FSW dissimilar alloy cross section: a. AA5083-H32 in AS and AA6061-T6 in RS; b.
AA6061-T6 in AS and AA5083-H32 in RS (Artave et al., 2015). Note: Advancing side is on the right
side of the images.

Figure 10 shows the distribution of temperature (a) and logarithmic equivalent strain rate
(b) in a vertical cross section of the workpiece in a Eulerian framework for a AZ31 magnesium
alloy (Dialami et al. 2018).
In FSW of dissimilar material, the material flow is also influenced by the location of each
material in the joint (Park et al., 2010; Kumar et al., 2015a) and this fact can affect the
mechanical properties of the FSWed joints (Artave et al., 2015; Barbini et al., 2018).
Artave et al. (2015) studied this subject in FSW of dissimilar alloys AA5083-H32 and
AA6061-T6. Placing the AA5083-H32 in the AS, a better material mixing is obtained (Figure
11), as well as better mechanical properties (Artave et al., 2015; Park et al., 2010). It has been
reported that due to the kinematics of the process, the material surrounding the tool in the AS
at the front of the tool undergoes higher thermo-mechanical deformation (Kumar et al., 2015a).
Thus, Artave et al. (2015) suggest that the improvement observed in the material mixing for
this configuration is due to higher deformation and temperature achieved in the AS, which
facilitate the plastic flow of the higher flow stress material (AA5083-H32).

4. DISCONTINUITIES IN FSW
In friction stir welds, there are some inherent aspects and some discontinuities commonly
encountered that are possible to prevent. In the first place, the interaction between the tool and
the workpiece during FSW generates a surface aspect characteristic of this process. The surface
aspect of the weld bead has a semi-circular bands pattern associated with the material flow,
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 189

with a spacing equal to the weld pitch (tool advance per revolution) (Chen and Cui, 2008).
When the tool plunge is high or the tool shoulder geometry is not adequate, the material flow
and a portion of the material is expulsed from the stirred zone and forms a flash at the retreating
side. If the tool plunge is too deep, the workpiece thickness is locally reduced in the WN
(Mishra and Ma, 2005). Figure 12 shows the surface appearance of FSW joints of AA5083-
H111 produced with different parameters (Torzewski et al., 2020).
The SSFSW process variant has the advantage of producing better surface finish with a
smaller roughness and thickness reduction (Wu et al., 2015).
Mostly, the discontinuities observed in FSW are related with deficiencies in the material
flow and/or heat generated during welding. A common defect encountered in friction stir welds
is the tunnel defect (or wormhole) located in the AS of the WN (Figure 13). The formation of
a continuous tunnel void is because the material flow behind the pin cannot completely fill the
cavity formed in the AS.
Different inadequate welding parameters can contribute to the tunnel defect formation, like
high travel speed, large pin diameter, insufficient forging pressure or small shoulder diameter
that cannot generate enough heat (Fuller, 2007; Threadgill et al., 2009).

Figure 12. Surface appearance of FSW joints of AA5083-H111: a- 500 rpm/100 mm/min, b- 500
rpm/200 mm/min, c- 900 rpm/100 mm/min, d- 900 rpm/200 mm/min (Torzewski et al., 2020).

Figure 13. Tunnel defect in a FSW joint: a. Transverse cross section; b. X-ray radiography (Abu Shanab
et al., 2018).
190 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Another inherent discontinuity of the FSW process is the joint line remnant (JLR), also
called zigzag-line or lazy S. This JLR is the semi-continuous layer of oxide observed through
the WN, that was initially a continuous layer of oxide on the free surfaces of the workpieces to
be joined (Figure 14). When the generated heat and/or the material flow are inadequate, the
oxide layer could not be adequately disrupted to form a metallurgical bond. In these cases, the
JLR leads to a kissing bond, mainly in the root, where it is more difficult to achieve an
appropriate material flow (Fuller, 2007; Sato et al., 2005; Threadgill et al., 2009; Zhou et al.,
2006).
The metallographic observations of the JLR in the WN do not imply necessarily the
presence of the kissing bond defect (Threadgill et al., 2009). Sato et al. (2005) performed a
microstructural analysis and root bend test to samples taken from a friction stir weld of
AA1050-H24. Despite the JLR has been generally observed, in some cases where the travel
and rotation speeds lead to an insufficient heat input, the sample was cracked and the fracture
was initiated from the root tip of the JLR and was propagated along it (Sato et al., 2005). Figure
15 shows FSW samples subjected to tensile and root bend tests, fractured following the JLR.
During FSW, the tool shoulder plunges into the workpieces and the tool pin shall not touch
the backing anvil. Therefore, the tool pin length is usually slightly shorter than the plate
thickness. In this context, an incorrect combination of tool plunge and pin length induce that
the pin bottom being too distant from the backing anvil. Thus, the material between them is
poorly stirred, generating a lack of penetration (LOP) or incomplete root penetration (Figure
16) (Fuller, 2007, Park et al. 2020).

Figure 14. Joint line remnant: a. Light microscopy of a AA5083 FSW joint; b. and c. SEM of AA6061-
T6 FSW joint (Fadaeifard et al., 2017).
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 191

Figure 15. Fracture following the JLR: a. tensile test, b. root-bending test.

Figure 16. Lack of penetration in dissimilar FSW joint of AA5052-H32-AA6061-T6 (Park et al., 2020).

There are other types of discontinuities associated with FSW, some of which can also be
related with excess of heat (Zettler et al., 2010).

5. MICROSTRUCTURAL EVOLUTION
The thermal cycle and the deformation during FSW, like in any other thermo-mechanical
process in metals, introduce different changes in the original microstructure of the aluminum
alloy, defined by the alloy composition and treatment. These changes will affect the mechanical
properties of the weld (Mishra et al., 2014a; Reynolds, 2007).
Some of the most affected microstructural features by FSW process are the grain size, grain
morphology and crystallographic texture in the stirred zone, independently of the original
temper of the considered aluminum alloy (Reynolds, 2007). In Figure 17, the grain size and
shape distributions can be appreciated in the EBSD orientation images of FSW of AA6061-T6
(Fadaeifard et al., 2017).
In the WN it can be seen a fine and equiaxed grains microstructure generated by the severe
plastic deformation and the dynamic recrystallization during FSW. The process of dynamic
recrystallization involves the formation of new strain free grains that are strained into the stirred
zone, generating fresh nucleation sites for recrystallization (Mishra et al., 2014a; Reynolds,
2007). Fadaeifard et al. (2017) reported a mean grain size at the WN of around 10 μm, with a
BM mean grain diameter of 125 μm, while Vysotskiy et al. (2020) informed a typical grain
diameter in the WN of ~ 3 μm, significantly smaller in comparison with the BM mean grain
diameter of 35 μm.
192 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 17. EBSD orientation images of FSW cross section in the TMAZ-WN transition
(Fadaeifard et al., 2017).

In the TMAZ the grains have a size similar to those in the BM but they are considerably
deformed and have a different orientation associated with the material flow. Although the
material in this zone is strained, the deformation is insufficient to generate full recrystallization
like in the WN (Mahoney, 2007). The TMAZ-WN transition in the RS, where the boundary
between these zones is relatively diffuse and it can be seen new fine grains nucleated at the
grain-boundaries (Figure 17), resulting in a bimodal grain distribution. The average diameter
of the fine grains is not altered significantly with the distance to the WN, while the volume
fraction of fine grains is reduced. On the other hand, the average size of the large grains is
increased with the distance, indicating that these strained grains near de WN are smaller than
de BM (Vysotskiy et al., 2020).
The recrystallized grains in the WN can experience grain growth according to the thermal
cycle during welding. The grain size tends to increase near the top of the WN and it decreases
with distance on either side of the weld-zone centerline, although it has been reported that the
grain size in the AS can be greater than in the RS due to the asymmetry on the heat generation
(Mishra and Ma, 2005). The recrystallized grains size in the WN can be affected by welding
parameters. Mishra and Ma, 2005 and Salih et al., 2020 showed an increase in the grain size
with the welding temperature, due to increasing tool rotational speed or decreasing the welding
speed.
In aluminum alloys, the alloying elements are in solid solution or as secondary phases
impeding dislocation motion, which increases the yield and tensile strength (Mishra et al.,
2014b). In the 5XXX series, which are work hardening alloys, the strengthening is achieved by
a considerable amount of magnesium in solid solution and it can be improved by strain
hardening. In this type of alloy, if second phase precipitates are formed, they do not provide a
strength rise. During FSW of a work hardening alloy, an annealing cycle takes place, depending
on the location and the thermal cycle, which involves the recovery, recrystallization, and grain
growth phenomena. If the starting condition is the fully annealed temper O, then the resulting
properties will be similar to those of the BM. If the base metal is in a strain-hardened condition,
i.e., a temper designated by an “H” followed by numbers indicating the amount of cold work,
a hardness reduction is observed in the recrystallized zone. In the TMAZ and HAZ, the fraction
of recrystallized material decreases to zero with the distance from the WN and then a recovered
zone exits until the BM is reached (Reynolds, 2007).
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 193

The heat treatable alloys are strengthened through the presence of homogeneous
distribution of second phase precipitates in the solid solution matrix. This microstructure is
achieved by a combination of a solution heat treatment followed by a quenching to obtain a
supersaturated solid solution and an aging heat treatment. The precipitation process may take
place either at room temperature (natural aging) or at a higher temperature (artificial aging) and
can be enhanced by prior cold work. The temper designation consists of a “T” followed by
numbers indicating the different combinations of treatments (Mishra et al., 2014b; Reynolds,
2007).
Dissolution, re-precipitation and overaging phenomena occur during FSW of heat treatable
alloys, according to the thermal cycle in each weld zone and the starting temper of the alloy.
Re-precipitation also happens after welding leading to a post-weld natural aging. If the
temperatures and times associated with the weld thermal cycle are high enough, the original
hardening precipitates will be mostly dissolved and then re-precipitated during cooling. Under
a thermal cycle with lower peak temperatures and shorter times, coarsening of the existing
precipitates and a partial dissolution will occur, as well as some re-precipitation. Far away from
the WN, only overaging takes place without dissolution (Nandan et al., 2008; Reynolds, 2007).
Figure 18a-d shows Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images of AA6061-T6
before FSW, with images of High Resolution-TEM (HRTEM) images and the corresponding
Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) patterns of the precipitates detected. Figure 18e-f shows TEM
images of the matrix of AA6061 after FSW in the WN and the HRTEM image and FFT pattern.
The original precipitates were dissolved during welding and remain in solution in the WN of
the joint. This fact could be explaining the resulting mechanical properties in this zone.

Figure 18. TEM bright-field images of the AA6061-T6: a. BM along <001> zone axis; b-d. HRTEM
images and FFT patterns of the different precipitates observed in a; e. WN along <001> zone axis;
f. HRTEM image and FFT pattern of a precipitate L detected in e (Jia et al., 2019).
194 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Liu et al. (2019b) analysed the distribution and size of precipitates at different locations in
a FSW joint of AA7075-T7451. The BM has a fine and uniform precipitate distribution with
the size of about 5–10 nm. The precipitate phases in the HAZ have coarsened severely five
times approximately compared with that of BM, showing a precipitate-free zone at the grain
boundary, while the precipitate phases inside the grains remain homogeneously distributed.
Due to the higher heat input in the TMAZ, almost all the dispersed precipitated phases in the
original material disappear and leave only some coarse precipitated phases with the size of 100
nm. Also, they reported coarse precipitates in the WN, with size up to 200 nm and relatively
small precipitates result from heterogeneous re-precipitation.
Dos Santos et al. (2018) has implemented a portable friction stir machine called FlexiStir,
designed for use in a high-energy synchrotron beamline that enables in-situ studies of
synchrotron X-ray scattering experiments during FSW. The welding experiments were carried
out utilising the high energy beam line HARWI II of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht,
located at the former DORIS III synchrotron storage ring at DESY, Hamburg, Germany. This
system was used to measure precipitate evolution during FSW of AA7449 via small angle X-
ray scattering (SAXS). The starting temper of the alloy is an “underaged” condition (aged to
below peak strength) (Dos Santos et al., 2018).
It has been concluded that for the alloy and welding conditions investigated, full precipitate
dissolution occurs in the WN of the weld. Partial re-precipitation occurs mainly on grain
boundaries. The matrix remains supersaturated of solute, which will produce some degree of
post-weld natural ageing. Partial precipitate dissolution occurs in the TMAZ. On post-weld
cooling, partial reprecipitation occurs, mainly as fine particles inside the grains. The fraction
of precipitates dissolved in the HAZ depends on the distance from the weld centerline and the
tool travel speed. Close to the shoulder, most of the original volume fraction is lost for all
welding speeds studied. A faster welding speed leads to less precipitate dissolution further from
the centerline. Even when the volume fraction of precipitates remains relatively unaffected,
there is still significant coarsening and transformation from η’ to η within the HAZ, which
could affect the mechanical properties (Dos Santos et al., 2018).
As mentioned before, post-weld natural aging occurs after FSW of heat treatable alloys,
changing the microstructure and mechanical properties with the time after weld. Pastor and
Svoboda (2013) studied the microstructural evolution in the HAZ of FSW joints of AA7075-
T651 by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The samples for DSC analysis were taken
from the minimum hardness region in the HAZ (Pastor and Svoboda, 2013).
The calorimetric curves obtained by DSC analysis for BM and HAZ at different times after
the welding are shown in Figure 19.
The endothermic reaction peak (first peak) and the double-exothermic peak (second peak)
observed for the base metal are shifted towards higher temperatures, and the last is replaced by
a single one, after welding. The endothermic and exothermic reactions are associated with the
dissolution and precipitation, respectively, of low-stability phases during the test. The observed
decrease in the area under the curve means that the fraction of low-stability phases is decreased
because they evolve to a more stable phase (η’) by natural aging, which is responsible for the
hardness increase in this zone with the time after welding (Pastor and Svoboda, 2013).
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 195

Figure 19. Calorimetric curves obtained by DSC analysis for BM and HAZ at different times after the
welding of FSW of AA7075-T651 (Pastor and Svoboda, 2013).

Figure 20. Inverse Pole Figures (IPF) maps with their corresponding (111) pole figures of the bottom
zone of the WN of the FSW dissimilar joints of AA5083-O and AA5754-H14, obtained with different
welding parameters (Ahmed et al., 2021b).

Another microstructural change that introduces FSW process is the crystallographic texture
in the zones where the material is strained, especially the WN. The texture is a measure of the
distribution of crystal orientations within a material and it can indicate the type, magnitude, and
orientation of the deformation. The crystallographic orientations of the grains can be obtained
by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Figure 20 shows the Inverse Pole Figures (IPF)
maps with their corresponding (111) pole figures of the bottom zone of the WN of the FSW
dissimilar joints of AA5083-O and AA5754-H14, obtained with different welding parameters
(J1: 600 rpm/60 mm/min; J2: 400 rpm/60 mm/min and J3: 400 rpm/20 mm/min). It can be seen
the texture is dominated by simple shear ones, typical of FSW process, which indicates the
196 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

local orientation of material flow during welding (Fonda et al., 2019, Ahmed et al., 2021b).
Also, it is observed that welding parameters affect the texture development in WN.
Fonda et al. (2019) analysed by EBSD the texture of plan-view weld cross section of FSW
of AA2519-T87. The texture in the WN changes through thickness and distance to the weld
centerline, but also changes along the welding direction due to the layered material flow during
FSW and the resulting banded structure. Seven equally spaced regions across the width of the
WN were analysed, which showed that the WN have a periodic texture variation along the
welding direction, as evidenced by the periodic colour variations visible in the inverse pole
figure maps. In addition, it can be noted that texture remains relatively strong across the middle
of the WN, but decreases in both sides, particularly to the AS (Mironov et al., 2009).

6. MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
Mechanical properties of a FSW joint are determined both by the microstructural evolution
of the material, which depends on the experienced thermal cycles and material flow in each
location of the weld during FSW process, and by the defects level (Reynolds, 2007; Threadgill,
et al., 2009).
In this sense, resulting microhardness in friction stir welds will be related to the
microstructural evolution experienced in each zone. In Figure 21, it can be seen a
microhardness map of FSW joints of AA2099-T83, produced with different welding
parameters.
They show a central zone with a hardness reduction, corresponding to WN, due recovery
and recrystallization produced during FSW, increasing the hardness values in the direction of
the TMAZ, HAZ and BM, respectively. Also, the sample welded with lower heat input shows
slightly higher hardness values (Cisko et al., 2019). Besel, et al. (2019) have also shown the
relation between the different microstructural zones and the hardness obtained in FSW joints
of AA5024-H116.
The initial condition of the material could affect the form of the resulting microhardness
profile of FSW joints. The microhardness profiles of FSW of AA5083 for O and H321 tempers
are shown in Figure 22.

Figure 21. Microhardness maps (HV) in transverse cross section of FSW joints of AA2099-T83 welded
with different parameters: a. 400 rpm/100 mm/min; b. 700 rpm/500 mm/min (Cisko et al., 2019).
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 197

(a) (b)

Figure 22. Microhardness profiles of FSW of AA5083 for different BM tempers: a. H111
(Torzewski et al., 2020), b. H32.

For the H111 starting condition (low level of strain hardening temper) the hardness profile
is quite uniform with some slightly hardness increase at the WN (Figure 22a), due to the modest
and grain refinement produced during welding, some work hardening could be found at the
TMAZ and there is no significant effect on HAZ.
For the strain-hardened starting condition (H32 temper), the thermal cycle suffered during
welding results in a drop of hardness, with the minimum values typically achieved in the WN
and a transition hardness zone in the HAZ, until the BM hardness is reached (Figure 22b). Note
that the resulting hardness in WN is similar for both starting temper conditions, since the prior
deformation microstructure in cold worked material is eliminated throughout welding
(Reynolds, 2007; Threadgill, et al., 2009).
The variation in welding parameters can modify the resultant thermal cycle and
consequently the hardness of the different zones of the weld. The microhardness profiles of
FSW of AA5052-H32 for different tool shoulder diameters from 10 mm to 16 mm are shown
in Figure 23. The size of the zone where the hardness decreases increased with shoulder
diameter due to the achieving of the recrystallization temperature in a higher volume of
material, which is related to the pre-existing strain of the BM. Moreover, the hardness in the
WN tended to decrease with the shoulder diameter, due to the increase in heat input (Tufaro et
al., 2015).

Figure 23. Microhardness profiles of FSW of AA5052-H32 for different tool shoulder diameter (Tufaro
et al., 2015).
198 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

The microhardness profiles of FSW of heat treatable aluminum alloy have in general a “W”
shape with a minimum hardness in the HAZ. During FSW, coarsening and dissolution of the
strengthening precipitates lead to a reduction in hardness, which is more relevant as the peak
temperature is increased with the distance to the weld centerline. Then, some re-precipitation
may occur during welding, resulting in a hardness increase, mainly in the WN. Then, the
combination of dissolution and re-precipitation lead to the “W” shaped microhardness profile
(Figure 24a) (Nandan et al., 2008; Reynolds, 2007). Note that if the BM is not at the peak
hardening, i.e., naturally aged temper (T3 and T4), it could be experienced a hardness increase
(Threadgill, et al., 2009).
Re-precipitation that occurs after welding leads to a post-weld natural aging that raises the
hardness in the different zones of the weld (Fuller et al., 2010; Threadgill, et al., 2009; Tufaro
and Svoboda, 2014). Nevertheless, the hardness drop due to overaging will not be recovered
by natural aging (Reynolds, 2007). Microhardness profiles of FSW of AA7075-T651 for
different times after welding are shown in Figure 24a. The hardness increase is higher in the
HAZ than in the WN, leading to a more uniform hardness profile.

(a)

(b)

Figure 24. Microhardness profiles of FSW of AA7075-T651 with 680 rpm and 51 mm/min for different
times after welding (a) and minimum hardness evolution with aging time for different rotation and
welding speeds (b) (Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014).
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 199

Figure 25. Cross section of fractured tensile specimen of FSW of AA7075-T651

(Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014).

Moreover, the evolution of the minimum hardness value in the HAZ with time after
welding is shown in Figure 24b. Also, this minimum hardness value decreases with an increase
in the heat input by changing the rotation and welding speeds, 514 rpm - 206 mm/min, 514 rpm
- 73 mm/min and 680 rpm - 51mm/min, respectively. Despite that, for the three welding
conditions analysed, the minimum hardness increased with the aging time at a similar rate
showing a logarithmic trend (Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014).
If the welding parameters are correctly chosen in order to avoid the presence of the defects
and the reduction of the thickness in the WN is not excessive, the mechanical properties will
be controlled mainly by the microstructure. In this sense, the minimum hardness will determine
the tensile strength of the joint and the fracture location. For work-hardening alloys with O
temper, the tensile strength of the joint is similar to the parent material and the fracture is located
in the BM.
FSW welds of work-hardened alloys have a tensile strength lower than the BM and the
fracture is generally located in the WN, where the hardness is minimum.
In the case of heat treatable alloys, the tensile strength is also lower than the BM but the
fracture is located in the HAZ due the “W” shaped hardness profile. Figure 25 shows an
example of a tensile test of FSW of AA7075-T651 fractured in the HAZ (Fuller et al., 2010;
Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014; Uematsu et al., 2009).
In Table 1 are shown a few examples of tensile properties of BM and welds done by FSW
of different aluminum alloys and the location of the fracture (Uematsu et al., 2009). The joint
efficiency is close to one for non-heat treatable alloys with O temper, while the joint efficiency
for heat treatable alloy can be in the order of range of 0.65 to 0.90 (Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014;
Uematsu et al., 2009).
As well as natural aging improves the hardness in all the weld zones in FSW of heat
treatable alloys, it has been reported an increase of the tensile strength of the joints with the
time after welding, showing a logarithmic trend like the minimum hardness in the HAZ (Fuller
et al., 2010; Tufaro and Svoboda, 2014). Tufaro et al. (2018) used a Gleeble® thermal-
mechanical simulator to physically simulate the minimum hardness location in FSW of
AA7075-T651. The physical simulation of the thermal cycle in a tensile specimen allows to
perform the tensile tests at short aging times. In addition to the tensile strength evolution for
long aging times previously reported, the Figure 26 shows that the tensile strength tends to
decrease for short aging times.
Tufaro et al. (2018) suggest that this initial decrease can be related to the dissolution of the
re-precipitated Guinier-Preston zones (GPZ) (I) and the subsequent increase happens due the
formation of GPZ (II). Moreover, for the lower welding speed (51 mm/min) the tensile strength
is lower due the higher heat input and microstructural degradation (Tufaro et al., 2018). This
behaviour is similar to the observed for the minimum hardness (Figure 24.b).
200 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Table 1. Tensile properties of BM and FSW of different aluminum alloys

(Uematsu et al., 2009)

0.2% yield Tensile Reduction of

Elongation Fracture
Material strenght strength area
[%] location
[MPa] [MPa] [%]
AA1050-O Parent 24 69 52 84 -
Material
FSW joint 35 70 37 73 Parent material
AA5083-O Parent 144 303 23 26 -
Material
FSW joint 195 319 21 22 Parent material
AA6061- Parent - 308 15 - -
T6 Material
FSW joint - 205 7 - TMAZ (AS)
AA7075- Parent 474 547 12 - -
T6 Material
FSW joint 364 491 12 - TMAZ (AS)

Figure 26. Tensile strength of the physical simulated minimum hardness location in FSW of AA7075-
T651 for different welding speeds (51 and 206 mm/min) as a function of aging time
(Tufaro et al., 2018).

In FSW of dissimilar alloys, if a proper stirring is achieved, the tensile strength of the joint
is controlled mainly by the minimum hardness. Park et al. (2010) analysed the effect of material
location on properties of FSW of dissimilar aluminum alloys 5052-H32 and 6061-T6. Although
the hardness reduction in the HAZ of the AA6061 is higher than in the AA5052, the lowest
hardness value was measured in the HAZ of the AA5052, despite the location of this alloy in
the joint. Consequently, the tensile test specimens were fractured at the AA5052 side.
Artave et al. (2015) found that in FSW of AA5083-H32 and AA6061-T6, lower hardness
values were measured in the AA6061 side, which controls the tensile strength of the joint and
fracture location. Moreover, the microstructural degradation in the AA6061 was more sensitive
to variations in welding parameters, resulting in a more uniform hardness profile for low heat
input.
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 201

Figure 27. Microhardness profiles of FSW of dissimilar aluminum alloys (AA7A52-T6/AA6061-T6)

for different rotational speeds (Jia et al., 2019).

Figure 27 shows the microhardness profile at the middle thickness of a dissimilar friction
stir welded joint of AA7252-T6 with AA6061-T6, both with a thickness of 5 mm, for different
rotational speeds. The lowest hardness value was obtained at the WN/TMAZ region of the
AA6061 side, with no significant effect of rotational speed (Jia et al., 2019).
Related to the fatigue properties of FSW welds of aluminum alloy, the S-N curves typically
show that the fatigue strength of the FSW weld is lower than the corresponding for the parent
material. The failure is normally associated with a crack initiated at the top surface by geometric
stress concentration.
Thus, it was observed that after milling the top surface, the fatigue strength of the joint
results to be closer to the parent material one and the fracture normally located at the minimum
hardness zone. The fatigue strength of FSW welds generally is higher in comparison to fusion
welds due to the fine, equiaxed and uniform grain microstructure in the WN as well as lower
residual stresses (Mishra and Ma, 2005; Ma et al., 2017; Threadgill et al., 2009).
In Figure 28 are shown S-N curves for FSW joints of several aluminum alloys, reported by
different authors (Li et al., 2018). TH and R refer to the thickness of the workpiece and stress
ratio, respectively. It can be seen there is no general trend observed, probably due to different
weld quality and test conditions for each experiment. This indicates that factors like weld
thickness, process parameters, tool geometry, defects level and microstructure, among others,
have a strong influence on fatigue performance of the welded joint.
Mishra et al. (2014b) indicate that for work hardening alloys with O temper, the tensile
performance of the weld is similar to the parent material, while a lower fatigue strength is
expected if the parent material has a strain-hardened temper. In the case of FSW of heat
treatable alloys, the S-N curve for the FSW of AA6061-T6 is lower in comparison to the parent
material due to the microstructural degradation. On the other hand, in the case of the AA7075-
T6, the fatigue behaviour of the FSW and BM results quite similar due to the improvement in
hardness during cyclic loading, which was measured after fatigue test (Uematsu et al., 2009).
202 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 28. S-N curves for different FSW joints of aluminum alloys (Li et al., 2018).

Table 2. Fatigue test data for FSW joints produced with different welding parameters
and materials (Li et al., 2018)

Material
Welding Stress
Rotating Thickness Δσ/2
Material Speed Ratio References
Speed [mm] [Nf = 106]
[mm/min] (R)
[rpm]
AA5024-H116 1200 720 3.3 -1 180 Besel et al., 2015
AA5059-H321 - 350 5 0.1 70.08 Pocaterra and Tovo, 2002
AA5083-H3214 - 450 5 0.1 94.34 Pocaterra and Tovo, 2002
AA5083-O - - 6 0.1 102 Threadgill et al., 2009
AA5083-H321 - - 6 0.1 82.5 Tovo et al., 2000
AA5083-H321 500 80 8 -1 144.92 James et al., 2003
A356-T6 500/1000 150 5 -1 155/130 Tajiri et al., 2015
AA2014A-T6 - - 6 0.1 47.77 Threadgill et al., 2009
AA2024-T3 2400 240 1.6 0.1 159.2 Biallas et al., 2000
AA2024-T4 800/1000 150/250 4 0.1 73.71 Di et al., 2006
AA2195-T8 800 54 5 0.1 185 Boni et al., 2015
AA2198-T851 1000 80 4 0.33 178 Cavaliere et al., 2009
A6N01-T5 - - 12 0.1 91.18 Kawasaki, 2000
AA6005 2100 1000 4.5 1 105 Zhang et al., 2017
AA6013-T6 2000 208 1.6 0.1 111.88 Magnusson and Kallman,
2000
AA6061 1000 80 2 0.3 38 Hrishikesh et al., 2014
AA6082-T5 - - 5 0.5 53.02 Maddox, 2003
AA6082-T6 2500 1400 4 0.5 51.51 Ericsson and Sandstro,
2003
AA6082-T6 1500 300 4 -1 170 Costa et al., 2012
AA7050-T7451 800 150 12 -1 202 Deng et al., 2016
AA7475-T76 950 110 2 0.1 115.58 Magnusson and Kallman,
2000

Related to the influence of welding parameters Li et al. (2018) report that tool rotational
speed and welding speed are the main factors affecting fatigue performance of FSW joints,
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 203

mostly associated with the heat input they produced. Tool tilt angle has also shown an influence
on fatigue strength, with the best results when it is between 2° to 5°. A poor welding parameters
selection could produce a high defects level, which will affect the fatigue response of the
welded joint. In Table 2 a summary of results of fatigue performance (stress amplitude for 106
cycles to failure) for different welding parameters and aluminum alloys.
Fatigue crack propagation (FCP) in FSW welds of aluminum alloys is affected by grain
refinement in WN, residual stresses generated during FSW and the stress ratio of the fatigue
tests (Kim et al., 2008; Mishra and Ma, 2005; Threadgill et al., 2009; Sun et al., 2020).
Kim et al., 2008 studied the FCP rates (da/dN) of BM and WN of FSW of similar joints
involving 5083-H32 and 6061-T651. The FCP rates for the WN specimens were lower than for
the BM over the entire stress intensity factor range studied for both aluminum alloys. The FCP
rate retardation is particularly significant in low and intermediate ΔK values. The enhanced
resistance to FCP for the welded specimen is lower for the R ratio of 0.8 than the R ratio of 0.1,
especially for work hardening alloy. The authors propose that the compressive residual stresses
measured in the WN improve the FCP. They also suggest that the grain refinement produces a
detrimental effect causing intergranular fatigue failure.
Sun et al. (2020) analysed FCP in AA7075 FSW joints on WN and TMAZ specimens
(Figure 29). They found that crack propagation rate in WN is significantly higher than that of
TMAZ, under the same stress level. It could be related to the difference in grain size and crack
propagation mode. In WN, the cracks propagate intergranularly, while in TMAZ they extend
in a transgranular mode. Moreover, in TMAZ the Gauss texture is higher than that of WN,
which also contributes to the crack propagation.
The FSW process also affects the fracture toughness of a FSW weld. Kroninger and
Reynolds (2002) studied the fracture toughness of FSW of AA2195-T8. They were obtained
the K-R curves using CT specimens from the BM, from different locations of the FSW joint
and from the centerline of a variable polarity plasma arc (VPPA) weld. The fracture toughness
observed for the different locations of the FSW joint were higher than the exhibited by the BM
and the VPPA weld. The crack resistance is slightly higher for the three WN location specimens
than for those near the shoulder periphery in the HAZ (Kroninger and Reynolds, 2002). The
higher fracture toughness in the WN is attributed to the very fine grain microstructure
(Threadgill et al., 2009).
The CTOD δ5-R Curves of BM and FSW joints for different aluminum alloys studied by
Strombeck et al. (2000) are shown in Figure 30. In general, the fracture toughness of the WN
is higher than the BM due the improved microstructure. The AA2024-T351 exhibited similar
or slightly lower fracture toughness values than BM. The authors attributed this to changes in
the characteristics of the inclusions and precipitates population. For AA6061, the fracture
toughness of the HAZ results between those of the WN and BM (Strombeck et al., 2000).
For FSW welds of AA5083-H32, Hamm et al. (2019) have also studied the fracture
behavior of the WN using Khan type tearing test, finding that the unit propagation energy
(UPE) required to fracture the WN (130 N/mm) was higher than the one for the BM (56 N/mm).
The authors suggested that the grain refinement in the WN would be the responsible.
204 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 29. Fatigue crack propagation rate (da/dN) (R = 0.1) for WN and TMAZ of AA7075-T651 FSW
joints (Sun et al., 2020).

Figure 30. CTOD δ5-R Curves obtained using CT specimens of BM and FSW joints: a. AA2024-T351;
b. AA5005-H14; c. AA6061-T6; d. AA7020-T6 (Strombeck et al., 2000).

The tensile strength of heat treatable alloys of FSW weld can be improved by post-weld
heat treatment (PWHT). Kumar et al. (2015b) studied the effect of different PWHT in FSW of
AA7075-T7: peak aging treatment (T6) and retrogression and reaging (RRA). Peak aging (T6)
consists in a solution heat treatment at 515 °C for 1.5 hours with cold water quench and heating
at 120 °C for 24 hours, while RRA consists in heat treatment at 220 °C for 5 minutes and then
water quenching followed by aging at T6 condition. Both PWHT increased the hardness across
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 205

the weld due to dissolution and re-precipitation of strengthening second phases. Yield and
tensile strength were also improved at values similar to BM.
Kosturek et al., 2019 studied the effect of PWHT on mechanical properties and
microstructural evolution of Sc-modified AA2519 friction stir welded joints. Applied PWHT
was a solution treatment (530 °C for 2 hs) followed by an aging (165 °C for 10 hs). Figure 31
shows the microhardness profiles obtained in As Welded (AW) and PWHT conditions. PWHT
produced a recovering of the microhardness achieving a uniform profile, with values near the
BM one.
Despite the beneficial effects of PWHT, the implementation of a PWHT in a FSW weld
can lead to an abnormal grain growth (AGG). AGG is a microstructural process where a few
grains grow at the expense of the finer matrix grains, and it generally happens when the normal
grain growth of the grains stagnates. An example of AGG in a FSW of Sc-modified AA2519
for different welding parameters is shown in Figure 32. The occurrence of AGG in FSW
depends on the microstructure of the WN and welding parameters. It is generally perceived that
hotter welds are better than colder ones with respect to AGG (Charit and Mishra, 2008).

(a)

(b)

Figure 31. Microhardness profiles of AA2519-Sc FSW joint: a. AW condition, b. PWHT condition
(Kosturek et al., 2019).
206 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 32. Abnormal grain growth (AGG) in AA2519 FSWed joints with different welding conditions:
a. 400 rpm/100 mm/min, b. 800 rpm/100 mm/min, c. 800 rpm/200 mm/min (Kosturek et al., 2019).

The use of a high heat input welding cycle will give coarser as-welded grains, which should
be more stable, although conditions can exist where rapid grain growth can still occur. It is also
suggested that a mean grain size of at least 10 μm would be required to provide grain stability
during solution heat treatment. Furthermore, minimising post-weld heat treatment times and
temperatures will also be helpful to avoid AGG (Threadgill et al., 2009). AGG results in a
considerable reduction in the ductility and the loss of the beneficial effects of the fine and
equiaxed grain microstructure produced in the WN during FSW. Porri et al. (2018) studied
different PWHT for AA6063-T6 BT-FSW joints. They found that applying an aging at 175 °C
during 3 h, the hardness and strength could be improved, compared with the as welded (AW)
condition, without AGG. With a solution and aging PWHT (T6) the hardness profile of the
weld joint was uniform, achieving the value of the BM. Nevertheless, in this last case, AGG
takes place and the UPE of the WN (12 N/mm) determined by Kahn type tear testing, was
significantly lower than the ones measured in AW condition (69 N/mm).

7. RESIDUAL STRESSES
Residual stresses are defined as self-equilibrating stresses which exist in a component in
absence of external loads. These stresses result from the thermal and/or mechanical treatment
of components during their manufacturing. The residual stresses in welded joints are generated
by the existence of non-uniform thermal fields during welding. At sample locations where the
yield limit is reached, plastic strains are generated. After welding, when the workpiece is at
room temperature, the non-uniform plastic strain field is the cause of the resultant residual
stresses field (Kumar et al., 2013; Jenney and O’Brien, A., 2001a; Williams and Steuwer,
2010).
Residual stresses are a significant issue in the structural integrity of welded components.
Depending upon the nature of residual stresses, compressive or tensile, the presence of residual
stresses can have detrimental or beneficial effects on the component performance during
service. Residual stresses may affect the fatigue life, brittle fracture, distortions and/or stress-
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 207

corrosion cracking (Kumar et al., 2013; Jenney and O’Brien, A., 2001a; Williams and Steuwer,
2010). In this sense, the study of reduction and mitigation of residual stresses in FSW joints is
a relevant subject.
Because FSW is a solid state process and the peak temperature is lower than melting point,
the residual stresses in FSW joints are generally lower than the ones produced in joints welded
by fusion processes (Mishra and Ma, 2005; Threadgill, et al., 2009). However, because FSW
can imply a heat input of the order used in fusion welding and the fact that in that processes no
stresses can be carried by the molten material, the residual stresses in FSW joints can be similar
to the produced by fusion welding (Kumar et al., 2013; Threadgill, et al., 2009; Williams and
Steuwer, 2010).
The residual stresses in FSW joints are tensile in the proximity of the WN and have
compressive values far away from the centerline. In general, longitudinal residual stresses
profile in the transverse direction has and “M” like shape with the maximum value in the WN
near to the shoulder edge position (Figure 33) (Mishra and Ma, 2005; Kumar et al., 2013;
Threadgill, et al., 2009; Xu et al., 2011, Liu et al., 2019a). The stirring action of the tool is
possibly responsible for relieving some of the stresses within the WN and TMAZ, resulting in
the “M” shaped profile (Khandkar et al., 2006; Nandan et al., 2008). Figure 33 shows the
longitudinal residual stress profiles of AA6005-T6 thick plates joints, obtained with single-
sided (a) and doubled-sided (b) FSW, on three lines: L1 (top), L2 (half) and L3 (bottom). These
measures were done using neutron diffraction technique (Liu et al., 2019a).
The longitudinal residual stresses are typically higher than the transverse residual stresses
(Mishra and Ma, 2005; Threadgill, et al., 2009). Although the residual stresses profiles are
considerably symmetrical, they are often slightly higher in the AS due to the asymmetry of
FSW process (Lombard et al., 2009; Xu et al., 2011; Linton and Ripley, 2008). Figure 34 shows
the comparison of longitudinal residual stress maps of the cross section of an AA2024-T3 FSW
joint, obtained experimentally by the Contour Method (a) and via numerical simulation (b)
(Sonne et al., 2020). In the experimental measures it can be observed the asymmetry mentioned
(the numerical simulation is a symmetric model). The overall tendencies and the stress levels
in both methods are in good agreement. Longitudinal residual stresses are decreased with the
rotational speed, which could be related to the more experienced stress relaxation due to the
increase in heat input and/or plastic deformation (Kumar et al., 2013; Nandan et al., 2008;
Threadgill, et al., 2009; Xu et al., 2011).

Figure 33. Longitudinal residual stresses in FSW of AA6005-T6 thick plates: a. Single-sided, b-
Double-sided (Liu et al., 2019a).
208 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 34. Comparison of Longitudinal residual stress maps obtained by different methods: a. Contour
Method and b. Numerical simulation (Sonne et al., 2017).

Nevertheless, other authors reported that the rotation speed cannot affect significantly the
longitudinal residual stresses (Mishra and Ma, 2005; Kumar et al., 2013). On the other hand,
the increase in welding speed produced an increase in longitudinal residual stresses, due to the
sharper thermal gradient and the reduced time for stress relaxation (Kumar et al., 2013; Nandan
et al., 2008; Xu et al., 2011). Moreover, an increase in the tensile zone width was observed with
the decrease in welding speed and the increase in the rotation speed produced a larger tensile
zone (Kumar et al., 2013; Lombard et al., 2009; Xu et al., 2011).
In FSW of heat treatable alloys, the microstructural evolution during post-weld natural
aging produces variations in the residual stresses (Aval, 2015; Linton and Ripley, 2008). Linton
and Ripley (2008) reported a decrease of the longitudinal residual stresses in the WN and an
increase in the HAZ, during natural aging from less than a week to fourteen months after
welding. Aval (2005) observed a reduction of longitudinal residual stress in WN and HAZ from
7 to 265 days of natural aging. The authors proposed that the vacancies and solute atoms flow
during natural aging cause the stress relaxation (Aval, 2015).
In FSW of dissimilar aluminum alloys, the residual stresses profile is more asymmetric
than in the case of similar alloys. Also, it was reported variation of it with time elapsed after
welding, which could be associated with the yield stress evolution in each material, that limits
the residual stresses development (Aval, 2015; Kumar et al., 2013; Svoboda et al., 2019).
One of the more often methods used for residual stress measurement is x-ray diffraction
using the sin2ψ technique. This technique gives additional information related to
microstructural evolution during welding as the unstrained lattice spacing (d0) and the full width
at half maximum (FWHM). Variations in d0 are associated with changes in solute concentration
in the matrix, due to dissolution or precipitation of second phases (Steuwer et al., 2006;
Svoboda et al., 2019). The FWHM can be related with different microstructural aspects like
microstrains and crystallite size, in accordance with Williamson–Hall method (Baghdadi et al.
2019; Svoboda et al., 2019).
The d0 and FWHM values obtained during residual stresses measurement by x-ray
diffraction of FSW of similar aluminum alloys of AA5083-H32 and AA6061-T6 are shown in
Figure 35. The value of d0 depends strongly on the aluminum alloy. The increase of d0 in the
WN in the AA5083 weld is associated with the dissolution of Mg-Si precipitates that raise the
solute concentration in the matrix. In the case of AA6061, the d0 profile presented a “W” shape
similar to the microhardness profile due the microstructural changes described before (Svoboda
et al., 2019).
 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 209

(a) (b)

Figure 35. Unstrained lattice spacing (d0) and full width at half maximum (FWHM) obtained during
residual stresses measurement by x-ray diffraction of FSW for different welding speeds (73 mm/min
and 206 mm/min) of: a. 6061-T6, b. 5083-H32.

The FWHM in the BM for AA5083-H32 is higher than for the AA6061-T6 due to the
higher dislocation density induced by cold rolling, leading to higher microstrain values. The
FWHM profile of the AA5083 weld has a minimum in the WN, as in the microhardness profile,
and this is related to the recovery and recrystallization occurred in this zone. In FSW weld of
6061, the FWHM also has a “W” shaped profile due to changes in morphology and distribution
of the precipitates, which are responsible for the matrix distortion (Steuwer et al., 2006;
Svoboda et al., 2019).

8. RECENT ADVANCES AND FUTURE OUTLOOKS

FSW is finding greater use in different transportation applications, as automobile, railway,
shipbuilding, aeronautical and aerospace through advances in several aspects of the technology.
To increase the industrial applications of FSW some inherent issues related to FSW need
to be solved: weld thinning, back support and exit keyhole. Recently, stationary shoulder (SS-
FSW) has shown its potential to minimize the thinning at the weld centerline. Self-reacting
tools or bobbin tools (BT-FSW) have also provided a solution to baking plates and several refill
techniques are available to solve the keyhole problem (Chen et al., 2019; Meng et al., 2020).
Nevertheless, it still needed more work to optimise that solution.
Lap and butt joining of thin-sheet materials provides an alternative to conventional
joining/fastening (Ma et al., 2017). Also, the FSW of thin sheets, under 1 mm thick is another
interesting matter (Figure 36) with demand in the field of precision manufacturing for industries
like aerospace, aviation, automotive industry, among others (Zhang et al. 2020).
FSW of aluminum alloys has emerged as one of the top enabling technologies, allowing
the fabrication of very large single piece components and their application to thick aluminum
alloy plates has gradually increased (Jacquin and Guillemot, 2020; Ma et al., 2017, Liu et al.,
2019a). Figure 37 shows AA6005-T6 plates (37 mm thick), single-sided and double-sided FSW
joints. In this sense, it is an issue where more work is still needed.
210 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

Figure 36. Macrostructure of micro-FSW joints of AA1060-H24 0,8 mm thick sheets, obtained with
different tools (Zhang et al., 2019).

Figure 37. AA6005-T6 FSW thick joints: a. Single-sided, b. Double-sided (Liu et al., 2019a).

While FSW has been widely applied to join flat plates, it is challenging to extend its
applications to other complex geometries. Recently, robotic FSW systems have been utilized
in various industrial applications (Figure 38). The efficiency of robotic FSW could be further
improved using robust control strategies for different types of materials (Ma et al., 2017; Meng
et al. 2020).
Even though the solid-state nature provides these processes with several intrinsic
advantages, the processing speed is generally unsatisfactory compared with corresponding
fusion welding techniques (Chen et al., 2019).

Figure 38. Robotic FSW (Regensburg et al., 2018).

 Friction Stir Welding of Aluminum Alloys 211

Hybrid welding process based on FSW as well as FSW variants, such as back heating
assisted welding, underwater joining technology, stationary shoulder, reverse dual-rotation
FSW (RDR-FSW), laser-assisted FSW and ultrasonic-assisted, among others, offer alternatives
to enhanced productivity and/or quality of the obtained welds (Ma et al., 2017).
External energies, such as electrical current and ultrasonic vibration show promising results
in improving conventional FSW, including higher welding speed, reduced welding force, and
increased joint strength. However, the total energy efficiency can be low for the hybrid process
compared with traditional ones. Better design of the hybrid process needs to be developed to
maximize the benefits of external energy (Chen et al., 2019).
In the last years there has been a particular interest in the study of dissimilar welding. The
FSW process has the advantage of producing joints between alloys usually considered as non-
weldable. Nevertheless, there is still a good opportunity to optimize the welding procedure for
those types of joints (Jacquin and Guillemot, 2020).
The simulation of the overall processes from microscale to macroscale will allow an
optimization of the final product. Unlike the empirical laws currently in use, the physically
based fully coupled thermo-mechanical and microstructural formulation will provide further
improvements (Jacquin and Guillemot, 2020; Meng et al., 2020). The development of
integrated numerical models for friction stir welding, that based on input tool geometry and
process parameters can determine the microstructure as well as the formation of potential weld
defects and joint strength is also a current challenge for the near future (Chen et al., 2019).
Even though friction stir–related process is capable of producing produce sound joints
between different materials, degenerated corrosion property of the joints has been a concern.
Effective solution of the corrosion issue can substantially expand in dissimilar material welds
in structural applications (Chen et al., 2019). Therefore, to advance FSW from the research
stage into industry application, corrosion resistance evaluations is one of the most important
considerations in the future (Ma et al., 2017).
Finally, Friction Stir Additive Manufacturing (FSAM) based on FSW principle was
currently used to successfully build a multi-layered stack of an Al-based component (Figure
39). FSAM has a huge potential to fabricate lightweight materials with high structural
performances, but also have yet several limitations (Ma et al., 2017).

Figure 39. FSAM of Al alloy (Griffiths et al., 2019).

Rivera et al. (2018) have recently investigated the Additive Friction Stir (AFS) process.
During the process a solid-state feedstock is added layer by layer to a substrate by stirring. The
212 H. G. Svoboda and L. N. Tufaro

heat is generated by friction and deformation similarly as in the FSW process. The process is
able to produce complex parts with interesting metallurgical properties. The final
microstructure is fully recrystallized with equiaxed and refined grains.
Exceptional properties are consequently obtained compared to parts manufactured by other
AM processes where solidification may generate porosities, as well as coarse columnar grains
and segregations. In addition, this process would reduce production time and hence production
costs considering the possibility to tailor final metallurgical state (Jacquin and Guillemot,
2020).

FUNDING
This work was supported by the projects UBACYT 2018 N°20020170100038BA-
Universidad de Buenos Aires, PICT 2017 N°3782 - ANPCYT.

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friction stir welds without neither welding flash nor flaw in several aluminum alloys.
International Journal of fatigue, 31(10), 1443-1453.
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Microstructure evolution and strengthening mechanisms in friction-stir welded Al–Mg–Sc
alloy. Materials Science and Engineering: A, 770, 138540.
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welding. From basics to applications, 215-244.
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high strength aluminum alloys. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 221, 187-
196.
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welded butt joints. Materials & Design, 32(4), 2000-2005.
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Friction Stir Welding, (pp. 245-276). Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge. ISBN 978-1-
84569-450-0.
Zhang, C., Wang, W., Jin, X., Rong, C. & Qin, Z. (2019). A Study on Microstructure and
Mechanical Properties of Micro Friction Stir Welded Ultra-Thin Al-1060 Sheets by the
Shoulderless Tool. Metals, 9(5), 507.
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stationary shoulder friction stir welding AA6005. Trans. China Weld. Inst, 38, 25-28.
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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 8

DISSIMILAR WELDING OF ALUMINUM

TO MAGNESIUM ALLOYS: ISSUES
AND CURRENT PROGRESS

L. H. Ahmad Shah
Faculty of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering Technology,
Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Pekan, Pahang, Malaysia

ABSTRACT
This chapter critically reviews the current progress in dissimilar welding of aluminum
to magnesium alloys. First, the study looks into the fundamental issues of incompatibility
between both metals. Next, two non-conventional welding processes, namely laser welding
and friction stir welding as effective welding methods to mitigate formation of brittle
intermetallic layers are discussed. The guideline and suggestions for both processes are
also presented for future references.

Keywords: aluminum, aluminium, magnesium, dissimilar, joining, metallurgy, welding,

incompatibility, laser welding, friction stir welding

1. INTRODUCTION
Welding has consistently been an integral part of various manufacturing industries. It is of
no wonder that welding research have shown steady growth in pursuit of better and improved
joint quality. Moreover, the introduction of new welding method such as friction stir welding
(Lohwasser and Chen 2010), laser welding (Cao et al. 2006; Dawes 1992) as well as hybrid
welding techniques (Bang et al. 2012; Biernadskij 2014; Kanemaru et al. 2013; Thomy and
Vollertsen 2012) in the past decades have further expanded the study on welding technologies.


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
220 L. H. Ahmad Shah

With the advancement of non-conventional welding processes such as laser welding and
friction stir welding, there is a major shift in welding research towards improving dissimilar
welds (Kumar et al. 2015; Partnership 1995). Figure 14 presents a general view of dissimilar
welding categories currently available, in the order of increasing difficulty from left to right.
For dissimilar welding of different metals, it can further be divided into compatible metals and
incompatible metals, i.e., where the inherent chemical properties between the metals makes the
joining relatively easy (compatible) or not (incompatible).
Due to the unique features of dissimilar metal welding, the technology have opened up new
frontiers in numerous industrial applications such as in automotive, aircraft engine turbines,
nuclear reactor materials and medical devices (Kumar et al. 2015). A growing and encouraging
degree of progress has been demonstrated in welding between aluminum and magnesium
alloys. As will be discussed in the subsequent sections, joining both metals fall into the
incompatible dissimilar metal welding category (refer to Figure 14), which is relatively difficult
to join. However, consolidating both metals together is seen to be advantageous by exploiting
the specific properties of the metals such as creep resistance and damping capacity for
aluminum and magnesium, respectively (L. Liu et al. 2014).
As an example, a multi material lightweight vehicle (MMLV) joint project has been
undertaken by various automotive companies such as Ford, Vehma International and Magna in
a collaborative effort to reduce vehicle weight by replacing steel based materials with
magnesium and aluminum materials (Skszek et al. 2014). The second prototype vehicle, Mach-
II, was introduced with a staggering 49.8% weight reduction compared to the baseline vehicle
by completely eliminating steel stampings in their design.
Since welding is an essential part of joining these metals, improving the joint strength
through a thorough understanding of the basic concepts of aluminum and magnesium as well
as its joining mechanism is essential to propose a suitable welding guideline. This review looks
into the basic properties of these materials, its incompatibility issues and the Al-Mg dissimilar
welding approaches.
Particularly, the chapter focuses on two non-conventional welding processes, namely laser
welding and friction stir welding (FSW) while critically reviewing the current research progress
and the guidelines proposed in literature.

Figure 14. Various categories of dissimilar welding/joining.

 Dissimilar Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium Alloys 221

Table 1. Properties of pure aluminum and magnesium

at their melting points (Haynes 2007)

Properties Aluminum Magnesium

Ionization energy (eV) 6 7.6
Specific heat (J/kg∙K) 1080 1360
Specific heat of fusion (J/kg) 4 × 105 3.7 × 105
Melting point (°C) 660 650
Boiling point (°C) 2520 1090
Viscosity (kg/m∙s) 0.0013 0.0013
Thermal conductivity (W/m∙K) 94.03 78
Thermal diffusivity (m2/s) 3.65 × 10-5 3.73 × 10-5
Coefficient of thermal expansion (1/K) 24 × 10-6 25 × 10-6
Density (kg/m3) 2385 1590
Surface tension (N/m) 0.914 0.559
Elastic modulus (N/m3) 7.06 × 1010 4.47 × 1010
Electrical resistivity (μΩm) 0.243 0.274

2. INCOMPATIBILITY ISSUES BETWEEN ALUMINUM AND MAGNESIUM

The incompatibility issue between aluminum and magnesium can be easily understood by
examining the chemical properties and metallurgical aspects of both alloys. Table 1 shows
several chemical and physical properties of pure aluminum and magnesium at their melting
points (Haynes 2007).
Despite several differences such as density, boiling point and thermal conductivity, both
metals also share almost similar properties such as melting temperature, coefficient of thermal
expansion, specific heat of fusion, viscosity and thermal diffusivity.
The question therefore arises as to why both metals are incompatible and have limited
solubility towards each other. This can be easily answered through the four Hume-Rothery
rules of solubility, as shown below (Hume-Rothery 1969; Hume-Rothery and Powell 1935):

1. Atomic size factor: Also known as the 15% rule, a good solubility can be achieved if
the atomic size factor is below 15%. If the value is above 15%, the mixture has limited
solubility. Using the equation

𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 −𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑀𝑖𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ = ( ) × 100 (1)
𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡

where 𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 and 𝑟𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑡 are ionic radii for solute and solvent, respectively, atomic
size factor becomes 11.89% and 10.63% when aluminum is set as the solvent and when
magnesium is set as the solvent, respectively.
2. Crystal structure: Both elements should have the same crystalline structure in order to
have appreciable solubility. In the case of aluminum and magnesium, the crystal
structures are face centered cubic (fcc) and hexagonal closed packed (hcp),
respectively.
222 L. H. Ahmad Shah

3. Electron valence: Solute and solvent should have the same valence in order to achieve
maximum solubility. In the case of Al and Mg, aluminum has 3, while magnesium has
2.
4. Electronegativity: The difference in electronegativity of both elements should be close
to 0 for maximum solubility. The more electropositive one element and the more
electronegative the other, the greater the likelihood an intermetallic compound will
form through the interaction of these elements. Figure 15 shows the Darken-Gurry map
of ionic radii, r (nm) as a function of electronegativity, X, for several elements relative
to aluminum (Darken et al. 1953). The elements residing inside the inner ellipse will
show high solubility with aluminum, whereas the elements clustered inside the outer
ellipse will show a solubility of at least 5%. However, other elements outside this
boundary will show very low solubility with aluminum, as in the case of magnesium.

From the Hume-Rothery rules of solubility, it is evident that aluminium and magnesium
will have very limited solubility with each other. This statement can be further supported by
analysing the Al-Mg binary phase diagram as shown in Figure 16 (Baker and Okamoto 1995).
The shaded areas at both sides of the diagram indicate the only conditions of elemental
composition and temperature at equilibrium state that successful solubility can be achieved
between Al and Mg. Outside the shaded areas, one or more of three intermediate phases will
most likely form, namely Al3Mg2 (complex cubic β) phase (Samson 1965), Al12Mg17 (cubic of
α-Mn type γ) phase (Laves and Moeller 1938), and R or ε (rhombohedral) phase (Raghavan
2009).

Figure 15. Darken-Gurry map for aluminium (Darken et al. 1953).

 Dissimilar Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium Alloys 223

Figure 16. Binary equilibrium phase diagram of the Al-Mg system (Baker and Okamoto 1995).

Table 2. Hardness range of Al, Mg and Al-Mg IMCs

Element/IMC Hardness range (HV) Reference

Al and Mg 25 – 60 (Hajjari et al. 2011)
Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17 152 – 221 (L. Liu et al. 2014)

Due to the extremely limited solubility between Al and Mg, the formation of brittle Al3Mg2
and Al12Mg17 intermetallic compound (IMC) layers at the interface of the base metals is the
most challenging issue facing Al-Mg dissimilar welding (Borrisutthekul et al. 2005; W. S.
Chang et al. 2011; Gao et al. 2012; L. Liu et al. 2006, 2007, 2014; L. M. Liu et al. 2007; L. M.
Liu and Wang 2009; L. Liu and Wang 2011; Miyashita et al. 2007; Qi and Liu 2012; Scherm
et al. 2012; H. Y. Wang et al. 2011, 2013; H Wang et al. 2007; Hongyang Wang et al. 2013).
The hardness differences between the IMCs and the nominal hardness values of Al and Mg are
shown in Table 2. The drastic hardness increase in the interface makes it the most probable
location to initiate and propagate fracture in the weld joint due to its brittle nature, particularly
under the influence of residual stresses on cooling, making it a detrimental factor in the joint’s
integrity.
While it is extremely difficult to inhibit the IMC formation in dissimilar welding due to the
typical non-equilibrium and elevated temperature conditions of the process, several techniques
have been proposed to mitigate its formation. Liu et al. (L. Liu et al. 2014) have outlined three
main approaches currently undertaken to tackle this issue, namely; controlling the time and
temperature of the process; limiting welding temperatures through solid state welding; and
altering the chemical reaction mechanism at the weld interface. The following subsections will
briefly review efforts undertaken to mitigate brittle IMC formations in Al-Mg welding through
224 L. H. Ahmad Shah

laser welding and friction stir welding, where both processes represent a combination of at least
two of the three approaches mentioned above.

3. LASER WELDING OF AL-MG

3.1. Current Progress in Laser Welding of Al-Mg

Laser welding is a non-conventional welding process that utilizes the high-power density
of the laser beam to melt and consolidate metals. Due to its rapid and high precision process,
laser welding has been widely used in numerous industries, including automotive, aerospace,
electronic packaging and currently additive manufacturing. The high-power density and rapid
process is also seen to be advantageous to Al-Mg welding since it can control the time and
temperature of the process as outlined by Liu et al. (L. Liu et al. 2014).
In order to get a good sense of the current developments, Table 3 below outlines the
research progress in Al-Mg dissimilar laser welding in chronological order. Several trends can
be summarized from observing the table. Material-wise, there is a tendency to utilize
commercially available AA6061 and AZ31B for aluminum and magnesium, respectively. All
the research presented opt for the lap joint configuration, with magnesium mostly on top and
aluminum on the bottom.
However, Chang et al. utilized a butt joint configuration due to the hybrid laser and friction
stir welding approach (W. S. Chang et al. 2011). This is understandable, since butt joint laser
welding is the most difficult to make due to the need for proper fit up and laser beam/joint
alignment in order to prevent defects such as undercutting (Dawes 1992; Yamamoto et al.
2009).
Referring to the welding heat source, the Nd:YAG laser is the most commonly used. Owing
to its short wavelength (1.06 μm), the weldability of magnesium alloys using Nd:YAG lasers
was reported to be significantly better compared to CO2 lasers (10.6 μm) (Cao et al. 2006).
This may also suggest why some researches alternatively opt for diode lasers (0.81 μm to
1.06 μm) and fiber lasers (~2 μm), having similar short wavelengths. Several hybrid approaches
using laser-friction stir welding (W. S. Chang et al. 2011) as well as laser-tungsten inert gas (L.
Liu et al. 2006) has also been considered. Hybrid approaches could prevent defects such as
notching from laser welding while integrating effectively advantages of the two welding
techniques due to different heat input and power densities.
It was shown that improvements in the weld quality were achieved from such hybrid
techniques. However, hybrid welding requires a much more complex jig set up and comes with
a cost trade-off.
Laser welding involves several parameters such as the laser power, its focal length,
diameter of the beam/spot and welding speed. In the current works, it can be seen that these
parameters vary greatly, and no conclusive pattern can be made. However, two additional
parameters can be extracted from Table 3 which are of great interest, namely the addition of
adhesive interlayers (laser weld bonding) and metallic interlayers/foils between the base metals
to improve joint strength. Both of these approaches are promising solutions that will be
discussed in the following subsections.
 Table 3. List of current research progress on Al-Mg laser welding in chronological order

No Author Year Material Weld Heat source Laser power Focal length Weld speed Note
(Al-Mg) method
1 Borrisutthekul, 2005 A5052-O and Lap joint Nd:YAG 3kW 5mm 2 - 6m/min Self-brazing
et al. AZ31B laser method
(continuous
wave, CW)

2 Liu, et al. 2006 AA6061 Lap joint Laser + Unspecified 1.5mm 1.3m/mm Cerium foil
(bottom) and Tungsten interlayer
AZ31B (top) inert gas
3 Liu, et al. 2007 AA6061 Lap joint Nd:YAG 350W -3.5mm 0.3m/min Adhesive
(bottom) and laser interlayer
AZ31B (top)
4 Wang, et al. 2007 A6061 (bottom) Lap joint LWS-500 300 and 400W 2-2.5mm 0.2 – Adhesive
and AZ31B (top) laser 0.3m/min interlayer
5 Miyashita, et al. 2007 A5052-O and Lap joint Nd:YAG Unspecified Unspecified Unspecified Twin laser
AZ31B laser beam
method
6 Liu, et al. 2007 AA6061 Lap joint LWS-500 400 and 500W 1 – 2mm 0.8 – Adhesive
(bottom) and laser 0.9m/min interlayer
AZ31B (top)
7 Liu, et al. 2009 AA6061 Lap joint Nd:YAG 320W -3.5mm 0.3m/min Adhesive
(bottom) and laser (pulse interlayer
AZ31B (top) wave, PW)
8 Chang, et al. 2011 A6061-T6 and Butt joint Nd:YAG 1.7 and 2kW 200mm 0.035m/min Pure Ni foil
AZ31B-H24 laser (PW) + interlayer
Friction stir
 Table 4. List of current research progress on Al-Mg laser welding in chronological order

No Author Year Material Weld Heat source Laser power Focal length Weld speed Note
(Al-Mg) method
9 Liu and Wang 2011 AA6061 Lap joint Nd:YAG 500W (max) Unspecified Unspecified Epoxy
(bottom) and laser adhesive
AZ31 (top)
10 Wang, et al. 2011 AA6061 Lap joint Nd:YAG 500W (max) -3.5mm 0.4m/min Epoxy
(bottom) and laser adhesive
AZ31 (top)
11 Qi and Liu 2012 AA6061- Lap joint Nd:YAG 400 – 430W -2 and -1.5 0.6m/min St02Z mild
T6(bottom) and laser + mm steel foil
AZ31B (top) Tungsten interlayer
inert gas
12 Schrem, et al. 2012 AA5754 (top) Lap joint Nd:YAG 2kW 1.9mm 1.75m/min Two focus
and AZ31 laser (CW) optics and
(bottom) ZnAl filler
metal

13 Gao, et al. 2012 AA6061- Lap joint Fiber laser 2.5kW 30mm 1m/min Pure Ti
T6(bottom) and interlayer +
AZ31B (top) AZ31B filler
wire
14 Wang, et al. 2013 AA6061 Lap joint Laser + Unspecified Unspecified Unspecified Adhesive +
(bottom) and Tungsten Ni interlayer
AZ31 (top) inert gas
15 Wang, et al. 2013 AA6061 Lap joint Nd:YAG 1.7kW -2.5mm 0.35m/min Zn-coated Fe
(bottom) and laser (PW) foil +
AZ31B (top) adhesive
No Author Year Material Weld Heat source Laser power Focal length Weld speed Note
(Al-Mg) method
 16 Yang, et al. 2018 AA5182 (top) Lap joint Diode laser 1.8 to 2.6kW 1 × 2mm 0.15to 0.3 Ni interlayer
and ZEK100 rectangle + ZnAl22
beam filler metal

17 Khodabakhshi, 2019 AA6022 Lap joint Fiber laser 1.1 to 1.45kW 200mm 2.1 and Laser
et al. (bottom) and 4.2m/min wobble + Ni
AZ31 (top) interlayer

18 Shah et al. 2019 AA6022 Lap joint Fiber laser 1.23 and 200mm 2 and 4m/min Laser
(bottom) and 1.45kW wobble + Ni
AZ31 (top) interlayer

19 Yang, et al. 2020 AA5182 (top) Lap joint Diode laser 1.8 to 2.6kW 1 × 2mm 0.15 to 0.3 Ni interlayer
and ZEK100 rectangle + ZnAl22
beam filler metal

Borrisutthekul et al. 2005; W.-S. Chang et al. 2011; Gao et al. 2012; Khodabakhshi et al. 2019; L. Liu et al. 2006, 2007; L. M. Liu et al. 2007; L. Liu and Wang 2011;
Miyashita et al. 2007; Qi and Liu 2012; Scherm et al. 2012; Shah et al. 2019; H. Y. Wang et al. 2011, 2013; H. Wang et al. 2007; Hongyang Wang et al. 2013; J.
Yang et al. 2020; Jin Yang et al. 2018.
228 L. H. Ahmad Shah

3.2. Laser Weld Bonding

A hybrid joining technology combining laser welding and adhesive bonding is commonly
referred to as laser weld bonding (LWB) (L. Liu et al. 2014). This hybrid method offers
improvements in joint strength through integration of both techniques and have recently been
utilized for Al-Mg joining (L. M. Liu et al. 2007; L. Liu and Wang 2011; H. Y. Wang et al.
2011; H Wang et al. 2007). In general, laser weld bonding consists of four primary stages (L.
Liu et al. 2011); adhesive spreading on the lower sheet surface; assembling and applying
pressure; laser welding; and finally, curing.
Liu et al. (L. M. Liu et al. 2007) did a study to compare the shear strength of Al-Mg lap
joints between laser welding and LWB. Three batches of samples were prepared using distinct
processes, namely laser welding alone, adhesive bonding alone, and finally LWB process. The
tensile shear force of samples is displayed in Figure 17 below. The results show that laser
welded joints have the lowest value, while LWB joints have the maximum average value of
5.79kN. This indicates that LWB improved shear strength compared to its counterparts.
The cross section of the samples was compared. It was observed that LWB joints also
showed improvements in the penetration depth. A secondary electron image of the laser welded
and LWB joints was also investigated, and the results showed lower presence of Al3Mg2 and
Al12Mg17 IMCs. In addition to that, images from electronic probe microanalyzer (EPMA)
analysis of both joints show a higher volume of aluminum present in the fusion zone of LWB,
indicating a better weld mixture was achieved. It was postulated that better mixing in LWB was
induced by the adhesive gasifying and fusion metal flowing of base metals (L. M. Liu et al.
2007; H. Y. Wang et al. 2013).

Figure 17. Tensile shear force of the laser welded samples, the adhesive bonded samples and the LWB
samples (L. M. Liu et al. 2007).
 Dissimilar Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium Alloys 229

Therefore, a solid correlation can be made where better tensile shear force was achieved
using LWB through better penetration, improved mixing and mitigation of brittle Al-Mg based
IMCs. In essence, LWB has proven to be a novel and reliable technique to enhance joint
strength through several conclusive reports. However, the issue arises whether such method
can be considered industrial-friendly, since it involves several processes to join a single sample
as mentioned above (L. Liu et al. 2011). Another concern involves the process of curing. Data
is scarce in terms of the specific temperature and duration. However, given the intention of this
step is to further enhance the adhesive bond, one wonders whether such additional heat input
negate the positive effect by promoting thicker IMC layers. This is possible, considering reports
that temperatures even below the eutectic lines could promote react diffusion that creates
Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17 layers (Yamamoto et al. 2009). The practicality of this approach in
industrial environments is questionable and should therefore be tested before it can be
considered viable.

3.3. Addition of Metallic Interlayer/Filler

Another promising technique to mitigate Al-Mg reactions is through adding metallic

interlayer (usually utilized for melt through laser welding) or filler metals (usually for edge line
laser welding). The concept behind this approach is fairly simple; the metallic interlayer/filler
is placed between the base metals during welding and acts as a substitute to replace Al-Mg
reactions by developing reactions with aluminum, magnesium or both base metals during
welding. This mechanism allows limited Al-Mg reactions, consequently mitigating Al-Mg
based IMC phases.
As can be seen in Table 3, various metallic interlayers have been proposed which equally
shows improvements to the weld joint. However, Shah et al. (Shah, Gerlich et al. 2018) did an
in-depth and systematic review regarding Al-Mg dissimilar laser welding with interlayer/filler
and proposed a simple 3-step guideline in order to select a suitable interlayer for a given Al-
Mg joint. The flow chart of the 3-step guideline is as shown in Figure 18.
To select a suitable interlayer, the design guideline proposes examining it through 3 steps.
The first step is assessing the thermodynamics aspect of the interlayer. Is the formation
enthalphy (ΔH) and Gibbs energy of compound (ΔG) of the particular interlayer combination
between Al and Mg lower than that of the Al-Mg system/IMC? If it is, then the interlayer
undergoes the second step by assessing the IMC’s ductility (relatively low hardness), which
should ideally present better ductility than the Al-Mg IMC. Other processing aspect such as
accessibility and cost are also considered in this step. Finally, the last step is to conduct a
feasibility study through empirical trials in order to optimize the welding parameters. By
following the design guideline, a suitable interlayer can be chosen to enhance the weldability
of Al to Mg.

4. FRICTION STIR WELDING OF AL-MG

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding process of consolidating base metals
through severe plastic deformation.
230 L. H. Ahmad Shah

Figure 18. The 3-step design guideline for interlayer selection in Al-Mg (Shah, Gerlich et al. 2018).

A special tool consisting of a pin and a shoulder is rotated rapidly and plunged into the
workpiece and traverse linearly at the faying interface to form a complete joint. This technique
is seen to be one of the effective means to join Al and Mg by limiting and controlling welding
temperatures through solid state welding (L. Liu et al. 2014).
While formation of IMCs is still unavoidable, a key component in FSW that mitigates its
effect is mechanical interlocking. Due to severe plastic deformation, the bonding interface
forms a mechanical bonding by its complicated geometry which enhances the mechanical
strength. In addition, possible formation of intercalated lamellar structures at the weld zone
enables stress distribution to avoid premature cracking during the cooling period of FSW (Shah,
Othman et al. 2018).
 Dissimilar Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium Alloys 231

Shah et al. (Shah, Othman, et al. 2018) did a comprehensive review regarding the current
progress of Al-Mg FSW and therefore shall not be repeated in great detail here. From the
numerous works listed, they analyzed and clustered the welding interfaces into three types,
namely; distinct boundary (Type I), lamellar structure with distinct boundary (Type II), and;
complex lamellar structure with distinct boundary (Type III). These welding interfaces are
shown in Figure 19. As can be seen, the complexity and contact area between both metals
increases from Type 1 to Type III. The later type joint is seen to be the most ideal with generally
higher strength compared to the other types due to more intricate mechanical interlocking and
larger bonding surface.

Figure 19. Schematic of possible variations bonding interface of Al–Mg FSW; (a) Type I, distinct
boundary, (b) Type II, lamellar structure with distinct boundary, and (c) Type III, complex intercalated
lamellar structure (Shah, Othman et al. 2018).

Figure 20. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS) vs. fraction of melting temperature (T/Tm) of selected Al
alloys (Shah, Othman et al. 2018).
232 L. H. Ahmad Shah

Table 5. Welding setup suggestions that can maximize Al-Mg FSW joint strength
(Shah, Othman et al. 2018)

Welding setup Suggestions

Material selection 1××× and 6××× series for Al
AZ31 and AZ31B for Mg
Base metal positioning Al on the advancing side
Mg on the retreating side
Tool design and offset Threaded and flats pin, concave shoulder, zero
offset.
Revolutionary pitch 0.04 – 0.1mm/min

While FSW parameters such as revolutionary pitch (welding speed to rotational speed
ratio), tool design and tool offset, i.e., offsetting tool position from the faying surface, varies
among the works found in literature, an interesting trend can be observed with regards to
material selection and base metal positioning.
Owing to its relatively low flow stress which is roughly associated with the alloy’s
temperature-dependent ultimate tensile strength (UTS) (Figure 20), 1××× and 6××× Al alloys
are seen to be the optimal yet versatile base metals when selecting aluminum alloys. On the
other hand, AZ31 and AZ31B Mg alloys are commonly chosen for the magnesium counterpart
(Shah, Othman et al. 2018).
The base metal positioning setup between advancing side and retreating side is another a
crucial consideration in Al-Mg FSW. The advancing side is defined as the side where the tool
rotational direction is similar to the welding traverse direction, while the retreating side is the
side where the tool rotational direction is the opposite of the welding traverse direction. In this
regard, reported data suggests that aluminium alloys are much more suitable to be positioned
in the advancing side, while the Mg base metal can be positioned in the retreating side.
Such setup is postulated to promote better intermixing to form Type III bonding interface,
which strengthens the weld joint (Shah, Othman et al. 2018). The summary of the suggested
welding setup to maximize Al-Mg FSW joint strength is tabulated in Table 5.

CONCLUSION
Research in aluminum-magnesium dissimilar welding have been progressively advancing
through the years, and has not shown any sign of slowing down due to its enormous application
possibilities. It is therefore imperative that a proper Al-Mg IMC mitigation design guideline
should be put forth for future undertakings. By understanding the fundamental reasons behind
the incompatibility between Al and Mg and utilizing the advantages of the non-conventional
welding processes, several approaches can be taken to improve weld of these alloys.
In-depth analysis of literature has made it possible to propose a general guideline for both
dissimilar Al-Mg laser welding and FSW. Therefore, the 3-step design guideline for laser
welding and the welding setup suggestions for FSW can be used as a good reference point to
improve the Al-Mg weld outcome in the foreseeable future.
 Dissimilar Welding of Aluminum to Magnesium Alloys 233

FUNDING
The author is grateful to the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and Universiti
Malaysia Pahang for providing research funding (RDU210319).

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 9

HYBRID METAL EXTRUSION AND BONDING

Øystein Grong1,2, Lise Sandnes1, Paolo Ferro3,

and Filippo Berto1
1Department
of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering,
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
2HyBond AS, NAPIC, Norway
3Dipartimento di Tecnica e Gestione dei Sistemi Industriali,

Universita’ degli studi di Padova, Padova, Italy

ABSTRACT
In this chapter, a new and novel solid-state joining method for metals and alloys is
presented, where the best features of gas metal arc welding, friction stir welding and cold
pressure welding are combined. The invention, which is known as the Hybrid Metal
Extrusion & Bonding (HYB) process, utilizes continuous extrusion as a technique to
squeeze the aluminium filler material into the groove between the two plates to be joined
under high pressure to achieve metallic bonding. The PinPoint extruder is the core of the
HYB technology. This is because the different tool parts constituting the extruder head are
both interchangeable and replaceable so that their geometry can be tailor-made to handle a
wide range of different applications, ranging from butt, lap, slot, fillet and multi-pass
welding to plate surfacing and additive manufacturing. Originally, the idea was to use the
HYB process only for welding of aluminium alloys. But over the years the method has
evolved into a multi-material joining process capable of handling a wide range of base
metal combinations (Al, Fe, Ti and Cu). At present, up to four different metals can be
joined together in one pass using the HYB PinPoint extruder and AA6082 as filler wire. In
the future the advantages of customising the filler wire composition for specific welding
applications will be further explored.

Keywords: solid state joining, continuous extrusion, hybrid metal extrusion & bonding,
aluminium alloys, filler metal additions, dissimilar metals, dissimilar alloys, multi-material
joining


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
238 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

NOMENCLATURE

Symbols

AFM cross-sectional area of groove to be filled with extrudate (mm2)

Aw cross-sectional area of the filler wire (mm2)
d plate thickness (mm)
d diameter of steel container (mm)
e elongation
E gross heat input during extrusion and joining (kJ/mm)
F compressive axial force (N)
FF groove fill factor (%)
k I-groove width (mm)
K0 modified Bessel function of second kind and zero order
K1 modified Bessel function of second kind and first order
total grip length in continuous extrusion (mm)
1 length of grip zone within extrusion chamber (mm)
2
length of pressure build-up zone during extrusion (mm)
tot total length of extrusion chamber (mm)
Mt torque acting on the drive spindle during extrusion & joining (Nm)
Ns drive spindle rotational speed (RPM)
N *
s
drive spindle rotational speed necessary to achieve full groove filling (RPM)
p normal stress or contact pressure (MPa)
pe extrusion pressure (MPa)
pd total pressure drop in die region (MPa)
q0 net power input in heat flow model (W)
r radius vector in heat flow model (mm)
rs distance from centre of rotating pin to mid position in extrusion chamber (mm)
t time (s)
*
t time constant in diffusion model (s)
T temperature (oC or K)
T0 initial (preheating) temperature in heat flow model (oC)
Tp peak temperature in heat flow model (oC)
v extruder travel speed (mm/s)
vs circumferential velocity of drive spindle (mm/s)
vw actual wire feed rate during free extrusion (mm/s)
w width or height of slot constituting the extrusion chamber (mm)
Wc amount of heat per unit time being removed from extruder by CO2 coolant (W)
Wg gross power input during extrusion and joining (W)
Wt total power consumption during extrusion and joining (W)
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 239

X IMC layer thickness (μm)

Xr chosen reference value of X (μm)
Y surface exposure or area fraction of pure (oxide-free) aluminium
 slip factor
p plastic strain
 thermal conductivity (W/mmoC)
 coefficient of friction
c volume heat capacity of aluminium (J/mm3oC)
o aluminium flow stress (MPa)
y local yield strength at contact interface (MPa)
 YS yield strength (MPa)
 UTS ultimate tensile strength (MPa)
 shearing stress (MPa)
i interfacial shearing stress (MPa)
o aluminium yield stress in pure shear (MPa)
 contact width between filler wire and steel slot walls within grip zone (mm)
 maximum grip angle (degrees)

Abbrevations

Al-Al aluminium component

Al-Fe aluminium-steel component or aluminium-steel interface
AM additive manufacturing
AS advancing side
BF bright field
BM base metal
BSE backscatter electrons
CPW cold pressure welding
CRB cold roll bonding
CVN Charpy-V notch
DFW diffusion welding
DIE divergent extrusion
EDS energy dispersive spectroscopy
EXW explosion welding
EZ extrusion zone
FE finite element
FD finite difference
FM filler metal
FOW forge welding
FRW friction welding
FSW friction stir welding
FSSW friction stir scribe welding
240 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

FZ fusion zone
FW filler wire
GMAW gas metal arc welding
HAADF angle annular dark field
HAZ heat-affected zone
HPW hot pressure welding
HYB hybid metal extrusion & bonding
IMC intermetallic compound
LBW laser beam welding
ROW roll welding
RS retreating side
RT room temperature
SAED selected area electron diffraction
SEM scanning electron microscope
STEM scanning transmission electron microscope
TEM transmission electron microscope
TMAZ thermo-mechanically affected zone
USW ultrasonic welding
UTS ultimate tensile strength
WC tungsten carbide

1. INTRODUCTION
Cold welding can be regarded as one of the oldest solid-state joining techniques, dating
back to the second or first millennium B.C. In ancient times it was used for joining gold and
silver, both separately and in combination, by the Greek Mycenaean civilization for decoration
purposes (Haisma and Spierings, 2002). The first scientific study of cold pressure welding
(CPW) of lead dates back to 1724 when Rev. J. T. Desaguliers, more or less accidentally,
stumbled over the phenomenon as it was demonstrated to him by a Mr. Trievall in Newcastle.
Later, the same year in Edinburgh, Desaguliers repeated the experiment before the Royal
Society in London, and subsequently documented his experiment in the society’s journal,
Philosophical Transactions (Desaguliers, 1725).
Today, the term solid-state joining covers both CPW and a number of other processes as
well such as diffusion welding (DFW), explosion welding (EXW), forge welding (FOW),
friction welding (FRW), friction stir welding (FSW), hot pressure welding (HPW), roll welding
(ROW) and ultrasonic welding (USW) (AWS Welding Handbook, 2007). All these processes
have in common the ability to enable coalescence at temperatures essentially below the melting
point of the base materials to be joined, without the addition of a brazing filler metal (Grong,
2012). Because there is no melting involved, the metals being joined will largely retain their
microstructural integrity without forming a fusion zone (FZ) and a wide heat-affected zone
(HAZ) with degraded properties, which is the main problem with traditional fusion welding
(Grong, 1997). Also in dissimilar metals joining the solid-state methods offer considerable
advantages compared to fusion welding due to the reduced risk of excessive intermetallic
compound (IMC) formation and subsequent interfacial cracking - all being the result of large
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 241

differences in chemical composition, crystal structure, thermal expansion and conductivity

between the two components to be joined (Mazar Atabaki et al., 2014).

Extruder head with

rotating pin
Entry hole for thermocouple
Filler wire
entry hole
Escape hole for flash Welding
direction
FM flow
Filled groove direction Open groove

(a)

Extruder

Filler wire feeding unit

CO2 cooling system

(b)

Figure 1. Illustrations of the experimental set-up during butt welding of aluminium plates (a) close-up
of the “pin-in-groove” situation and (b) snapshot of the HYB PinPoint extruder in operation.

In this chapter, a new and innovative solid-state joining method for metals and alloys is
presented, where the best features of gas metal arc welding (GMAW), FSW and CPW are
combined. The invention, which is known as the Hybrid Metal Extrusion & Bonding (HYB)
process, utilizes continuous extrusion as a technique to squeeze the aluminium filler metal (FM)
into the groove between the two plates to be joined under high pressure to achieve metallic
bonding (Berto et al., 2018, Grong et al., 2019a, Grong et al., 2019b, Sandnes et al., 2018,
Sandnes et al., 2019a, Sandnes et al., 2019b, Sandnes et al., 2020a). Figure 1 shows the
experimental set-up during butt welding of two aluminium plates. The plates are separated from
each other by a fixed spacing k so that an I-groove forms between them. In a real joining
situation, the extruder head slides along the joint line at a constant travel speed. At the same
time the rotating pin with its moving dies is placed in a submerged position below. This allows
the extrudate to flow downwards in the axial direction and into the groove under high pressure
242 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

and mix with the base metal (BM) without reaching a semi-liquid state. Metallic bonding
between the FM and the BM then occurs by a combination of surface expansion, oxide
dispersion and severe plastic deformation. By proper adjustment of the wire feed rate (through
control of the rotational speed of the drive spindle), the entire cross-sectional area of the groove
can be filled with solid aluminium in a continuous manner.
Originally, the idea was to use the HYB process only for simple butt joining of aluminium
plates and profiles (Grong, 2012). However, over the years the method has evolved into a multi-
functional joining process capable of handling different joint configurations and groove
geometries as well as BM combinations, as illustrated in Figure 2. The aim of the present
chapter is to provide a broad overview of the HYB process and its applications, starting with a
review of the working principles of the PinPoint extruder (which is the core of the HYB
invention) and the essential process parameters involved. Then some examples will be
presented of how the HYB process can be accommodated to specific joining operations through
the combined use of smart tool and joint designs. Also the performance of the PinPoint extruder
during aluminium-aluminium (Al-Al) and aluminium-steel (Al-Fe) butt welding will be
described more in detail to shed light upon the complex material flow pattern in the groove
along with the underlying bonding mechanisms involved. Then, following a brief introduction
to the governing heat flow phenomena, some new ground-breaking results, emphasizing the
multi-functional joining capabilities of the HYB PinPoint extruder, are presented towards the
end of the chapter.

Multi-pass welding
Fillet welding
Stringer bead
deposition
Plate surfacing
Butt welding
Additive
manufacturing
Slot and lap welding

Dissimilar metals welding

Spot welding

Blue: Documented
HYB Green: Deemed possible
PinPoint
extruder
(2021)

Figure 2. Possible applications of the HYB PinPoint extruder.

2. FUNDAMENTALS OF THE HYB PROCESS

The symbols and abbreviations used throughout this chapter are defined in the
Nomenclature. The corresponding units are provided in brackets in the symbol list.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 243

2.1. Continuous Rotary Extrusion

It is appropriate to start this section with a brief review of the principles of continuous
rotary extrusion, which is the technology platform on which the HYB method is founded.
Broadly speaking, extrusion is the process by which a block of metal (termed billet) is reduced
in cross section by forcing it to flow through the die orifice under high pressure (Dieter, 1986).

2.1.1. General Principles

The two most important types of extrusion processes are direct extrusion and indirect
extrusion, as shown schematically in Figures 3 (a) and (b), respectively. In both cases the billet
is placed in a container and driven through the die by a ram. However, in indirect extrusion the
die is embedded in the ram and kept stationary, while the container with the billet is forced to
move.

Container Container

Billet Ram Billet Outlet

Outlet Ram

(a) (b)

Container
Filler
wire

Wheel
Wheel
Billet Outlet
Ram
Abutment Shoe

(c) d)

Figure 3. Schematic illustrations of different types of extrusion (a) direct extrusion, (b) indirect
extrusion, (c) indirect extrusion where the end plate of the container is removed and (d) continuous
rotary extrusion.

Because there is no relative motion between the wall of the container and the billet in
indirect extrusion, the frictional forces (and thus the required power) are lower compared to
direct extrusion (Dieter, 1986).
Consider now the hypothetical case shown in Figure 3 (c), in which the end plate of the
moving container is removed at the same time as the billet is kept in place solely by the
frictional forces acting along the sidewalls. Under such conditions indirect extrusion would still
be feasible as long as the frictional forces are larger than those required to press the billet
through the die orifice. A similar situation exists in the continuous case, where the moving
container is replaced by a rotating extrusion wheel provided with a slot for metal feeding and a
stationary shoe with abutment and die, as illustrated in Figure 3 (d). This analogy provides a
244 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

simple way to illuminate the force balance involved and the important process parameters that
come into play during continuous rotary extrusion.

2.1.2. Overall Force Balance for Continuous Rotary Extrusion

Friction plays an important role in all metal forming operations. This is particularly true in
continuous rotary extrusion, where friction also contributes to the pressure build-up in the front
of the die, which is a necessary condition for extrusion.
According to the Coulomb sliding friction model, the coefficient of friction  is equal to
the ratio between the shearing stress    i and the normal stress p acting on a workpiece
being pressed against the tool surface (Dieter, 1986):

i
 (1)
p

In metal forming the friction coefficient reaches its peak value when sticking friction
occurs. Under such conditions, in which there is no relative motion between the workpiece and
the tool, the interfacial shearing stress  i is identical to the flow stress of the workpiece material
in pure shear  0 . Taking  0 equal to the flow stress of the same workpiece material in
compression, this leads to the following expression for the coefficient of friction, according to
the von Mises yield criterion (Dieter, 1986):

i 0 0 / 3 1
     0.577 (2)
p 0 0 3

The assumption of sticking friction will now be applied to the situation described
previously in Figure 3 (c), which is a good model system for continuous rotary extrusion. Let
pd denote the total pressure drop in the die region due to friction and plastic deformation. In
order to facilitate extrusion, the extrusion pressure pe must exceed  pd . Because the end plate
of the moving container in Figure 3 (c) has been removed to mimic continuous rotary extrusion,
only the frictional forces acting along its sidewalls will contribute to the extrusion pressure
build-up in front of the die. Thus, if d  is the diameter of the cylindrical container with the billet
in place and is the total grip length, the force balance under full sticking friction conditions
becomes:

 
4
d   2
pe   d   0 
4
d 
 2
pd (3)

from which

d  pd 3 d  pd
  (4)
4 0 4 0
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 245

Equation (4) shows that the total grip length required to force the billet material to flow
through the die orifice in continuous extrusion depends both on the diameter of the container d 
and the total pressure drop in the die region due to friction and plastic deformation pd . This
means that both down-scaling and optimisation of the process is possible using simple scaling
parameters like the / d  ratio, which is essential if the requirements being set to the
operational characteristics of the HYB PinPoint extruder shall be met.

2.2. The HYB PinPoint Extruder

In the HYB case a rotating drive spindle is used instead of an extrusion wheel. As shown
in Figure 4 (a), the current version of the HYB PinPoint extruder is built around a 12 mm
diameter rotating pin provided with an extrusion head with a set of moving dies through which
the aluminium is allowed to flow.

Extrusion Inlet hole for wire

Extruder head chamber
Filler wire
vw
1
Rotating
spindle Grip zone
tip Rotating pin with Abutment
moving dies
Rotating drive
spindle

Compression
zone
rs Extrusion
pressure
vsbuild -up Stationary
zone housing
2
Rotating pin

(a) (b)

Figure 4. The working principles of the HYB PinPoint extruder (a) vertical section through the extruder
head and (b) horizontal section through the extrusion chamber.

Since the pin being attached to the drive spindle is rotating at a constant speed 𝑁𝑠 , the inner
extrusion chamber with its three moving walls will drag the filler wire (FW) both into and
through the extruder due to the imposed friction grip. At the same time, it is kept in place inside
the chamber by the stationary housing constituting the fourth wall. During the flow through the
extrusion chamber the FW loses its structural and mechanical identity due to the combination
of excessive heating and severe plastic deformation (Leoni et al., 2020a). To emphasise this
change of identity the aluminium is instead termed the FM at the time it hits the stationary
abutment intersecting the extrusion chamber. The aluminium is then forced to flow against the
abutment blocking the extrusion chamber and subsequently (owing to the pressure build-up)
continuously extruded through the moving dies in the pin head. They are, in turn, helicoid-
shaped, thereby preventing the pressure from dropping on further extrusion of the FM in the
axial direction of the pin and downwards into the groove. Furthermore, if the stationary housing
also is equipped with a separate die at the rear for partial outlet of the FM, a weld reinforcement
can be formed by controlling the flow of aluminium in the radial direction.
246 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

Figure 4 (b) shows a horizontal section through the extrusion chamber. The distance from
the centre of the rotating pin to the mid position in the slot constituting the extrusion chamber
is rs . The total length of the extrusion chamber tot is, in turn, defined by the radius rs and the
maximum FW/FM grip angle  , taking tot  2  rs  / 360  . In the current extruder design
rs  6.7 mm and   280 , which gives
0
tot  33 mm.

2.2.1. Predicted Filler Wire Grip Length

Figure 5 shows a vertical section through the extrusion chamber consisting of three rotating
walls and one stationary wall. For the sake of simplicity, it is assumed to be quadratic (i.e., of
equal width and height w), but with the same cross sectional area as the actual extrusion
chamber used in the current version of the PinPoint extruder, which is conically-shaped. Note
that within the grip zone of the extrusion chamber the real contact width  between the FW and
the slot wall is significantly smaller than w, as indicated in Figure 5.

Rotating spindle tip

Stationary housing
Δ
Rotating pin

FW
w

w
Rotating pin

Figure 5. Schematic drawing of a vertical section through the extrusion chamber.

In order to facilitate yielding and upsetting of the FW within the grip and compression zone
it is essential that the total frictional force at the inlet position is sufficiently large to drag the
wire into the extrusion chamber. Recalling that only two of the chamber walls are effective in
the sense that they contribute to the wire pull, this frictional force is given by the following
equilibrium equation:

2 0  1  2 0   1   0 w2 (5)

where 1 is the corresponding FW grip length, as defined in Figure 4 (b).

Taking   w / 4 as a typical value for the contact width at start-up of the wire feeding
during continuous rotary extrusion (Etherington, 1974), one get:
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 247

1
0  w 1   0 w2 (6)
2

from which

2w
 (7)

1

Equation (7) predicts that the FW grip length 1

is uniquely defined by the two parameters
w and  . For feeding of ɸ1.4 mm wire through the current version of the HYB PinPoint extruder

a typical value of w would be 1.35 mm. Moreover, a sensible value for  during hot forming
of aluminium alloys like extrusion is 0.4 (Valberg, 2010). This suggests that the minimum
necessary grip length is close 7 mm under the prevailing circumstances, which corresponds to
approximately 20 percent of the total length of the extrusion chamber enclosure tot . On the
other hand, it is evident from the above force balance that even small discrepancies in the
extrusion chamber geometry may result in large variations in 1 because the total frictional
force, in practice, also depends on the contact width  . Therefore, if the grip length becomes
too small, the wire feeding will be difficult and eventually come to a full stop.
In the HYB PinPoint extruder, where the sharp curvature of the extrusion chamber reduces
the effective grip length to a level where slip may occur, the problem has been solved by
mounting a separate wire feeding unit in front of the extruder close to the inlet hole, as shown
previously in Figure 1 (b). This system, with its feed rollers and stiff wire guiding tube, is
analogous to the one used in conventional GMAW, with the exception that the HYB wire
feeding unit is pneumatically-controlled to ensure a constant push force acting on the incoming
FW, independent of the actual pull force provided by the extruder.

2.2.2. Predicted Length of Extrusion Pressure Build-up Zone

When the FW leaves the grip and compression zone and enters the next one, the pressure
starts to build-up ahead of the abutment. The resulting extrusion pressure pe can, in turn, be
calculated from the following force balance:

2 0 w 2  2  0 w 2  pe w2 (8)

from which

pe  2  2
0 (9)
w
where 2 refers to the total length of the extrusion pressure build-up zone within the extrusion
chamber, as defined previously in Figure 4 (b), while  0 is again the flow stress of the FM
during extrusion and joining.
248 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

Equation (9) predicts that the extrusion pressure is proportional to the total length of the
extrusion pressure build-up zone. Thus, during welding with ɸ1.4 mm FW the maximum value
of 2 is equal to:

2 (max)  tot  1   33  7  mm  26 mm (10)

For welding with AA6082 FW a typical value of  0 would be 50 MPa under extrusion
conditions conforming to steady-state (Leoni et al., 2020b). Then, taking w  1.35 mm and
  0.4 as in the previous example, one arrive at a maximum value for the extrusion pressure
of about 770 MPa for the current version of the HYB PinPoint extruder. This maximum
allowable working pressure is sufficiently large to provide full groove filling and adequate
bonding during butt welding of plates and profiles in the thickness range from 2 to 4 mm (Berto
et al., 2018, Grong et al., 2019a, Grong et al., 2019b, Sandnes et al., 2018, Sandnes et al., 2019a,
Sandnes et al., 2019b, Sandnes et al., 2020a).

3. THE HYB PROCESS CONTROL SYSTEM

The typical set-up during a butt welding operation is shown previously in Figure 1.

3.1. How the Control System Works

The rotary encoder employed in the real-time measurements of the actual wire feed rate is
placed to the left of the FW feeding unit in Figure 1 (b) (not shown here). Because the actual
wire feed rate will be lower than that calculated from the spindle rotational speed (for reasons
that will be explained later), the extent of groove filling during extrusion and joining can be
evaluated from an analysis of the encoder output data being continuously stored in the process
control system and displayed on the computer screen. In a separate window on the same
computer screen the temperature inside the stationary housing is also displayed. The entry hole
for the ɸ1 mm thermocouple is shown in Figure 1 (a), allowing real-time measurements of the
temperature in the steel wall adjacent to the extrusion chamber.
The extruder spindle rotation is controlled by an electrical motor provided with a fixed
gearing. The extruder is attached to the motor drive shaft and the rotational speed is derived
from the optical encoder in the motor. During extrusion and joining the torque may vary,
depending on the applied extrusion conditions and the groove filling ratio. Still, the control
system will secure constant spindle rotation. This is because the servo receives an analogue
signal from the control system. The analogue signal can be interpreted as the motor rotational
speed demand. Using electrical hardware circuits, the servo converts this analogue demand into
a complex flux pattern inside the motor and precisely controls the rotational speed of the motor.
If the rotational resistance increases for some reason (due to internal friction or other changes
in process variables), the servo reacts instantaneously by increasing the electrical power to the
motor in order to maintain a constant rotational speed. This allows the drive spindle torque to
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 249

be calculated from the electrical power consumption and stored in the process control system.
The same torque data can also be displayed in a separate window on the computer screen.

3.2. Examples of Extracted Process Data

Figure 6 shows how the extruder housing temperature and the drive spindle torque typically
evolve during butt welding of 4 mm thick rolled plates of AA6082-T6 using a ɸ1.2 mm
matching FW and the HYB PinPoint extruder. These repeated experiments were carried out to
check the reproducibility of the measurements for a fixed pin rotational speed of 400 RPM and
a welding speed of 6 mm/s. Further details of the experimental programme can be found
elsewhere (Leoni et al., 2020a).
It follows from Figure 6 (a) that the temperature is at its lowest in the beginning of the
welding operation but increases gradually with time as the extruder housing starts to heat-up.
The steady-state temperature is approached towards the end of the plate. Because the initial
extruder temperature increases during a multi-run welding operation (as here) due to heat
accumulation, the housing temperature is seen to be significantly higher in the last welding
trials compared to the first ones. Moreover, Figure 6 (b) shows that the drive spindle torque
typically varies between 70 and 80 Nm under the prevailing conditions. However, because the
internal friction between the moving tool parts tends to increase during a multi-run welding
operation (as here) due to Al-flash accumulation, the torque is seen to be at its highest in the
last two welding trials (i.e., Experiments 5 and 6) and somewhat lower in the first two ones
(i.e., Experiments 1 and 2).

(a) (b)

Figure 6. Examples of extracted process data showing how (a) the housing temperature and (b) the
drive spindle torque evolve during butt welding of 4 mm thick rolled plates of AA6082-T6 using a ɸ1.2
mm matching FW and the HYB PinPoint extruder (Leoni et al., 2020a).
250 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

4. HYB TOOL DESIGN

The design principles applied to the HYB PinPoint extruder represent a synthesis of all
accumulated knowledge and experience gained from the previous extruder developments over
a period of more than 20 years.

4.1. Design Challenges

In the HYB case an optimal extruder design means that a large number of conflicting
requirements must be balanced in a way that meets the benchmarks being set to the extruder
functionality, robustness, performance, competitiveness and resulting joint properties, as
illustrated in Figure 7. This explains why it took more than 20 years of trial and error to solve
the intricate design problem, leading to the novel invention later known as the HYB PinPoint
extruder.

Flexibility

Constricted design
space
Joint
Competitive- properties
ness

Performance

Figure 7. Schematic illustration of the constricted HYB PinPoint extruder design space.

4.2. Examples of Different Pin and Housing Designs

As shown previously in Figure 4 (a), the HYB PinPoint extruder head consists of the
following four parts; (1) the stationary housing, (2) the rotating pin with its moving dies, (3)
the rotating spindle tip and (4) the abutment. However, because the tool parts constituting the
extruder head are both interchangeable and replaceable, their geometry can be tailor-made to
handle a wide range of different applications. Figure 8 shows drawings of different pin designs
that have been developed for specific welding applications. These are used together with the
different housing designs being developed for the same applications.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 251

Bobbin pin for Pin for single and Pin for Pin for plate
butt welding two-pass butt fillet welding surfacing and
welding, slot additive
welding and manufacturing
overlap welding

Figure 8. Drawings showing examples of different pin designs that have been developed for specific
welding applications.

Some examples of various combinations of pin and housing designs that have been tested
out in practice with good result are shown in Figure 9.

Al-Al butt welding Al-Fe fillet welding

Al-Cu lap welding Al-Fe slot welding

Al-Fe plate surfacing Additive manufacturing

Figure 9. Examples of different combinations of pin and housing designs that have been developed for
specific welding applications.
252 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

5. THE ESSENTIAL HYB PROCESS PARAMETERS

In a real welding situation, a vast number of process parameters come into play that will
determine the final properties of the HYB joint. A more in-depth analysis of these parameters
and how they are interrelated are provided elsewhere (Aakenes, 2013). In the present chapter,
only the essential relationships defining the total power consumption and the gross heat input
as well as the wire feed rate and the extent of groove filling during extrusion and joining will
be further elaborated and explored.

5.1. Expressions for the Total Power Consumption and the Gross Heat Input

In the HYB case only a small fraction of the total power input is consumed in extrusion
work. Most of the power input is consumed in redundant frictional work between the rotating
pin, the abutment, the stationary housing and the underlying base plates. However, in all cases
up to 95% of this mechanical work is converted into heat, which mainly becomes absorbed by
the extruder itself. Parts of that heat will immediately be removed again by the applied CO 2
coolant (see photograph of the CO2 cooling system in Figure 1 (b)). In addition, heat is also
generated by frictional sliding contact between the rotating pin and the underlying base plates
analogous to that in FSW, leading to local heating of the groove region and the formation of a
weld HAZ (Leoni et al., 2021). Under optimized conditions the energy efficiency of the HYB
PinPoint extruder is found to be comparable with that of FSW (Sandnes et al., 2020).
Owing to the complexity of the heat generation phenomena involved the drive spindle
torque M t , which is a measure of the total mechanical work performed during extrusion and
joining, is not a parameter that can be used to control the HYB process. Still, based on M t and
the applied drive spindle rotational speed N s , it is possible to calculate the total power
consumption during extrusion and joining Wt from the relationship:

2
Wt  M t Ns (11)
60

Then, after adjusting for the amount of heat per unit time Wc being simultaneously
removed from the extruder by the CO2 coolant, the gross power input Wg during extrusion and
joining is obtained:

Wg  Wt  Wc (12)

Because Wg is analogous to the total power input in conventional electric arc welding, it
can be used to calculate the gross heat input E (in kJ/mm) for the HYB process when the
extruder travel speed v is fixed:
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 253

Wg
E (13)
1000  v

This parameter, which is widely used for specifying the heat input in ordinary fusion
welding, is therefore equally applicable in the HYB case for documenting process control.
However, because E is calculated on the basis of the gross power input during welding and
not the net power input, it is not possible to compare these values with those of other welding
processes (Grong, 1997).

5.2. Expression for the Actual Wire Feed Rate

In general, the circumferential velocity of the rotating drive spindle vs is related to the
applied drive spindle rotational speed N s and the radius rs , which refers to the distance from
the centre of rotating pin to the mid position in the extrusion chamber, through the following
equation (Grong et al., 2019a):

2  rs
vs  Ns (14)
60

These parameters are more explicitly defined in Figure 4 (b).

However, because of sliding between the plasticised aluminium and the steel walls inside
the extrusion chamber, the actual velocity of the incoming FW v w will be lower than that of the
corresponding circumferential velocity of the drive spindle (Leoni et al., 2020a). Taking the
ratio between v w and vs equal to  (≤ 1), the appropriate expression for the actual wire feed rate
during extrusion and joining becomes:

2  rs
vw   vs   Ns (15)
60

Because v w depends on the slip factor  , the velocity of the incoming FW must be
continuously monitored during the joining operation by means of an encoder to enable pre-
setting of N s and adequate control of the groove filling, as mentioned previously in Section
3.1.
Figure 10 shows how the slip factor varies with time during butt welding of 4 mm thick
rolled plates of AA6082-T6 using a ɸ1.2 mm matching FW and a drive spindle rotational speed
of 400 RPM. In general, the slip factor is seen to be highest in the beginning of the welding
operation. In the central parts of the welds the slip factor drops-off, attaining a value between
0.6 and 0.7, before it slightly increases again towards the end. This reflects the fact that the
groove filling in a real joining operation is a self-regulating process in the sense that the extruder
automatically adjusts the slip factor to accommodate the back-pressure build-up. It is the special
design of the extrusion chamber that makes control of the total frictional drag force acting on
the filler wire possible and allows sliding to occur if the pressure build-up in front of the
254 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

abutment becomes too large. Because of this response, the mass balance during groove filling
is always fulfilled without causing damage to the extruder.

Figure 10. Plots showing how the slip factor varies with time during butt welding of 4 mm thick rolled
plates of AA6082-T6 using a ɸ1.2 mm matching FW and the HYB PinPoint extruder (Leoni et al.,
2020a).

Note that in continuous rotary extrusion of AA6082 the  -factor is typically around 0.8,
which is close to that observed for the HYB PinPoint extruder (Leoni et al., 2020a).

5.3. Expression for the Spindle Rotational Speed Necessary to Achieve

Groove Filling

When the HYB PinPoint extruder is coupled to the base plates and used in a real welding
situation, the volume of FM extruded into the groove per unit time must be properly adjusted
in order to enable complete filling of the groove, without creating a large metal surplus or
deficiency. The amount of FM needed is contingent upon the cross-sectional area AFM to be
filled with extrudate, which, in turn, depends on the joint configuration and the actual weld
geometry, as illustrated in Figure 11. In the absence of flash formation, the FM addition can be
calculated from the following volume balance:

Aw vw  AFM v (16)
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 255

where Aw is the corresponding cross-sectional area of the FW and v is again the extruder travel
speed.

AFM AFM
(a) (b)

AFM AFM

(c) (d)

Figure 11. Definition of the cross-sectional area AFM and how it depends on the joint configuration
and weld geometry (a) slick butt weld, (b) reinforced butt weld, (c) slot weld and (d) fillet weld.

In practice, it is often necessary to add more FM than that calculated from Equation (16)
in order to account for loss of aluminium due to flash formation. Therefore, let FF denote the
actual groove fill factor accounting for the flash formation, defined as:

Aw vw
FF  100 (%) (17)
AFM v

Then, after substituting for v w and rearranging Equation (17), the following expression is
obtained for the drive spindle rotational speed N s  N s* , which provides full groove filling
during extrusion and joining:

 60 AFM   FF 
N s*    v (18)
 2  Aw  rs   100 

Equation (18) shows in an explicit manner that N s* is not a free variable but must be
properly pre-set in each case before start-up of the joining operation. This is because it depends
both on the joint configuration and the weld geometry (i.e., on AFM ), the chosen input value
for the groove fill factor FF (estimated from experience data being assembled over the years),
the actual slip factor  and the extruder travel speed v.
256 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

6. MODELLING OF THE FILLER WIRE FEEDING

In two recent studies, finite element (FE) simulations of the HYB filler wire feeding have
been conducted using Version 11.3 of the commercial software package Deform 3DTM (Leoni
et al., 2020a, Leoni et al., 2020b). The CAD files for the FE-model were prepared in
SolidWorksTM to provide true physical representations of the essential extruder parts. However,
since details of the applied simulations conditions have been reported elsewhere (Leoni et al.,
2020a, Leoni et al., 2020b), only a summary of the main results from this modelling exercise
will be presented here.

6.1. Heating of the Filler Wire During Start-Up of the Extrusion Process

Figure 12 shows a snapshot of the calculated thermal gradient in the length direction of the
ɸ1.4 mm AA6082 FW inside the extrusion chamber during start-up. Obviously, the heating of
the FW occurs instantaneously as soon as it starts to deform plastically, reaching a peak value
of about 400oC at a position close to the abutment. This happens long before the stationary
housing begins to heat up.

Figure 12. Calculated thermal gradient in the length direction of the ɸ1.4 mm AA6082 FW inside the
extrusion chamber during start-up (Leoni et al., 2020a).

The delayed heating of the housing, as highlighted previously in Figure 6 (a), reflects the
sluggishness of the process. First of all, it takes time for the heat to diffuse through the walls of
the extrusion chamber and into the housing. Secondly, the heat accumulation will be
counteracted by diffusion both downward in the direction of the cold aluminium plates and
upward into the massive steel stem of the extruder. All these factors contribute to the observed
time-shift between the FW and the housing temperatures. However, after some time, the
differences tend to become smaller as the steady-state temperatures are approached.

6.2. Calculated Filler Metal Velocity and Stress Fields During Extrusion

Figure 13 shows snapshots of the situation existing during start-up of the FW feeding for
three different combinations of wire diameters and drive spindle rotational speeds (i.e., ɸ1.2
mm - 41 rad/s, ɸ1.4 mm - 30 rad/s and ɸ1.6 mm - 23 rad/s). These maps provide quantitative
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 257

information about the material velocity fields and the equivalent stress fields within the
aluminium. The values of the state variables are reflections of how effective the FW feeding is
and how the wires respond to the imposed plastic deformation inside the extrusion chamber
when they become subjected to a constant push force from the wire feed rollers placed on the
outside.

Figure 13. Calculated velocity field and stress field maps for three different FW diameters during start-
up of the wire feeding process (Leoni et al., 2020b).

The response of the FWs to the frictional forces acting on them during start-up can be
deduced from the velocity field and stress field maps presented in Figure 13. A closer inspection
reveals that these maps adequately capture the dependence of the FW feed rate on the spindle
rotation speed. Moreover, Figure 13 shows that the stress level within the wires starts to rise as
soon as they enter the inlet hole in the housing. However, because the resulting wire distortions
associated with these stress fields are small, there is no imminent risk of wire feeding problems
neither for the ɸ1.2, the ɸ1.4 nor the ɸ1.6 mm FW during start-up.
After the tip of the FWs has passed through the grip zone inside the housing, the aluminium
is forced to flow against the abutment intersecting the extrusion chamber. When the required
extrusion pressure in front of the abutment is reached, the FM starts to flow downwards in the
axial direction and through the moving dies in the pin head. If the push force being imposed by
the wire feed rollers causes the FW to bend or buckle before it enters the inlet hole in the
stationary housing, the wire feeding will be obstructed and in certain cases also completely
258 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

blocked. In either case the final outcome may be that the FW actually breaks inside the
extrusion chamber due to necking. This is because the strong pull force provided by the extruder
will drag its embedded front-end towards the abutment at the same time as its bended tail-part
resists the motion. As shown by the simulation results in Figure 14, the ɸ1.2 mm wire seems to
be most vulnerable to breaking, but also the ɸ1.6 mm wire is susceptible to this type of failure.
Apparently, the ɸ1.4 mm wire is the best choice when it comes to minimizing the risk of wire
feeding problems during extrusion and joining. This wire size is also the one that currently is
used in the HYB process.

Figure 14. Calculated stress field maps for the different FWs after they have reached the abutment and
started to upset. The critical positions where either elongation or full separation of the elements occurs
inside the extrusion chamber due to necking are indicated by red circles in the maps (Leoni et al.,
2020b).

Note that the phenomenon of wire breaking inside the extrusion chamber is also something
that is observed in a real joining situation (Leoni et al., 2020b). In the HYB case it is the small
“details” that make the difference between failure and success. The wire feeding problem is a
good example of this, since even a minor misalignment of the extrusion chamber hight or width
from start can cause a full stop in the wire feeding later during operation. Because the FE model
is seen to capture the essence of the problem surprisingly well, it is deemed to be a powerful
tool for both daily problem solving and further optimization of the HYB process.

6.3. Sliding Conditions Inside the Extrusion Chamber

The Deform 3DTM software also allows the slip factor to be evaluated following post-
processing of the output data. By importing the node coordinates and the corresponding
velocity fields for each simulation step into MatlabTM, it is possible to calculate how fast the
ɸ1.4 mm AA6082 FW is moving as a function of time or position inside the extrusion chamber.
Based on the processed data for the velocity fields, the plot shown in Figure 15 for the slip
factor has been constructed.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 259

Figure 15. Processed data for slip factor as calculated from the FE model (Leoni et al., 2020a).

Obviously, the calculated  -values do not depart significantly from the measured ones in
Figure 10. This suggests that the sliding conditions inside the extrusion chamber are adequately
captured by the FE model.

6.4. Torque Acting on the Drive Spindle During Extrusion

Figure 16 shows how the torque varies over time during start-up of the wire feeding, as
calculated using the FE model. Also these results apply to feeding of the standard ɸ1.4 mm
AA6082 FW. To avoid a drastic increase in the computational time and possible overloading
of the software, these simulations only cover the wire feeding start-up part and not the entire
extrusion and joining process, which is impossible to model using Deform 3DTM. Note that the
observed oscillations in the simulated curve are believed to be real in the sense that they reflect
the successive flow of the FM inside the extrusion chamber and through the moving dies in the
rotating pin.
As shown by the plot in Figure 16, the torque will reach a local maximum during the wire
feeding process. This is because the temperature in the beginning of the wire feeding process
will be low and the aluminium flow stress correspondingly high, leading to a rapid increase in
the torque until the peak value of approximately 55 Nm is reached. Then the flow stress starts
to decrease as the temperature inside the extrusion chamber rises, causing the torque to drop
again. Eventually, the steady-state value of about 25 Nm is approached. Note that the simulated
torque response is physically reasonable and similar to that observed during continuous rotary
extrusion of aluminium alloys (Etherington, 1974).
Moreover, based on a comparison with the experimental torque data in Figure 6 (b) it can
be argued that less than 30% of the torque acting on the drive spindle under steady-state
conditions is associated with plastic deformation and sliding work inside the extrusion
chamber. This means that most of the applied torque is associated with redundant frictional
work inside the extruder and plastic deformation work in the groove, in agreement with
experimental observations (Aakenes et al., 2014).
260 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

Figure 16. Plot showing how the torque varies with time during start-up of the wire feeding, as
calculated using the FE model (Leoni et al., 2020a).

7. MATERIAL FLOW PATTERN AND BONDING MECHANISMS

IN THE GROOVE DURING ALUMINIUM BUTT WELDING

During Al-Al butt welding the pin diameter is larger than the groove width to ensure good
contact between the sidewalls of the groove and the pin (see sketch of a possible experimental
set-up in Figure 17 involving the use of a steel backing plate).

Figure 17. Sketch of a possible experimental set-up during HYB butt welding of aluminium plates and
profiles.

Analogous to that in FSW, the side of the joint where the tool rotation is the same as the
welding direction is referred to as the advancing side (AS), whereas the opposite side is referred
to as the retreating side (RS). Hence, the HYB process is, by definition, asymmetrical, as the
force transferred from the rotating pin to the base plates during processing will be different on
the AS compared to the RS (Sandnes et al., 2018). This type of asymmetrical behaviour is also
observed in FSW (Liu and Ma, 2008).
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 261

7.1. Material Flow Pattern

Figure 18 (a) shows a cross sectional macrograph of a 4 mm Al-Al butt joint made with a
conically shaped pin in combination with a grooved steel backing plate. The operational
conditions employed were d  4 mm, k  3 mm, N s  400 RPM, vw  150 mm/s (ɸ1.2 mm
FW), v  6 mm/s and E  0.35 kJ/mm. The exact “pin-in-groove” situation is further
elaborated in Figure 18 (b), where also the characteristic “ghost” interface appearing on the
right-hand side in the image is indicated. Moreover, Figure 19 shows a SolidWorksTM mockup
of the same cross section following metallographic examination of all samples being extracted
from the weld zone.

Figure 18. Cross sectional macrographs of a 4 mm Al-Al butt weld made with a conically shaped pin in
combination with a grooved steel backing plate (BM: AA6082-T6, FM: AA6082-T4) (a) Overview and
(b) “pin-in-groove” situation (Grong et al., 2019b).

Figure 19. SolidWorksTM mockup of the observed material flow pattern within the HYB butt weld
shown in Figure 18 (Grong et al., 2019b).

Obviously, the material flow pattern in this particular HYB weld is both complex and
severe in the sense that the original I-groove becomes completely re-shaped during the welding
operation. The re-shaping occurs as a result of the combined action of the rotating pin (and
shoulder) crushing the groove walls and the directed down-flow of the FM from the upper part
of the extrusion zone (EZ) towards the root region on the AS. As a matter of fact, the FM down-
flow is so vigorous that big chunks of the BM on the AS actually become transferred across the
entire groove, leading to the formation of the characteristic “ghost” interface on the RS
following merging with the crushed groove wall on the opposite flank. Because the “ghost”
262 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

interface reveals a bond strength exceeding that of the tensile strength of the joint (see Figure
20), it does not represent a weak line segment within the weld zone being devastating for the
mechanical integrity.

Figure 20. Results from tensile testing of the “ghost” interface shown in Figure 18 documenting its
superior bond strength (Grong et al., 2019b).

During Al-Al butt welding the temperature in the groove between the two base plates to be
joined is typically between 400°C and 500°C. This is below the process temperature reported
for FSW (Frigaard et al., 2001).

7.2. Bonding Mechanisms

Cold pressure welding provides a good starting point for unveiling the conditions under
which metallic bonding occurs in corresponding HYB aluminium butt welds. In CPW metallic
bonding is achieved by massive plastic deformation. As shown in Figure 21 (a), the
compressive force F being applied along the longitudinal axis of the two components to be
joined causes an expansion of the contact surfaces and a breakup of the original oxide layers.
Metallic bonding is then achieved when the two oxide-free surfaces are brought into intimate
contact with each other on an atomic scale so that aluminium on both sides of the mating
interfaces starts to share valence electrons.
It has previously been verified, both experimentally and by FE simulations, that the
conditions leading to metallic bonding in the solid state between two similar metals like
aluminium is the result of the interplay between three main variables; the surface exposure Y
(which is a measure of the degree of surface expansion), the ratio between the contact pressure
p and the yield strength  y at the interface and the type and extent of surface contamination
(Grong, 2012). In addition, also the mode of deformation matters, i.e., metallic bonding by
sharing of valence electrons is more easily achieved using shear deformation than compression
under otherwise identical experimental conditions (Desaguliers, 1725).
In Figure 21 (b) the combinations of p /  y and Y leading to full metallic bonding during
divergent extrusion (DIE) of AA1050 are compared with those reported for other joining
processes such as conventional CPW and cold roll bonding (CRB) in the presence of surface
oxides and lubricant films at the mating interfaces. As expected, a high contact pressure will
generally ease the bond formation and reduce the actual surface exposure needed to initiate
bonding and vice versa. Also a lower threshold value for the p /  y ratio exists when bonding
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 263

becomes impossible, independent of the applied surface exposure. For commercial purity
aluminium this ratio is close to unity.

Flow stress σ
RT

σy

Plastic strain εp

Work-
F hardened F
Base metal Base metal
material

Flash

(a)

Oxide-contaminated
surfaces

Oxide-free surfaces
(cut welding)

(b)

Figure 21. Key process parameters in cold welding of aluminium; (a) Upsetting, surface expansion and
work-hardening occurring during CPW, (b) Combinations of p /  y and Y leading to full metallic
bonding in commercial purity aluminium using CPW, CRB and DIE, respectively. The minimum
surface exposure needed to initiate bonding in cut welding is indicated by the arrow in the graph
(Grong, 2012).

In the absence of surface contaminations, oxide removal by excessive upsetting is no longer

needed to achieve bonding. Under such conditions considerably less plastic deformation is
required to initiate metallic bonding, as indicated in Figure 21 (b). For example, in cut welding
264 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

(which is a variant of CPW), where oxide removal and surface expansion occur more or less
simultaneously, it has been reported that a surface exposure as low as six percent is sufficient
to achieve full bond strength in commercial purity aluminium (Dorph and De Chiffre, 1995,
Grong, 2012).

Figure 22. Material flow pattern and bonding mechanisms in an Al-Al HYB butt weld made with a
conically-shaped pin in combination with a grooved steel backing plate (Sandnes et al., 2018).

Figure 23. Results from Deform 2DTM simulations of the material flow pattern in the groove during butt
joining of two AA6061 base plates with AA6061 FM at 400°C. Simulation conditions: d  6 mm, k 
2.4 mm (Grong, 2012).
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 265

In the HYB Al-Al butt welding case, metallic bonding is achieved through a combination
of oxide dispersion, shear deformation, surface expansion/surface exposure and pressure, as
shown in Figure 22. This creates favourable conditions for metallic bonding between the FM
and the BM when the new oxide-free interfaces (being formed following the re-shaping of the
groove walls by the rotating pin) immediately become sealed-off by the FM under high
pressure. Particularly, on the AS of the joint the FM down-flow is so vigorous that the resulting
interfacial shear deformation along the groove wall is sufficient to break up and disperse the
surface oxide layers and provide full metallic bonding between the FM and BM. In terms of
accumulated strain this localised shear deformation may exceed a value of 1.5, as indicated by
the Deform 2DTM simulation results in Figure 23.

8. MATERIAL FLOW PATTERN AND BONDING MECHANISMS IN THE

GROOVE DURING ALUMINIUM-STEEL BUTT WELDING
Also during HYB Al-steel butt welding the aluminium and the steel plates are separated
from each other by a groove to enable FM addition (Grong et al., 2019c). Hence, there is no
need for the tool pin to actually machine the steel, as shown by the schematic drawing in Figure
24. The opposite situation exists in FSW, where the two plates are firmly pressed together at
the same time as the tungsten carbide (WC) tool pin is forced to machine the steel plate during
the joining operation (Ramachandran et al., 2015). This is the main reason why the welding
speed must be kept low and the weld heat input becomes correspondingly high during FSW of
aluminium to steel.

Figure 24. Sketch of a possible experimental set-up during Al-steel HYB butt welding.

8.1. Material Flow Pattern

Figure 25 shows a cross sectional macrograph of a 4 mm Al-steel butt weld made with a
conically-shaped pin using the groove design shown in Figure 24 along with a grooved steel
backing plate. The operational conditions employed were d  4 mm, N s  400 RPM, vw  146
mm/s (ɸ1.2 mm FW), v  6 mm/s and E  0.37 kJ/mm. Because the aluminium plate in the
present experimental set-up is located on the AS, the down-flow of the FM from the upper part
of the EZ towards the root region is most extensive on this side. As a result, big chunks of BM
266 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

are transferred across the entire groove from the AS to the RS similar to that observed during
aluminium butt welding. Moreover, a secondary down-flow of FM is also observed on the RS
along the entire Al-steel interface, as indicated by the broken arrow in Figure 25.

Figure 25. Material flow pattern in an Al-steel HYB butt weld made with a conically-shaped pin in
combination with a grooved steel backing plate; BM1: AA6082-T6, BM2: S355 steel, FM: AA6082-T4
(Berto et al., 2018).

Figure 26. Alternative experimental set-up during Al-steel HYB butt welding using a cylindrically-
shaped pin and a straight steel edge in combination with a grooved steel backing plate (BM1: AA6082-
T6, BM2: S355 steel, FM: AA6082-T4) (a) “pin-in-groove” situation and (b) observed material flow
pattern in the groove (Grong et al., 2019b).

Note that neither a change in the position of the two base plates with respect to the pin
rotation direction nor the use of a cylindrical pin in combination with a straight groove edge on
the steel side appear to change the overall material flow pattern, as shown in Figure 26. In this
particular image the contrast is provided by the pertinent difference in the size between
endogenous Mg2Si particles present in the BM and the FM, respectively. In the alternative
experimental set-up outlined in Figure 26 the operational conditions were d  4 mm, k  3
mm, N s  400 RPM, vw  155 mm/s (ɸ1.4 mm FW), v  9 mm/s and E  0.30 kJ/mm.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 267

Nevertheless, having the steel plate located on the AS means that the down-flow of the FM
from the upper part of the groove towards the root region will be most extensive along the Al-
steel interface, where bonding occurs by intermetallic compound (IMC) formation. Under such
conditions the rotating pin-steel interaction is so strong that the interface actually becomes
wavy and about 50% longer compared to that of a straight groove face, thereby providing
additional bond strengthening through mechanical interlocking. In Al-steel HYB welds IMC
formation and mechanical interlocking are the two main bonding mechanisms (Bergh et al.,
2020), as will be documented further in the following section.

8.2. Bonding Mechanisms

Figure 27 shows SEM backscatter electron (BSE) images of the Al-steel interface in a HYB
butt weld produced under similar experimental conditions as the one shown in Figure 26. This
weld has recently been subjected to detailed microstructural and mechanical characterisation
(Sandnes et al., 2021).

Figure 27. SEM BSE images highlighting different features of the Al-steel interface in the HYB butt
weld referred to in the text (a) overview image of the macroscopic wavy nature of the Al-steel interface,
(b) low magnification image of the steel fragments located inside the root region of the Al-FM and (c)
high magnification image showing the fragmented nature of the interface and the IMC layer enclosing it
(Sandnes et al., 2021).

From the overview image in Figure 27 (a) it appears that the interface becomes increasingly
wavy towards the weld root region. Moving on to the close-up of the weld root region in Figure
27 (b), it is evident that steel fragments of various sizes are embedded in the aluminium FM.
At a higher magnification, the fragmented nature of the interface becomes apparent, as shown
by the BSE image in Figure (c). Also, the IMC layer enclosing the Al-steel interface is visible.
268 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

In this particular image the IMC layer thickness is seen to vary from about 0.4 µm to 0.9 µm,
whereas at other locations along the interface it is smaller (i.e., closer to 0.1 µm).
Moreover, evidence of mechanical interlocking between aluminium and steel at the
interface is provided by the high-resolution SEM BSE images in Figure 28 (a) and (b). This
shows that the pin also touches the steel groove wall because of the lateral oscillations arising
from vibrations of the extrusion tool during welding, although only the aluminium groove side
wall is supposed to be machined by the pin in the present experimental set-up (see Figure 26).
It follows that the HYB Al-steel interface at a high magnification bears a close resemblance to
the one recently reported for corresponding lap joints produced using the so-called friction stir
scribe welding (FSSW) process (Wang et al., 2018). In FSSW it is a premise that mechanical
interlocking and IMC formation occur simultaneously during the welding operation to ensure
a highest possible bond strength. Obviously, the same two bonding mechanisms are also
operative during Al-steel HYB butt welding using the pin geometry and the joint design shown
in Figure 26 (Sandnes et al., 2021).

Figure 28. High magnification SEM BSE images revealing details of the Al-steel interface at different
locations along the bond line of the HYB butt weld shown in Figure 27 (a) weld face region and (b)
weld root region (Sandnes et al., 2021).

Finally, high-resolution transmission electron microscope (TEM) examinations have

revealed that the IMC layer that forms along the Al-steel interface during HYB are composed
of adjoining Al-Fe-Si nanocrystals (Bergh et al., 2020). The layer thickness varies from 0.02
μm to 1 μm, depending on the local interface temperature established during the welding
operation (Sandnes et al., 2021). The subsequent indexing of the precession electron diffraction
(PED) patterns points towards the cubic αc-(AlFeSi) phase (Cooper, 1967). This phase typically
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 269

forms in aluminium alloys containing the constituent elements Si, Fe and Mn like the AA6082
FM.

8.3. Modelling of the IMC Formation

Because bonding in Al-steel welds occurs via IMC formation, the reaction layer thickness
X is a key parameter controlling the bond strength. To enable prediction of the layer thickness
in a real welding situation, a simple diffusion model has previously been developed by the
authors (Grong et al., 2019c). The model, which is isokinetic in nature, allows X to be calculated
via the Scheil integral from knowledge of the weld thermal cycle through the following
equation:

t dt
X  Xr 
0 t*
(19)

where X r is a chosen reference value for the reaction layer thickness and t* is the time constant
for the diffusion-controlled reaction in which all relevant activation energies and kinetic
constants are embedded. Further details about the model and how it is constructed are provided
elsewhere (Grong et al., 2019c).
Temperature

IMC layer thickness

Tp (2): 500-550 oC
0.1 to 1 μm

Tp (1): 300-350 oC

Tp (1)

0.02 to 0.04 μm Tp (2)

Time Peak temperature

(a) (b)

Figure 29. Schematic drawings showing how the interface temperature and microstructure become
affected by the additional heat being generated when the pin hits the steel groove wall (a) shift in the
peak temperature of the thermal cycles from Tp (1) to Tp (2) and (b) resulting effect of this temperature
increase on the subsequent growth of the IMC layer (Sandnes et al., 2021).

The observed variation in the IMC layer thickness between different HYB Al-steel butt
welds can be understood if one start to realize how the steel-pin interaction affects the interface
temperature. Unfortunately, no in-situ thermocouple measurements are available for a direct
comparison of the thermal programmes, but a likely scenario is presented in Figure 29 (a). This
is based on a qualitative judgement of the way the peak temperature of the thermal cycles at
the Al-steel interface becomes shifted upwards by the additional heat being generated when the
pin hits the steel groove wall.
270 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

The next step in the analysis is to invoke the isokinetic diffusion model described above.
Based on this model it can be rationalized that the IMC layer thickness is sensitive to variations
in the interface temperature. For example, an increase in the peak temperature, from, say, 300-
350oC to 500-550oC will increase the IMC layer thickness from 0.02-0.04 μm and up to 1 μm,
as illustrated in Figure 29 (b). An IMC layer thickness of about 1 μm is also typical of FS-
welded Al-steel joints (Ramachandran et al., 2015, Grong et al., 2019c), where the tungsten
carbide (WC) tool pin is forced to machine the steel plate during the joining operation.

9. HEAT FLOW MODELLING OF ALUMINIUM-ALUMINIUM

AND ALUMINIUM-STEEL BUTT WELDING USING
THE PINPOINT EXTRUDER

A quantitative analysis of metallurgical reactions in HYB welds requires detailed

knowledge of the thermal history. From a practical point of view the analytical approach to the
solution of heat flow problems in welding is preferable, since this makes it possible to derive
relatively simple equations providing the required background for an understanding of the
temperature-time pattern. In Al-Al butt welding, an analytical treatment is to some extent
possible but not in welding of dissimilar metals like aluminium to steel. This follows from the
underlying assumptions on which the classical analytical solutions are based (Grong, 1997).

9.1. Al-Al Butt Welding

In single-pass aluminium butt welding the classical Rosenthal thin-plate solution can be
employed for prediction of the temperature distribution at pseudo-steady state (Grong, 1997).
Also in the HYB case the isotherms close to the centre-line will approximately be circular in
shape as long as the net power input q0 , the plate thickness d and the extruder travel speed v are
kept within the range normally applicable to thin sheet aluminium welding, as shown in Figure
30. At distances further away they become increasingly elongated.
Under 2D heat flow conditions the peak temperature T p at a given distance behind the heat
source is given by the following equation (Grong, 1997):

  v r c  
 K0  
q0 / d  v r c  2     v r c 
Tp  T0  exp K0   (20)
2   2  v r c    2  
 K1 
  2   

where T0 is the initial (preheating) temperature of the aluminium plates, r is the radius vector
referred to the centre of the penetrating line source, K 0 is the modified Bessel function of
second kind and zero order, and K1 is the modified Bessel function of second kind and first
order. The other symbols have their usual meaning and are defined in the Nomenclature.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 271

Figure 30. Outline of the analytical 2D heat flow model for HYB butt welding.

AS RS
Shoulder

Pin
Thermocouple 1
3mm outside groove

Thermocouple 2
4mm outside groove EZ
Figure 31. Sketch showing the experimental set-up used in the in-situ thermocouple measurements of
the HAZ thermal programme in the HYB Al-Al butt weld referred to in the text.

400
Thermocouple 1
Temperature (oC)

300 Thermocouple 2

200

100

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Elapsed time (s)

Figure 32. Measured thermal cycles for the two thermocouple positions shown in Figure 31.

Quantitative information about the thermal programme during HYB Al-Al butt welding of
4 mm thick AA6082-T6 plates is available for different positions within the HAZ on the AS of
the joint (Leoni et al., 2021). In the exploratory experiment referred to below the following
operational conditions were employed; k  3 mm, N s  400 RPM, vw  142 mm/s (ɸ1.2 mm
AA6082 FW), v  6 mm/s and E  0.24 kJ/mm. Furthermore, the experimental set-up along
with the location of the thermocouples are shown schematically in Figure 31, whereas the
272 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

measured thermal cycles at the same positions are reproduced in Figure 32. The latter plots
show that the peak temperature at these locations varies between, say, 340oC and 390oC.
In Figure 33, the measured peak temperatures are compared with outputs from the 2D heat
flow model. It follows that a net power input of about 820 W is sufficient to raise the peak
temperature at the two positions to the observed levels. Compared to the total power input being
generated during extrusion and joining this is just a minor fraction, suggesting that most of the
heat developed is actually removed from the system through the CO2 coolant and by
accumulation of heat in the extruder housing (Leoni et al., 2021).

500
Peak temperature (oC)

400
Measured peak temperature range

300

Predicted power input

3 mm from groove wall
200

100
4 mm from groove wall

0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Net power input (W)

Figure 33. Comparison between calculated and measured peak temperatures for the two thermocouple
positions shown in Figure 31. The calculations are done using Equation (20) and relevant input data for
the aluminium thermal properties.

Finally, Figure 34 shows plots of the calculated isotherms at the plate surface by inserting
the predicted value for the net power input into the Rosenthal thin plate solution (Leoni et al.,
2021). Because of the inherent assumption of a line source, the analytical heat flow model does
not yield realistic values for the peak temperature inside the EZ. In order to relax that
assumption it would be necessary to replace the line source in the Rosenthal thin plate solution
by a representative distributed heat source of equal strength, as done in the 3D finite difference
(FD) heat flow model previously developed for FSW (Frigaard et al., 2001). This model is also
flexible enough to allow for heat conduction in the through-thickness direction and further into
the underlying steel backing plate. Still, in spite of these shortcomings, the shape of the surface
isotherms, as predicted by the Rosenthal thin plate solution, is consistent with what one would
intuitively expect for an aluminium butt weld of this type (Grong, 1997). Hence, the surface
contour plots shown in Figure 34 are physically reasonable and reflect the energy efficiency of
the HYB process in an adequate manner.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 273

Figure 34. Calculated isotherms at the plate surface using a sensible value for the net power input of
about 820 W in combination with the Rosenthal thin plate solution (Leoni et al., 2021).

9.2. Al-Steel Butt Welding

The pertinent differences in the thermal and physical properties between aluminium and
steel are highlighted in Figure 35. Obviously, these differences are so large that the classical
heat flow solutions (e.g., Equation 20) are no longer valid, since they all are based on the
underlying assumption of uniform BM thermal properties (Grong, 1997). Hence, only a FE
type of model will apply during dissimilar metals joining.

Low alloy steels Aluminium alloys

Thermal conductivity:
Weld

Thermal conductivity:
0.025 W mm-1 oC-1 0.167 W mm-1 oC-1
Thermal diffusivity: Thermal diffusivity:
5 mm2 s-1 62 mm2 s-1
Volume heat capacity: Volume heat capacity:
0.005 J mm-3 oC-1 0.0027 J mm-3 oC-1
Melting temperature: Melting temperature:
About 1520 oC-1 About 650 oC-1
Heat content at melting point: Heat content at melting point:
7.5 J mm-3 1.71 J mm-3
Latent heat of melting: Latent heat of melting:
2.0 J mm-3 0.8 J mm-3
Thermal expansion coefficient: Thermal expansion coefficient:
About 12x10-6 oC-1 About 23x10-6 oC-1

Heat flow

Thermal stress build-up

Figure 35. Compilation of relevant thermal and physical properties for steel and aluminium.
274 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

Figure 36 displays predicted isothermal contours at the plate surfaces of the 4 mm thick
Al-steel butt weld shown previously in Figure 26. This weld was produced using a
cylindrically-shaped pin and a straight steel edge in combination with a grooved steel backing
plate. The simulations, which are just exploratory, are done by employing a modified version
of the FE software package WeldSimTM (Holmen et al., 2015), which has the required flexibility
to account for the operational conditions employed in a pragmatic manner. The characteristic
asymmetrical thermal field of the Al-steel weld is clearly visible in this surface contour plot,
showing that most of the absorbed heat diffuses into and through the aluminium plate. This
observation is not surprising, considering the fact that the thermal diffusivity of aluminium is
approximately ten times higher than that of steel (see Figure 35).
Temperature scale (oC)

Steel Aluminium

Figure 36. Predicted surface isotherms of the 4 mm thick Al-steel butt weld shown previously in Figure
26. Note that the red line indicates the Al-Fe interface. Courtesy of Audun Andre Solberg Teige and
Francesco Leoni (NTNU), 2021.

10. STATUS ON MECHANICAL TESTING OF DIFFERENT HYB WELDS

To attract the attention of the manufacturing industry, HYB must first document that it is
capable of producing high-quality welds with mechanical properties, at least, matching those
of corresponding GMA and FS weldments. All this process development and documentation
work will necessarily take time. Therefore, the results presented in the following section just
provide snapshots of the current status of the HYB technology and the potentials of the method.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 275

10.1. Tensile and Impact Properties of a 4 mm Single-Pass AA6082-T6

Butt Weld

In a recent paper on qualification of the HYB process for offshore applications its aptness
for butt welding of 4 mm AA6082-T6 profiles has been evaluated and benchmarked against
one GMA weld and one FS weld (Sandnes et al., 2020a). Details of the applied welding and
testing conditions can be found in the original research paper.
Figure 37 (a) shows macrographs of the different weld cross-sections. Whereas the solid
state FS and HYB welds are made in one pass, the GMA fusion weld is a double-sided three-
pass (1 + 2) butt joint. The applied welding procedures are in accordance with best practice for
the different methods. The HYB weld consists of a mixture of consolidated FM and thermally
softened BM, where the BM is brought into the groove from the RS of the joint due to the
sweeping action of the rotating pin. It has therefore completely different metallurgical and
mechanical properties compared to the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) of the FS
weld, which only consists of reheated and plastically deformed BM.

Figure 37. (a) Optical macrographs of the HYB, FS and GMA weld cross-sections. The black vertical
lines indicate the inmost position of the HAZ, whereas the coloured horizontal lines display the
hardness indentation paths and (b) measured transverse hardness profiles in the mid-section of the
HYB, the FS and the GMA welds (Sandnes et al., 2020a).

10.1.1. Transverse HAZ Hardness Profiles

The results from the hardness measurements are shown graphically in Figure 37 (b). As
expected, the extent of HAZ softening is seen to be most predominant in the GMA fusion weld,
where the total width of the HAZ is between 12 mm and 15 mm. In contrast, the two solid state
welds display much smaller HAZ widths, ranging from 3 mm to 4 mm in the HYB case and up
to 5 mm for the FS weld. However, the FS weld reveals the smallest hardness reduction of the
three. This results from a comparison of the minimum hardness levels. Obviously, the boundary
between the EZ and the HAZ is the weakest part of the HYB joint, where the properties
achieved are determined by those of the thermally softened BM. This material has not
undergone subsequent plastic deformation as in FSW and is therefore softer than the BM inside
the TMAZ.
276 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

10.1.2. Tensile Test Results

The results from the transverse (T) cross-weld and the longitudinal (L) all-weld tensile
testing are presented in Figure 38 (a) and (b), respectively. It follows that the HYB tensile
properties surpass those of the GMA weld and approach the strength level of the FS weld, both
in the transverse and the longitudinal directions. Still, the HYB weld is the weaker of the two,
as documented by a transverse joint efficiency of 69% compared to 81% for the FS weld.
However, if the comparison instead is based on the yield strength data in Figure 38 (a), the
corresponding strength reduction factors become 61% and 63%, respectively. The latter values
are the ones being incorporated in current design codes for welded aluminium structures and
used for calculating the maximum allowable design stress (Myhr and Grong, 2009). Because
the observed difference between the FS and the HYB strength reduction factors is rather small,
both welds are deemed to exhibit approximately the same load-bearing capacity.

(a)

(b)

Figure 38. Summary of tensile test results for the BM and the HYB, the FS and the GMA welds (a)
transverse (T) tensile specimens and (b) longitudinal (L) tensile specimens. (Sandnes et al., 2020a).

Moreover, the subsequent visual examination of the broken tensile specimens revealed a
good correspondence between the fracture location and the minimum HAZ hardness level in
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 277

all three welds (see Figure 37 (b) for details). Hence, during transverse tensile testing of the
GMA weld necking and final fracture occurred 6 mm to 8 mm outside the FZ, whereas the
transverse FS tensile specimens necked and fractured 1 mm to 3 mm outside the TMAZ.
Similarly, in the HYB case necking and final fracture occurred at the boundary between the EZ
and the HAZ. This is the weakest part of the HYB joint.

10.1.3. Impact Test Results

Finally, the results from the room temperature (RT) Charpy-V Notch (CVN) impact testing
are presented in Figure 37. It follows that the HYB weld exhibits the highest impact toughness
for both notch locations. On the average it is about 20-30% higher compared to the CVN
toughness of the FS weld and considerably higher than the measured values for the GMA weld
and the peak-aged BM.

Figure 39. Summary of impact test results for the BM and the HYB, the FS and the GMA welds
(subscripts denote the location of the V-notch). In six of the seven CVN test series, where a spread in
the measured values was observed, the superimposed error bars represent the standard deviation of
three independent measurements (Sandnes et al., 2020a).

If the recorded HYB impact toughness values instead are reported as energy absorption per
unit area (i.e., J/cm2 as for full-size CVN specimens), an impact toughness of 58 J/cm2 for the
EZ and 44 J/cm2 for the HAZ are obtained. This is impressing, also compared to steel
weldments, where the acceptance criterion for offshore use is 35 J/cm2 or higher.

10.2. Fatigue Properties of a 2 mm Single-Pass AA6060-T6 HYB Butt Weld

Recently, high-cycle axial fatigue testing has also been carried out on a 2 mm AA6060-T6
HYB butt weld made using AA6082 as FM (Sandnes et al., 2020b). Figure 40 shows a
comparison of the linearized S-N curves for the BM and two different sets of welded specimens,
i.e., EZ and EZred. They have both their centre located in the middle of the EZ, but in the latter
set the “kissing bond” defect being detected in the root region of the EZ specimens on the RS
278 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

of the joint has been removed by machining prior to testing. As can be seen from the graph,
both types of welded specimens display fatigue properties that are lower than those of the BM.
This is to be expected, considering the role that weld defects play in the failure development.
Still, the fatigue strength of the EZred specimens does not deviate significantly from that of the
BM specimens, despite the fact that the former ones suffers from surface irregularities at the
weld face acting as stress raisers.

Figure 40. Comparison of linearized S-N curves for the BM and the different welded specimens
sampling the EZ (Sandnes et al., 2020b).

Figure 41. Master plot comparing linearized S-N curves for comparable Al-Mg-Si butt welds produced
using different welding techniques (Sandnes et al., 2020b).

In Figure 41 the measured HYB joint fatigue strength is compared to that reported for
comparable Al-Mg-Si butt welds produced using conventional welding techniques like
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 279

GMAW, laser beam welding (LBW) and FSW. Although the applied testing conditions were
not exactly the same, it is evident from this master plot that the fatigue properties of the 2 mm
AA6060-T6 HYB butt weld exceed those reported for the 3 mm AA6082-T6 GMA butt weld
and are comparable to those reported for the corresponding high-strength LB and FS welds.
Moreover, if the bonding defect at the weld toe on the RS is removed by machining prior to
testing, as done for the EZred specimens, the fatigue properties of the HYB joint also exceed
those of the two latter ones. This shows that the HYB process has not yet reached its ultimate
potential when it comes to optimising weld fatigue strength.

10.3. Tensile Properties of a 4 mm Two-Pass AA6082-T6 Butt Weld

Because HYB involves the use of FM additions, it can also be employed for multi-pass
welding in the solid state. Figure 42 (a) shows a possible experimental set-up during two-pass
butt welding of 4 mm thick AA6082-T6 plates. The bead deposition was carried out under the
following operational conditions N s  350 RPM, vw  125 mm/s (ɸ1.4 mm AA6082 FW), v 
10 mm/s and E  0.19 kJ/mm, which resulted in the weld cross section appearance shown in
Figure 42 (b).
It follows that the two-pass HYB butt weld resembles the corresponding three-pass GMA
butt weld shown previously in Figure 37 (a). However, since the heat input in the HYB case is
much lower, its ultimate tensile strength (UTS) largely exceeds that of the GMA weld (280
MPa vs. 218 MPa for the GMA weld). This shows the advantage of using a novel solid-state
joining method like HYB compared to conventional fusion welding also in a multi-pass
situation.

(a)

HAZ EZ HAZ

(b)

Figure 42. Two-pass butt welding of 4 mm thick AA6082-T6 plates using HYB (a) “pin-in-groove”
situation and (b) photograph of the weld cross section.
280 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

10.4. Tensile Properties of a 4 mm Al-Steel HYB Butt Weld

Figure 43 summarises the results from the tensile testing of the 4 mm Al-steel HYB butt
weld shown previously in Figure 26.

Figure 43. Benchmarking of the HYB process against FSW based on a comparison of tensile test data
reported for different Al-steel butt welds (Grong et al., 2019b).

It follows that the tensile strength of the HYB weld is 264 MPa, which is 29% higher than
that reported for FSW. Because bonding in the HYB case occurs by a combination of
mechanical interlocking and IMC formation (see Figures 27 and 28 for details), the butt joint
has a high intrinsic resistance against interfacial cracking. This is opposed to the situation
existing in FSW, where the IMC layer is typically one to two microns thick and may contain
flaws as well in the form of cracks (Ramachandran et al., 2015). Hence, fracture in the present
HYB butt weld occurs not by crack propagation along the Al-steel interface as in FSW but
rather by necking in the soft HAZ on the aluminium side of the joint (Sandnes et al., 2021).
This is the preferred failure mode from a structural integrity point of view.

11. RECENT ADVANCES IN DISSIMILAR METALS JOINING

Figure 44 shows a selection of dissimilar welds that have been produced using the HYB
PinPoint extruder. More detailed information about the applied metal combinations and
welding conditions is provided in Table 1.
Because the shift from butt, lap and slot welding to fillet welding only requires minor
modifications of the pin and steel housing geometries (see Figure 9), the PinPoint extruder is
very flexible when it comes to handling various joint configurations. In addition, it exhibits
unique multi-material joining capabilities by allowing welding of up to four different metals in
one pass. In the four metals (Al-Cu-Ti-Fe) weld shown in Figure 44 the role of the aluminium
FM is to act as a “solder”, which bonds the other three metals together by IMC formation in a
butt joint configuration. To the authors knowledge this has never been reported before.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 281

Recently, the same Al-Cu-Ti-Fe butt weld has been characterised, both mechanically and
microstructurally, using advanced materials testing in combination with high-resolution
transmission electron microscopy (Bergh, 2021). To unveil the complexity of the bonding
mechanisms involved some of the results obtained following the detailed microstructure
characterisation are summarised below.

1: Al-Fe lap welding 2: Al-Fe fillet welding

BM1 FM
BM1
FM
BM2
BM2
3: Al-Cu butt welding 4: Al-Fe slot welding

FM
BM1 BM2
BM1 FM BM2 BM1 FM BM1

BM2
5: Al-Ti- Fe butt welding 6: Al-Ti slot welding

BM1 FM BM1
BM1 FM BM2

BM3 BM2

7: Al-Cu-Ti- Fe butt welding 8: Al-Fe plate surfacing

BM1
BM1 FM BM2 FM

BM3

Figure 44. Cross-sectional macrographs of different dissimilar welds that have been produced using the
HYB PinPoint extruder. Details of the applied metal combinations and welding conditions are given in
Table 1.

Cu (RS) Ti (AS)

Al-FM

Steel

Figure 45. Optical macrograph of a leached cross section of the multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe HYB butt
weld referred to in the text. Details of the applied metal combinations and welding conditions are given
in Table 1 (see Weld No. 7) (Bergh, 2021).

Figure 45 shows an enlarged macrograph of a leached cross section of the multi-material

Al-Cu-Ti-Fe joint referred to in the text. The macrograph also reveals the Al-FM flow pattern
282 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

inside the EZ. As can be seen from the arrows being superimposed on the optical image, the
Al-FM starts to flow from the top of the EZ on the AS and downwards towards the centre of
the EZ before it continues flowing upwards again on the RS. In the lower part of the EZ the Al
flow is reversed and directed downwards on the RS and upwards on the AS.

Table 1. Summary of experimental conditions employed in the different HYB multi-

material joining trials referred to in the text

Welding parameters
Weld
Materials combinations 𝑵𝒔 𝒗𝒘 𝒗 𝑬
No.
(RPM) (mm/s) (mm/s) (kJ/mm)
1 BM1: AA6060-T6 (plate thickness: 2 mm) 325 116 12 0.14
BM2: S355 steel (plate thickness: 4 mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
2 BM1: AA6082-T6 (plate thickness: 4 mm) 350 146 5.5 0.38
BM2: S355 steel (plate thickness: 4 mm
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
3 BM1: Cu - 0.5 H (plate thickness: 3 mm) 350 125 12 0.16
BM2: AA6063-T6 (plate thickness: 3 mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
4 BM1: AA6082-T6 (plate thickness: 4 mm) 400 163 7 0.33
BM2: SS316 steel (plate thickness: 2 mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.2 mm)
5 BM1: Ti - Grade 2 (plate thickness: 3 mm) 350 125 8 0.24
BM2: AA6082-T6 (plate thickness: 3 mm)
BM3: HTC590 steel (plate thickness: 1.5 mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
6 BM1: AA6082-T6 (plate thickness: 3 mm) 350 125 8 0.24
BM2: Ti - Grade 2 (plate thickness: 3 mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
7 BM1: Cu - 0.5 H (plate thickness: 3 mm) 350 115 6 0.33
BM2: Ti - Grade 2 (plate thickness: 3 mm)
BM3: HTC590 steel (plate thickness: 1.5 mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
8 BM1: Zink-coated steel (plate thickness: 3 350 126 12 0.16
mm)
FM: AA6082 (wire diameter: 1.4 mm)
𝑁𝑠 : Spindle rotational speed, 𝑣𝑤 : wire feed rate, 𝑣: welding speed, 𝐸: gross heat input.

Figure 46 (a) contains a bright field (BF) - scanning transmission electron microscope
(STEM) overview image of a straight part of the Al-Cu interface region shown previously in
Figure 45. A closer inspection of the Figure reveals that the IMC layer consists of two
individual phase layers. The first layer closest to the Al is about 220 nm thick, while the second
layer next to Cu is approximately 190 nm thick. Element maps based on STEM energy
dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) are shown in Figure 46 (b), where the two Al-Cu IMC layers
can be seen together with some smaller Al-Si-Mn and Al-Si-Ti dispersoids. The compositions
of the IMCs are roughly 64 at.% Al and 36 at.% Cu for the first layer closest to the Al-FM, and
32 at.% Al and 68 at.% Cu for the second layer. Based on selected area electron diffraction
(SAED) analysis it is concluded the HYB Al-Cu interface layers mainly consist of the
constituent phases θ-Al2Cu and γ1-Al4Cu9 (Bergh, 2021). This corresponds well with that
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 283

observed in other studies on IMC formation in binary Al-Cu joints (Jiang et al., 1993, Xue et
al., 2010, Galvao et al., 2016).

Figure 46. TEM characterization of the Al-Cu interface region in the multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe butt
weld shown in Figure 45 (a) overview BF-STEM image and (b) STEM EDS element maps showing the
relative compositions in at.% (Bergh, 2021).

Moreover, Figure 47 (a) displays an overview BF-STEM image of the Al-Ti interface
region on the opposite side of the multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe joint shown previously in Figure
45. Figure 47 (b) shows a high angle annular dark field (HAADF) - STEM image of a thin Ti
fragment protruding into the Al-FM. A continuous 50 nm thick IMC layer is seen to cover the
Al-Ti interface. Element maps based on STEM EDS are shown in Figure 47 (c), which reveals
that this layer mainly consists of the elements Al, Ti and Si. The composition of the Al-Ti-Si
layer is roughly 54 at.% Al, 36 at.% Ti and 10 at.% Si, which is indicative of the Ti(Al,Si)3
phase (Bergh, 2021). This phase has also been observed in binary Al-Ti joints produced by
laser welding-brazing (Chen et al., 2011).

Figure 47. TEM characterization of the Al-Ti interface region in the multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe butt
weld shown in Figure 45 (a) overview BF-STEM image and (b) STEM EDS element maps showing the
relative compositions in at.%. (Bergh, 2021).

Finally, Figure 48 (a) contains an overview BF-STEM image of an Al-steel interface region
taken from the middle part of the same multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe joint. A continuous IMC
layer is seen to cover the interface. Its thickness varies from about 0.1 µm in the middle region
and up to 1 µm in the more heavily deformed regions further away. The STEM EDS element
maps in Figure 48 (b) show that the IMC layer is mainly composed of Al, Fe, Si and Cu. The
relative composition of the IMC layer is roughly 68 at.% Al, 19 at.% Fe, 8 at.% Si and 6 at.%
Cu, suggesting that it is composed of the αc-Al15(Fe,M)3Si2 phase and/or the θ-Fe4Al13 phase
(Bergh, 2021). The αc phase has also been observed in binary Al-steel joints (Arbo et al., 2018,
Bergh et al., 2020, Cheng et al., 2010, Springer et al., 2011).
284 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

Figure 48. TEM characterization of the Al-steel interface region in the multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe butt
weld shown in Figure 45 (a) overview BF-STEM image and (b) STEM EDS element maps showing the
relative compositions in at.%. (Bergh, 2021).

12. STATUS ON ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

Another interesting application of the HYB method is additive manufacturing (AM), which
can be done in the solid state without having to melt the substrate or the FM (Blindheim et al.,
2018). So far, two different approaches have been explored. The first one involves the use of
the so-called HYB spindle extruder, where the FM deposition is performed onto a substrate
(BM) being placed on the top of a heating table (Blindheim et al., 2020). In the second approach
the deposition is done directly onto the substrate at RT by employing the HYB PinPoint
extruder.

(a)

Substrate: AA6082
(b)

Figure 49. Photographs of the as-deposited two-layered structure of AA6082 being produced using the
HYB spindle extruder (a) perspective view and (b) cross sectional view (Blindheim et al., 2020).
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 285

12.1. Additive Manufacturing Employing the HYB Spindle Extruder

Figure 49 (a) shows a photograph of the two-layered structure of AA6082 (4 + 3 stringers)

being produced using the HYB spindle extruder (Blindheim et al., 2020). The deposition was
done at a rate of 2.15 kg/h employing a ɸ1.6 mm AA6082 FW and a drive spindle rotational
speed of 100 RPM. During deposition, the substate temperature was kept constant and
approximately equal to 500oC.
Figure 49 (b) shows a section through the structure following quenching to RT along with
the contours of the miniature tensile specimens being machined out from the as-deposited
structure for sampling of the bond strength between the layers. The interface between the
substrate and the extrudate is clearly visible from the macrograph after leaching, showing that
the mating interfaces have merged into a fully dense material. This is also confirmed by the
tensile test results presented graphically in Figure 50, revealing no significant difference in the
UTS of the extrudate compared to the substrate.

Figure 50. Ultimate tensile strength of the substrate material and the bonded layers. The error bars
represent the standard deviation of the measurements (Blindheim et al., 2020).

12.2. Additive Manufacturing Employing the HYB Pinpoint Extruder

Figure 51 shows a photograph of the three-layered structure of AA6082 being produced

using the HYB PinPoint extruder. This structure is made up of 10 stringer beads, each having
a cross section of approximately 2.3 mm x 6 mm.
The deposition was done at a rate of 1.35 kg/h employing a ɸ1.4 mm AA6082 FW and a
drive spindle rotational speed of 350 RPM. During deposition, the substate temperature was
kept constant and close to RT by allowing the component to cool down between each pass.
Although the structure has not yet been subjected to mechanical testing, it appears to be
dense and of comparable quality to the one previously shown in Figure 49. This essentially
means that deposition either can be carried out at elevated temperatures employing the HYB
spindle extruder or “cold” by using the HYB PinPoint extruder at rates which only appear to
be limited by the size of the extruder and the applied FW diameter (Blindheim et al., 2018).
286 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

4 mm
Figure 51. Perspective view of the as-deposited three-layered structure of AA6082 being produced
using the HYB PinPoint extruder.

12.3. Future Outlook

Through subtractive machining real components can be made from the deposited 3D
structures, as indicated in Figure 52. Therefore, in view of the additional advantages that an
extrusion-based process offers when it comes to choice of substate (BM) and FW compositions,
HYB is deemed to have the potential of becoming a viable AM method for aluminium
components in the future (Blindheim et al., 2018, Blindheim et al., 2020).

Figure 52. A demo-part in aluminium produced by the HYB-AM process. Three layers are first
deposited onto a substrate plate. Subsequently, subtractive machining is used to obtain the final net-
shape (Blindheim et al., 2020).
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 287

CONCLUSION
Established solid-state joining techniques for metals like cold pressure welding (CPW) and
friction stir welding (FSW) offer considerable advantages compared to conventional fusion
welding processes such as gas metal arc welding (GMAW) when it comes to energy efficiency
and joint properties. On the other hand, CPW and FSW suffer from the lack of flexibility and
the disadvantage of heavy and less versatile equipment.
In this chapter, a new solid-state joining method for metals and alloys has been presented,
where the best features of GMAW, FSW and CPW are combined. The invention, which is
known as the Hybrid Metal Extrusion & Bonding (HYB) process, utilizes continuous extrusion
as a technique to squeeze the aluminium filler metal (FM) into the groove between the two
plates to be joined under high pressure to achieve metallic bonding. The PinPoint extruder is
the core of the HYB technology. This is because the different tool parts constituting the extruder
head are both interchangeable and replaceable, so that their geometry can be tailor-made to
handle a wide range of different applications, ranging from butt, lap, slot, fillet and multi-pass
welding to plate surfacing and additive manufacturing.
Originally, the idea was to use the HYB process only for welding of aluminium alloys. But
over the years the method has evolved into a multi-material joining process capable of handling
a wide range of base metal combinations (Al, Fe, Ti and Cu). At present, up to four different
metals can be successfully joined together in one pass using the HYB PinPoint extruder and
AA6082 as filler wire (FW). In the spectacular four metals (Al-Cu-Ti-Fe) demonstration joint
referred to in this chapter the role of the aluminium FM is to act as a “solder”, which bonds the
other three metals together by IMC formation in a butt joint configuration. In addition, HYB
has also an unexplored potential for additive manufacturing involving stringer bead deposition
of aluminium onto different metallic substrates like steel, titanium and copper.
Level of maturity

100 %

CPW

GMAW

FSW
HYB

1946 1991 1997 2021 Year

Figure 53. Schematic technology evolution curves illustrating the pertinent time-shift in the maturity
level between CPW, GMAW, FSW and HYB.
288 Øystein Grong, Lise Sandnes, Paolo Ferro et al.

However, since HYB is competing with well-established and mature processes such as
CPW, FSW and GMAW, it will necessarily take both time and considerable research effort to
catch-up with the other methods and bring HYB to the forefront of multi-material welding
technology and additive manufacturing. As a matter of fact, since HYB is a complex solid state
process involving the use of FM additions, it is deemed to be more challenging to industrialize
compared to CPW and FSW. On the other hand, by being the newest process of the four HYB
has the competitive advantage of exhibiting the largest unexploited potential for future
developments. This follows from the technology evolution curves presented in Figure 53,
illustrating the pertinent time-shift in the maturity level between the different methods.
Obviously, HYB has just started the route to becoming an industrial process for conventional
aluminium welding, multi-material joining and additive manufacturing.
Joint strength

CPW
(has reached its
ultimate potential)

FSW
(is approaching its
ultimate potential)

GMAW
(is approaching its
ultimate potential)

Productivity, flexibility and breadth of application

Figure 54. Schematic diagram highlighting the current status of the HYB technology and the direction
of the future process development.

To attract the attention of the manufacturing industry, HYB must first document that the
process is capable of producing high-quality welds with properties exceeding those of
corresponding GMA and FS weldments. In addition, HYB must demonstrate that it has the
potential to compete with both processes in the future when it comes to productivity, flexibility
and breadth of application, as illustrated in Figure 54, highlighting the current status of the
HYB technology and the direction of the future process development. All this work will
necessarily take time. Therefore, the results presented in this chapter just provide snapshots of
the current status of the technology and some possible applications of the HYB process and not
the final picture. Hence, there will be much more to report on HYB in the future.
 Hybrid Metal Extrusion and Bonding 289

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors acknowledge the financial support from HyBond AS, NTNU and NAPIC
(NTNU Aluminium Product Innovation Center). In addition, they are indebted to Tor Austigard
and Ulf Roar Aakenes of HyBond AS for valuable assistance in producing the different HYB
joints being referred to throughout the chapter.

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hybrid metal extrusion & bonding (HYB) process for welding of aluminium offshore
structures. Mat. Design Process. Comm., 2, e194. https://doi.org/10.1002/mdp2.194.
Sandnes, L., Grong, Ø., Welo, T., Berto, F. (2020b). Fatigue properties of AA6060-T6 butt
welds made by hybrid metal extrusion & bonding. Fatigue Fract. Eng. Mater. Struct., 43,
1-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/ffe.13302.
Sandnes, L., Bergh, T., Grong, Ø., Holmestad, R., Vullum, P. E., Berto, F. (2021). Interface
microstructure and tensile properties of a third generation aluminium-steel butt weld
produced using the hybrid metal extrusion & bonding (HYB) process. Mater. Sci. Eng. A,
809, 140975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2021.140975
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the formation and growth of intermetallic phases during interdiffusion between low-carbon
steel and aluminium alloys. Acta Mater., 59, 1586-1600. https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.actamat.2010.11.023.
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Wang, K., Upadhyay, P., Wang, Y., Li, J., Sun, X., Roosendaal, T. (2018). Investigation of
interfacial layer for friction stir scribe welded aluminium to steel joints. J. Manuf. Sci. Eng.
140, 111005(1-9). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040873.
Xue, P., Xiao, B. L., Ni, D. R., Ma, Z. Y. (2010). Enhanced mechanical properties of friction
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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 10

CHARACTERIZATION OF THE MICROSTRUCTURE

OF REFILL FRICTION STIR SPOT WELDED
ALUMINIUM ALLOY JOINTS

A. Kubit1, and T. Trzepiecinski2

1
Department of Manufacturing and Production Engineering,
Rzeszow University of Technology, al. Powst. Warszawy, Rzeszow, Poland
2
Department of Materials Forming and Processing,
Rzeszow University of Technology, al. Powst. Warszawy, Rzeszow, Poland

ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the results of investigations into the effect of the refill friction
stir spot welding (RFSSW) parameters on the microstructure and mechanical properties of
aluminium alloy joints. RFSSW joints were made in 1.6-mm-thick and 0.8-mm-thick
Alclad 7075-T6 aluminium alloy sheets which are commonly used in the aircraft industry.
The main aim of the experimental research was to determine the significance of the
parameters of RFSSW for the strength parameters of the resulting joint. The load capacity
of joints was determined by tensile/shear tests. The classification of defects of the RFSSW
joints has been presented and discussed. The quality of joints is evaluated using optical
microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The results of the investigations of other
researchers on refill friction stir spot welding in aluminium alloy joints have been also
reported. It was found that elimination of the bonding ligament, which decreases the weld
strength, is possible by increasing the tool rotational speed and duration of welding. Due
to good metallurgical bonding and mechanical mixing an increased duration of welding is
beneficial for the shear strength of joints. The stir zone of the weld is characterised by a
homogenous fine-grained microstructure with fully dynamically recrystallised equiaxial
grains.

Keywords: Alclad, aluminium alloy, bonding ligament, friction stir welding, FSW, mechanical
engineering, microstructure, RFSSW, weld defects


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
294 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

1. INTRODUCTION
The possibility of introducing new lightweight aluminium alloys in the aircraft industry is
associated with reducing the costs of producing and assembling components. The development
of solid state joining methods is especially important in the case of 7xxx and 2xxx series
aluminium alloys which are characterised by an inability to be welded using conventional
techniques due to an inadequate microstructure after solidification and porosity in the joint area.
One of the latest mind-opening future technologies is friction stir welding (FSW) developed by
TWI Ltd. in 1991 (FSW, 2020). Unlike conventional methods, the FSW method takes place
without a liquid metal phase. The joining process is performed at a much lower temperature
than in conventional methods (i.e., resistance spot welding), there is no melting of the material,
and in addition the process is environmentally friendly (Gite et al. 2019, Padhy et al. 2018,
Singh et al. 2020). The FSW process involves the insertion of a rotating pin pushing into the
zone between the contacting surfaces of the plates to be joined and moving it along the contact
line. The heat generated during the process softens the material, and the moving and rotating
tool forces mixing of the materials to be joined. The significant plastic deformation
accompanying FSW causes a change in the microstructure of the joints (Meng et al. 2020, Misra
and Ma 2005). Initially, FSW did not find much use, although many of its advantages and
benefits have been demonstrated from its use in industrial applications in which similar and
dissimilar alloys are joined. The development of the FSW method, observed in the two last
decades in Europe, but mainly seen in China and the United States, allowed its intensive
development and wide introduction in industry. In the aerospace industry, the FSW method
was used by the United Launch Alliance to build the Delta and Atlas rockets, and to build the
Orion Crew Vehicle’s outer tanks. In the aircraft industry, on the other hand, the FSW method
was used to connect elements of the rear ramp of a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III transport
aircraft. Airbus used FSW on the Airbus A380 to connect the fuselage panels. Lockhead Martin
and NASA MSFC have developed and implemented FSW on the longitudinal welds of the 2195
Al-Li liquid hydrogen barrel segments of the external tank for the Space Shuttle. Boeing
developed an FSW cargo slipper pallet and produced an FSW cargo ramp toe nail on the C-17
transport (Mahoney and Misra 2007).
One of the variations of the processes that use solid state frictional heating of metals to join
them or change the properties of the surface layer is Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW). This
method involves local friction heating of a joint area by a rotary tool. FSSW is currently
displacing riveting and adhesive bonding of lightweight alloys due to its numerous advantages,
such as (i) it does not require the drilling of holes and the use of rivets which increase the weight
of the structure, (ii) the load capacity of the welded joints can reach values higher than rivet
joints, (iii) no weld element protrudes above the surfaces of the joined elements, and (iv) the
possibility of leakage through the joint is eliminated.
Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding (RFSSW) is a solid-state joining technology which was
developed in Germany in 2002 by GKSS-GmbH (Schilling and dos Santos 2002) as a variety
of conventional Friction Stir Spot Welding (FSSW). In RFSSW technology, the rotational tool
consists of an external stationary holder and rotary elements (pin and sleeve) designed to
plasticise the material to be joined using friction. The construction of the tool allows
independent vertical movement of the pin and sleeve. This allows the production of spot welds
without an exit hole. The basic advantage of RFSSW is to replace mass-adding fastening
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 295

processes, such as screwing or riveting. So, RFSSW has great potential in the automotive,
shipbuilding and aerospace industries. Moreover, this technology can join dissimilar materials
which are difficult to join using fusion welding due to different thermal expansion coefficients
and melting points.
A number of scientific papers deal with the effect of the welding parameters on the
microstructure (Badarinarayan et al. 2009, Reimann et al. 2017, Tier et al. 2013, Yang et al.
2014, Zhao et al. 2014a) and the mechanical properties of the joint (Cao et al. 2016, Li et al.
2016a, Shen et al. 2014, Zhao et al. 2014b). Many studies have been undertaken to investigate
the evolution of the grain structure (Shen et al. 2013b, Li et al. 2019) and the failure mechanisms
of the RFSSW joint (Li et al. 2016b; Shen et al. 2013a, 2013b). Li et al. (2019) joined 2A12-
T4 aluminium alloy at various rotational speeds in RFSSW process. The aim was to investigate
microstructure evolution and correlate different microstructure and tensile-shear properties of
the joints. It was found that a higher rotational speed makes the distribution of the bonding
ligament at the weld periphery more dispersed, which is beneficial for the load capacity of the
joint. Mechanical and microstructural investigation of friction spot welded AA6181-T4
aluminium alloy has been conducted by Rosendo et al. (2011). The results showed that
geometric features of the joint play an important role in the fracture mechanism and the
mechanical performance of the joints. Cao et al. (2017) investigated the evolution of
microstructure, texture and mechanical properties during the RFSSW process in of 6061-T6
aluminium alloy sheets. One of the main conclusions is that grain evolution in the RFSSW
process was dominated by grain subdivision and geometric dynamic recrystallisation.
Furthermore, the strength of the RFSSW joint mainly depends on the size of the hook defect.
Tier et al. (2013) concluded that the most significant RFSSW parameters are plunge depth and
tool rotational speed, while volumetric defects have a small influence on the mechanical
performance of the welds. Results of the RFSSW of 7075-T6 aluminium alloys revealed that
the main feature affecting the mechanical properties of the joint is the Alclad between the upper
and lower sheets and the connecting qualities between the stir zone and thermo-mechanically
affected zone (Shen et al. 2013b). The mechanical performance of the welds based on the
changes in microstructure and temperature exposure caused by the welding process was
investigated by Reimann et al. (2017). It was found that post-weld natural aging was proven to
be highly significant for the mechanical properties of the welds and is effective for up to 4
weeks after welding.
A comprehensive understanding of microstructure evolution during the RFSSW process is
necessary in order to ensure that the joint has proper mechanical properties. This chapter
presents the results of the RFSSW process in Alclad 7075-T6 aluminium alloy sheets. The main
aim of the experimental research was to correlate the weld microstructure with the tensile/shear
properties of the joints and to present RFSSW technology.

2. PRINCIPLES OF THE RFSSW TECHNOLOGY

RFSSW joints were made in 1.6-mm-thick and 0.8-mm-thick 7075-T6 aluminium alloy
sheets. Precipitation-hardened Al-Zn-Mg-(Cu) aluminium alloy has a high mechanical strength
comparable to that of structural steel and a very high fatigue resistance. Compared to other
aluminium alloys 7075-T6 has lower corrosion resistance, but very good machinability. The
296 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

values of the mechanical parameters (Table 1) were determined by tensile testing. Three
samples were tested and the average values of basic mechanical parameters were determined.
The chemical composition of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy is as follows (wt.%): Zn – 5.60, Mg –
2.61, Cu – 1.35, Cr – 0.26, Mn – 0.06, Fe – 0.10, Ti – 0.05, Al – remainder.
The main aim of the investigations was to determine the significance of the RFSSW
parameters on the strength parameters of the resulting joint. In order to evaluate the mechanical
properties and quality of joints, static tensile/shear tests were conducted. Macroscopic testing
was carried out an optical microscope and SEM equipment.
The stages of the RFSSW process are shown schematically in Figure 1. The elements of
the tool with its dimensions are shown in Figure 2. The RFSSW process can be briefly divided
into four main stages: touchdown (Figure 1a), plunging (Figure 1b), refilling (Figure 1c), and
retreating (Figure 1d). The details of the welding process are as follows (Shen et al. 2013a):

1. The clamping ring is fixed on the top surface of the upper sheet, and both the sleeve
and the pin start to rotate and rub on the sheet for a while to soften the material so that
the penetration can take place more smoothly.
2. The sleeve and pin move downward and upward, respectively, and therefore the
plasticised material displaced by the sleeve is squeezed into the cylindrical cavity
created by the upward movement of the pin.
3. After reaching a predetermined plunge depth, the directions of movement of both the
sleeve and the pin begin to reverse (Figure 3) and the plasticised material in the
cylindrical cavity is squeezed back by the sleeve.
4. The welding head of the workpieces is removed.

Table 1. Mechanical properties of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy

State Ultimate tensile stress Rm [MPa] Yield stress Rp0.2 [MPa] Elongation A5 [%] Hardness HB
T6 540 460-475 8 160

Figure 1. Schematic illustration of the RFSSW process.

 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 297

Figure 2. Geometry and dimensions of the RFSSW tool.

Figure 3. Variation of the basic parameters in the RFSSW process.

Joints were made using a refill friction stir spot welder RPS100 by Harms & Wende GmbH
& Co KG (Hamburg, Germany). The welding process was carried out for different values of
welding parameters, that is, tool rotational speed, duration of welding, and tool plunge depth.
The spindle speed was varied in the range of 2000–2800 rpm, the duration of welding t was in
the range 1.5–3.5 s, and the tool plunge depth g in the range of 1.5–1.9 mm. The ranges of
parameters change have been selected according to a recent study (Kluz et al. 2019).

3. THE TESTING OF RFSSW JOINTS

Strength tests were performed on a Zwick Roell Z100 tensile machine. Welded samples
were subjected to static tensile/pure shear loading. To ensure pure shear loading (Figure 4a),
the specimens were fixed in a special holder (Figure 4b). The crosshead travel speed in the case
of the tensile/shear loading was set to 5 mm·min-1.
298 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

Figure 4. Method of fixing the specimen for the tensile/shear test (a) and view of actual test fixture (b).

Figure 5. Geometry and dimensions of the specimens for tensile/shear testing.

Figure 6. A model of a section of aircraft skin.

7075-T6 Alclad aluminium sheets were welded in the overlapping configuration. Next,
specimens of 120 mm × 30 mm (Figure 5) were cut from the welded sheets using a precision
cut-off machine under cooling conditions. The thickness of the lower sheet was 0.8 mm, and
the thickness of the upper sheet, where the welding tool operates, was 1.6 mm. This
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 299

configuration corresponds to the joining of a stringer with the skin in an actual aircraft structure
(Figure 6).
Microstructural examination of the RFSSW samples was carried out using a Hitachi
S3400N scanning electron microscope. Macroscopic examination was also conducted using an
Opta-Tech X2000 stereoscopic microscope.

4. PROPERTIES OF RFSSW JOINTS

4.1. Tensile/Shear Strength

The strength of the joints was tested experimentally under static tensile/shear loading. As
part of the preliminary research, various parameters of the welding process were considered
with the use of a full 3 × 3 factorial plan. Each of the three parameters was adopted at three
different levels, i.e.:

1. spindle speed n [rpm]: n1 = 2000; n2 = 2400; n3 = 2600;

2. tool plunge depth g [mm]: g1 = 1.5; g2 = 1.7; g3 = 1.9;
3. duration of welding t [s]: t1 = 1.5; t2 = 2.5; t3 = 3.5;

Therefore, tests were carried out for 27 different combinations of parameters. Strength
properties were measured and metallographic analyses were performed for all specimens. Table
2 presents the parameters sets and the corresponding characteristic indicators with regard to
weld defects: i.e., incomplete refill (IR), lack of structural integrity along the perimeter of the
weld (LSIP), lack of structural integrity at the weld bottom (LSB), excessive extended heat
affected zone (EHAZ), evenly distributed Alclad at the bottom of the weld (ABW), voids (V),
Alclad concentrated in the central part of the weld (ACW), voids in the corner of the weld
(VCW), structural notch in the area of the lower plate (SN), Hook (H), Alclad swirl (AS) and
kissing bond (KB). The main defects of the RFSSW joints listed in Table 2 are discussed in the
next section of the chapter.
Depending on the tool plunge depth, three types of joint damage were observed: shear
fracture (type I), plug-shear fracture (type II), and plug fracture (type III). Generally, the
tensile/shear loading is lowest when the fracture mode is plug-type fracture and highest when
the fracture mode is plug-shear fracture. Furthermore, plug-shear fracture is the most preferable
fracture mode under tensile/shear loading (Shen et al. 2014). Table 2 presents the results of the
strength tests carried out on the study joints.
One of the important parameters affecting the mode of damage is tool plunge depth. For
most of the joints considered, the dependence of degree of weakening of the lower sheet on
tool plunge depth has been demonstrated, which is revealed in the characteristic types of failure.
For the smallest tool plunge depth, g = 1.5 mm (Figure 7a), the weld is sheared without breaking
the base material (BM). For the joint prepared at g = 1.7 mm (Figure 7b), a plug-shear type
fracture was observed. In the case of type III destruction, for g = 1.9 mm there was a partial
tearing of the material together with the weld nugget from the lower sheet (Figure 7c).
300 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

Table 2. Results of the strength tests

No Spindle Tool plunge Duration of Load Main weld

speed n [rpm] depth g [mm] welding t [s] capacity [N] defects
1 2000 1.5 1.5 6870 LSIP + IR
2 2000 1.5 2.5 6910 LSB + V +IR
3 2000 1.5 3.5 7000 LSIP + ABW
4 2000 1.7 2.5 6735 IR + AS + V
5 2400 1.5 1.5 7070 ABW+ACW
6 2400 1.5 2.5 7020 V + ACW
7 2400 1.5 3.5 7585 ABW + KB
8 2400 1.9 1.5 5645 LSB + AS
9 2400 1.9 3.5 6740 SN +KB
10 2600 1.5 1.5 7025 ACW + AS
11 2600 1.5 2 6975 ACW
12 2600 1.5 2.5 6890 ACW
13 2600 1.5 3.5 7095 EHAZ + KB
14 2600 1.7 1.5 6920 VCW + ACW
15 2800 1.7 2.5 6980 EHAZ

The experiments indicate a great impact of tool plunge depth on the load capacity of the
joint. This is also confirmed by the value of the correlation coefficient R2, which is 0.97 in this
case. For comparison, the load capacity of the joints in which the shear type fracture was
observed for the variant where g = 1.5 mm was 7.07 kN, and for n = 1.9 mm, the load capacity
was 6.74 kN.
With an increase of tool plunge depth, load capacity of the joint decreases. There is also a
correlation between the duration of welding and the load capacity of the joint (R2 = 0.96). An
increase in the duration of the welding leads to a decrease in the load capacity of the joint.
However, for a welding duration of t = 2.5–3.5, the area of tool penetration goes smoothly into
the thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ), where there is no visible boundary between
the stir zone (SZ) and the BM. The results of microstructural analysis of the welds will be
discussed in the next section.
Investigations have shown that the most favourable plunge depth is g = 1.5 mm because in
most cases the joint was destroyed in the interface plane without breaking the BM structure,
and also the highest values of load capacity were obtained at this plunge depth.

a) b) c)

Figure 7. Illustration of the types of failure modes observed under the shearing test: a) n = 2400 rpm,
g = 1.5 mm, t = 1.5 s; b) n = 2800 rpm, g = 1.7 mm, t = 2.5 s; c) n = 2400 rpm; g = 1.9 mm, t = 3.5 s
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 301

The results of the strength analysis of the joints revealed that one of the important
parameters affecting the mode of damage is tool plunge depth. The dependence between tool
plunge depth and degree of weakening of the lower sheet has been demonstrated in most of the
joints considered, which is revealed in the characteristic types of failure. Plug–shear fracture
observed in the case of joints fabricated at a tool plunge depth of g = 1.7 mm is caused by the
pull-out of the nugget from the lower sheet with a blunt wedge pattern. The upper sheet has
bent upward and there is no obvious deformation of the lower sheet when the joint is subjected
to loading (Shen et al. 2014). The crack propagates inside the nugget from the bottom of the
weld to the interface between two joined sheets. For the smallest tool plunge depth, a shear
fracture of the weld is observed. Shear fracture is caused by a small share of normal stresses
and a large share of stress in the direction of loading. The increase in the tool plunge depth is
characterised by a gradual increase in the normal stresses, which, at a tool plunge depth of 1.45
mm or above, causes a decrease in the load capacity of the joint. The strength tests indicate a
great impact of tool plunge depth on the load capacity of the joint. Increases in tool plunge
depth lead to a decrease of the load capacity of the joint. A microstructural analysis of the
7075-T6 aluminium alloy joints shows that a duration of welding that is too short contributes
to incorrect phase conversion, which in turn causes defects. The effect of tool plunge depth on
the tensile shear fracture load is in agreement with the trend of variation of the fracture loads
in RFSSW joints, observed by Yang et al. (2014). Rosendo et al. (2011) concluded that a high
rotational speed will impair the mechanical properties of RFSSW joints. Zafar et al. (2016)
reported that plunge depth is the most important parameter influencing joint strength.

4.2. Microstructure of RFSSW Joints

The analysis of the joint structure began with verification of the fracture surface of the joint
sample, which was damaged in the tensile/shear test. As a result, the microstructure of the joint
in the most loaded cross-section can be observed. Figure 8a shows a static fracture of an
RFSSW weld made with the following parameters: n = 2800 rpm; g = 1.55 mm; t = 2.5 s. The
SEM micrographs show the weld structure with an Alclad material concentrated in the central
part of the weld. The outer joint region is 7075-T6 material with fine-grained micrsostructure.
The shape of the Alclad material in this region clearly indicates ductile fracture. In turn, the
peripheral area of the weld was subject to brittle shear in the structure of the base metal. At a
higher magnification of the fracture surface in the region of the 7075-T6 aluminium alloy, a
significant cluster of oxides was revealed (Figure 8b). Their regular shape indicates that they
were formed in the weld structure during thermo-mechanical changes taking place at the joint
fabrication stage. These oxides can weaken the weld strength.
The macroscopic and microscopic observations of the cross-section of the weld made in
different welding conditions of rotational speed, welding time, and sleeve plunge depth are
presented in Figures 8–17. The cross-section of the RFSSW joints (Figures 8–10, 12–14) can
be divided into four regions in terms of the microstructural characteristics of the joint in
sequence from the stir zone towards the base material (Shen et al. 2013a): SZ, TMAZ, heat
affected zone (HAZ), and BM. In the SZ, a homogenous fine-grained microstructure was found,
which was characterised by fully dynamically recrystallised equiaxial grains with an average
diameter of about 5 μm. This effect probably occurs due to a lack of mixing of the alloy (Kluz
et al. 2019; Liu et al. 2019; Shen et al. 2013a), poor formability of the materials (Haghshenas
302 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

and Gerlich 2018; Mehta 2018; Yang et al. 2014), and inappropriate processing parameters
(Shen et al. 2014; Venukumar 2013).
The presence of the HAZ was also observed, but it was not seen in all the cross-sections.
In the HAZ, the grains are similar to those of the BM, but in the direction of the TMAZ, the
grains become slightly coarse (Figure 8). On the boundary between the HAZ and TMAZ, the
grains begin to deform (Figures 13a, 14). Figures 12a, 12b, 13b, and 14 show the direction of
material flow in the TMAZ. In the structure of the joints made at a tool speed of 2000 rpm, a
clear structural notch (Figure 10ab) and distinct structural discontinuities are visible in the weld
nugget and may be a source of fatigue notches.

Figure 8. SEM images of fracture surfaces of an RFSSW joint of 7075 aluminium alloy sheets
(n = 2800 rpm; g = 1.55 mm; t = 2.5 s): (a) areas of ductile and brittle cracking (b) magnification of
the zone with visible oxides.

a) b)

Figure 9. Microstructure of an RFSSW joint of 7075 aluminium alloy (n = 2600 rev./min; t = 1.5 s)
cross-section of hook area with: a) depth of sleeve g = 1.6 mm, and b) depth of sleeve g = 1.5 mm.
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 303

a) b)

c)

Figure 10. Microstructure of 7075 aluminium alloy sheets with an RFSSW joint (n = 2000 rpm;
g = 1.5 mm; t = 3.5 s) within the area between the SZ and the TMAZ showing: (a) the void between the
SZ and TMAZ zones; (b and c) a structural notch between the SZ and TMAZ zones in different areas of
the weld structure.

Figure 11. Cross-sections of RFSSW joints welded at n = 2400 rpm; g = 1.6 mm; t = 1.5 s.

The presence of the visible structural notch denotes too-rapid penetration of the sleeve into
the BM, which causes partial blanking along the sleeve path instead of plastic deformation of
the material (Figure 10b). The temperatures that occur later in the RFSSW process leads to
recrystallisation and partial restoration of the material microstructure.
The clear area of the bonding ligament in the middle part of the joint (Figures 11, 12b) is
found. This area penetrates the weld area due to the elevated temperature of the joint.
In general, a fine-grained microstructure is observed within the centre of the SZ in the
RFSSW process (Figure 13a). In the case of the TMAZ, a steep gradient of grain-size change
is revealed (Figure 13b). A subgrained microstructure was found, as shown in Figures 14 and
16b. On the boundary of these grains, ultrafine precipitates were observed. Literature data
suggest that these are probably particles of Al7Cu2Fe, Mg (Zn,Cu,Al)2, and also MgZn2
strengthening phases that occur in the 7xxx series aluminium alloys (Liu et al. 2014).
304 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

Figure 12. Macrostructure of an RFSSW joint of 7075-T6 alloy aluminium sheets (n = 2400 rpm,
g = 1.8 mm, t = 3.5 s) within the area between the HAZ and TMAZ zones.

Figure 13. Macrostructure of 7075 aluminium alloy RFSSW joint (n = 2000 rpm; g = 1.6 mm;
t = 2.5 s), and a microstructure with marked boundaries between SZ, TMAZ, HAZ and BM zones.

At a tool rotational speed of n = 2000 rpm, g = 1.5 mm, and t = 3.5 s, a visible subgrained
microstructure is observed within the micro-area between the TMAZ and the HAZ (Figure 14).
An increase in tool rotational speed to 2400 rpm and a decrease in the duration of welding to
1.5 s leads to the observation of grains that are elongated in the rolling direction on the side of
the BM (Figure 15a). Furthermore, a dynamically recrystallized fine-grained structure with
equiaxial grains is observed within the SZ of the joint (Figure 15b). A further increase in the
values of all controlled welding parameters causes an increase in the dynamically recrystallised
fine-grained microstructure with equiaxial grains within the centre of the SZ (Figure 16a). On
the other hand, within the area between the HAZ and the TMAZ, a subgrained microstructure
can be observed (Figure 16b). In the RFSSW joints the grains in the inner stir zone were
coarsened and elongated, and the grains in the outer stir zone are equiaxial (Zhao et al. 2014b).
When the tool rotation speed was relatively high, continuous eutectic films can be formed in
the SZ. The grains in the SZ are typically equiaxial grains due to the intense thermal cycle
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 305

during welding and the full recrystallisation nucleation. In the pin-stir zone (P-SZ) static
recrystallisation occurs after dynamic recrystallisation causing the greater grain coarsening in
comparison to the TMAZ. Zhang et al. (2020) indicated that microscopic size and grains
evolution are not closely associated with variations in plunge depth.

Figure 14. Microstructure of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy RFSSW joints (n = 2000 rpm, g = 1.5 mm,
t = 2.5 s).

a) b)

Figure 15. A comparison of the microstructures of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy RFSSW joints (n = 2400
rpm, g = 1.5 mm, t = 1.5 s): (a) on the side of the BM and (b) within the SZ of the sample.

The microscope observations of the cross-section of the weld showed that a homogenous
fine-grained microstructure was found in the stir zone, which was characterised by fully
dynamically recrystallised equiaxial grains with an average diameter of about 5 μm. This effect
occurs due to a lack of mixing of the alloy, which was also observed by Campanelli et al.
(2013), who also stated that both the lack of material mixing and the pronounced vertical
displacement of the hook resulting from the slipping interfacial condition established between
the welding tool and the plasticised material are detrimental to the mechanical strength of the
weld. Furthermore, the lack of mixing of the two sheets due to the poor flowability of the
materials and insufficient pressure in such a tight space, as well as the tool penetration into the
bottom sheet, led to hook formation (Shen et al. 2013a, 2016). The lack of a suitable mixing of
material is manifested in the form of a kissing bond (Khan et al. 2017). The formation of a
kissing bond can be also associated with inadequate heat and higher flow stresses.
306 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

a) b)

c) d)

Figure 16. Microstructure of 7075 aluminium alloy RFSSW joints (n = 2800 rpm, g = 1.7 mm, t = 2.5
s): (a) within the centre of the SZ, b) within the area between the HAZ and the TMAZ, c) within the
HAZ, d) within the BM.

Welding time is also an important parameter that affects weld quality. For the time
t = 1.5 s, there is a clear boundary between the welded sheet and the Alclad layer separating the
joined sheets (Figure 17), which forms a thermal barrier that releases heat away from the weld
area.
Within the SZ (1 in Figure 17a,b), visible flow of the Alclad coating is observed (2 in
Figure 17a,b). However, at the bottom-centre of the SZ, partially undeformed grains can be
seen. On the basis of macro- and microstructural examinations, it was found that the
microstructure of the BM in the longitudinal section of the joint had deformation texture with
grains that were elongated and oriented in the rolling direction (Figure 15).
The weld nugget has a fine-grained structure (Figure 18a,b). An Alclad layer also exists in
the lower zone of the joint which, although subject to a much higher temperature, is not
degraded. The Alclad in the RFSSW joint is a specific collector that removes heat and possesses
a structural notch, lowering the static strength of the joint. The increasing of welding time
causes heat diffusion in the upper area of the lower sheet (Figure 18c).
The bonding ligament appears in the centre of the joint (Figure 18), proving that the Alclad
is not completely mixed with the BM. The bonding ligament is thicker in the centre of the weld
due to low flow velocity in the centre, which agrees with the results of Ji et al. (2017) and Kluz
(2019). Due to differing flow behaviours of the SZ, Li et al. (2016b) proposed dividing the
microstructure as a sleeve affected zone (SAZ) and pin affected zone (PAZ). Liu et al. (2017)
observed two areas of bonding ligament. When material mixing is not sufficient, the vertical
bonding ligaments in the vicinity of the weld edge are obvious, whereas the horizontal bonding
ligament in the interface between the lower and upper sheets is indistinct. In the local area of
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 307

the horizontal bonding ligament between the two sheets, material stirring results in an increase
in the local heat input. The material then plasticises further and backfills more fully into the
joint (Liu et al. 2017; Kluz et al. 2019).

a) b)

Figure 17. Microstructure of 7075-T6 aluminium alloy RFSSW joints (n = 2600 rpm, g = 1.7 mm,
t = 1.5 s): (a) in the vicinity of the joint edge and (b) at the bottom of the joint.

a)

b)

c)

Figure 18. Longitudinal section of an RFSSW joint made under welding conditions with a rotational
speed of n = 2600 rpm, tool plunge depth of g = 1.5 mm, and welding durations t of (a) 1.5 s, (b) 2 s
and (c) 2.5 s.
308 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

The macroscopic and microscopic observations show that the TMAZ is concentrated in a
narrow zone around the periphery of the sleeve, which experiences both moderate frictional
heating and deformation and is characterised by a highly deformed structure (Shen et al. 2013a).
In the TMAZ zone, recrystallisation does not occur (Misra and Ma 2005). The HAZ
experiences a thermal cycle due to the welding but does not undergo plastic deformation, which
causes dissolution of precipitate in the matrix (Santos et al. 2011). As was also found by Shen
et al. (2013a), the SZ displays a basin shape and exhibits a recrystallised and fine equiaxial
grain structure due to intense plastic deformation and frictional heating during the joining
process. The material is more severely stirred in the SZ than in other regions. Shen et al. (2013a)
also observed variations in the grain sizes in the direction of thickness. This can be explained
by a higher temperature and severe plastic deformation under the pin and sleeve tips in the
maintenance stage (Shen et al. 2013a).
A clear structural notch and distinct structural discontinuities in the weld nugget are
revealed in the structure of the joints and may be a source of fatigue notches. Increasing the
rotational speed causes an increase in the temperature around the weld, which leads to a slight
increase in the volume of the HAZ. However, in the upper part of the joint, where the rotating
tool is positioned (leading to a long duration of tool interaction without penetration of the
material), the structural notch is not visible. The fine-grained microstructure of the weld nugget
is smoothly transformed in the HAZ. This indicates that there is a possibility that the structural
notch, which lowers the load capacity of the joint, can be eliminated by modifying the setup
parameters of the process.
A bonding ligament is observed in the cross-sectional area of the joint, as a result of its
elevated temperature, and this penetrates the weld area, which may lower the strength of the
joint. The bonding ligament is higher in the centre than in the periphery of the joint, which
was also observed by Shen et al. (2013a). The ligament is formed in the pin’s plunging stage,
and the material in the sleeve periphery is stirred more severely than that in the centre of the
tool. It was confirmed that the macrostructure of the RFSSW joint of 7075 alloy aluminium
sheets shows that the ligament at the periphery of the joint (within the area between the HAZ
and TMAZ) is stirred with BM and the SZ is visible as an onion ring. As reported by Baek et
al. (2010), it is expected that Alclad will be stirred outwards to the edge of the spot weld in the
conventional friction stir spot welding process. During the sleeve plunging process in RFSSW,
the zinc coating not only moves to the edge of the spot weld but can also be partly extruded
into the centre space. The layer of Alclad penetrates the microstructure of the weld, which may
lower its strength.
Heat diffusion also occurs in the basal area of the weld, leading to adhesive joining of the
sheets. The visible HAZ has, however, a smaller width. This is due to the presence of the Alclad,
which has a higher thermal conductivity and very rapidly transfers heat out of the joint. The
Alclad layer also exists in the lower zone of the joint which, although reaching a much higher
temperature, is not degraded. This process leads to an adhesive joint of the sheets and reduction
in grain size in the lower sheet. The visible heat affected zone, however, has a smaller width
and depth. This is due to the presence of the Alclad, which has a higher thermal conductivity
than the base material and very quickly transfers the heat out of the joint. Although RFSSW
enlarges the bearing area of the spot weld, it does not lead to significant improvement in the
tensile shear strength of the joint compared with conventional FSSW.
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 309

CONCLUSION
RFSSW, as a new type of solid phase joining technology, solves the defects, such as coarse
grains and cracks, seen in conventional fusion welding, solves the keyhole problem existing in
general friction stir spot welding, and eliminates corrosion cracking caused by the presence of
keyholes (Chen et al. 2020; Shen et al. 2020; Uematsu et al. 2008; Zhang et al. 2020). The basic
parameters of the welding process that have a significant impact on the quality of the joint are
the rotational speed of the tool, time of plunging and stirring, as well as the depth of maximum
penetration of the tool.
The rotational speed of the tool is closely related to the times of the individual stages of
the welding process. Duration of welding determines the amount of heat generated in the joint
nugget. The generation of too low an amount of heat, caused by too short a penetration time or
too low a rotational speed, leads to lack of plasticisation of the material, which in turn results
in a permanent violation of the material continuity along the outer edge of the sleeve. Optimal
values of RFSSW should be understood to be those values that will allow an appropriate amount
of heat to be obtained due to the friction between the tool sleeve and the surface of the welded
sheet. However, too much heat leads to an expansion of the HAZ, which overheats the material
over a relatively large area and changes the microstructure and mechanical properties of the
BM. The consequence of this is the weakening of the BM. Joint defects related to inadequate
selection of welding parameters are the basic problem restricting the wider application of
RFSSW joints. An atlas of the defects usually found in RFSSW is shown in Figure 19.
Based on the literature review (Li et al. 2016b; Reiman et al. 2017; Shen et al. 2013a,
2013b) and the experimental results shown in this chapter the following conclusions can be
drawn:

 In the case of shorter welding times distinct structural discontinuities are visible in the
weld nugget.
 To eliminate the bonding ligament, which decreases weld strength, it is necessary to
increase the tool rotational speed and duration of welding.
 An increase of welding time is beneficial in increasing the shear strength of the joints
by good metallurgical bonding and mechanical mixing.
 A larger sleeve plunge depth can facilitate the downward migration of this Alclad layer
which reduces the strength of the bonding interface.
 The main defect considerably lowering the joint capacity is the existence of a visible
structural notch which denotes too-rapid penetration of the sleeve into the base
material, causing partial blanking along the sleeve path instead of plastic deformation
of the material.
 In the stir zone, a homogenous fine-grained microstructure is characterised by fully
dynamically recrystallised equiaxial grains.
310 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

incomplete refill kissing bond

voids at the perimenter of the weld hook

void in the corner of the weld bonding ligament

Figure 19 (Continued).
 Characterization of the Microstructure of Refill Friction Stir Spot … 311

voids and lack of structural integrity at lack of structural integrity in the area of
the bottom of the weld the lower sheet

excessively extended heat-affected zone Alclad swirl

lack of structural integrity along the Alclad concentrated in the central part of the
perimeter of the weld weld

Figure 19. Main defects of RFSSW joints.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors of this paper would like to kindly thank Dr. Koen Faes from the Belgian
Welding Institute for the help in experiments of the RFSSW.
312 A. Kubit and T. Trzepiecinski

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 11

FUNDAMENTALS OF THERMO-FLUID-MECHANICAL
MODELLING IN WELDING PROCESSES

J. Winczek1 and A. Yadav2,

1
Czestochowa University of Technology, Czestochowa, Poland
2
CSIR – Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India

ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the modelling fundamentals of thermal (fluid), metallurgical and
mechanical phenomena in welding processes. The starting point is the formulation of
fundamentals of thermal phenomena modelling: models of bodies, simple and commonly
used heat source models (Goldak’s heat source), heat conduction equation, first - fourth
type boundary conditions. Modelling the temperature field based on numerical and
analytical solutions of the differential heat conduction equation, including the change in
solid-liquid state (in numerical methods), is discussed. Based on Cahn equation -
nucleation theory, JMAK and Marburger laws and TTT - welding diagrams, the kinetics
of heating and cooling during phase transformations are described. Temperature and
structural changes (volume changes of individual structural components) result in thermal
and structural strains. These phenomena were described by equations and illustrated by
graphs of changes in structural volume fractions and strains (thermal and structural) as a
function of time, as well as in the form of dilatometric curves (for single- and multi-beads
welding). Analysis of stress states takes into account mutually coupled mechanical,
metallurgical and thermal phenomena. The considerations were based on the theory of non-
isothermal plastic flow. However, it was limited to the basic assumptions and formulas,
sending the reader to the literature explaining this issue in detail. The chapter ends with
examples of numerically obtained residual stress distribution for typically welded joints.

Keywords: welding process, analytical modelling, numerical modelling, phase change, heat
sources, temperature field, fluid flow, strains, stresses


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
316 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

1. INTRODUCTION
Modelling of phenomena occurring in welding processes aims to predict residual stresses
and distortions, and microstructures after welding. It becomes necessary to simulate the thermo-
mechanical states related to these technological processes, such as thermal field, phase and
structural changes, strains and stresses. The literature on this problem is extensive, both in the
form of books and journal articles.
In modelling thermos-fluid-mechanical states, two methods are commonly used: numerical
based methods (e.g., Lindgren, 2007; Goldak and Akhlaghi, 2010) and analytical (Ghosh et al.,
2017; Radaj, 1992; Nguyen, 2004; Reddy et al., 2018; Yadav et al., 2018). Knowledge of
modelling metallurgical phenomena (e.g., Grong, 1997; Kumar et al., 2020; Singh and Yadav,
2018) is also useful. Some programs available on the market enable the analysis of welding
processes and accompanying phenomena: dedicated to simulating these processes (among
others Sysweld, Simufact Welding, WeldSim) and universal (e.g., Ansys, Abaqus). These
programs, instrumental in engineering practice, often prevent introducing and analyzing one’s
concepts and solutions.
This chapter presents the basics of modelling thermo-mechanical phenomena, indicating
essential elements of this procedure and illustrating the solutions. The chapter will allow
readers to understand the solutions and strategies used in commercial programs; and model and
simulate the thermo-fluid-mechanical modelling in welding processes.

2. FUNDAMENTALS OF THERMAL PHENOMENA

MODELLING IN WELDING

2.1. General Classification of Heated Body Models and Heat Sources Models

To enable the mathematical description of complex phenomena related to heat flow

modelling in welding processes, simplified models of bodies and heat source types are defined.
The basic models of heated bodies are (Ferenc, 2007):

 infinite body – a body infinitely enlarged in directions Ox, Oy, Oz,

 massive body (semi-infinite) – infinitely enlarged only in directions Ox and Oy. The
heat source occurs on a surface with a coordinate z = 0. This model corresponds to a
plate with a thickness of more than about 25 mm,
 plate - body bounded by two planes z = 0 and z = g, infinite in directions Ox and Oy.
Thickness g limits and distorts free heat flow in the Oz axis direction (perpendicular
to the plate surface). This model corresponds to a plate with a thickness of about 3 mm
< g < 25 mm,
 thin plate - a model similar to a plate, but with such a small thickness in relation to the
source power, that the heat flow isotherms are normal to the plane of the plate. The
coating model corresponds to a plate with the thickness g < 3 mm,
 rod — a body infinitely extended in direction Ox (along the rod axis).
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 317

Due to the shape, the sources acting on the heated body are divided into:

 point – with infinitely small volume,

 linear – evenly distributed in the volume of a cylinder of a small diameter, penetrating
through the entire thickness of the body, e.g., a thin coating,
 flat – evenly distributed on the outer face of the heated object, e.g., during butt friction
welding of the rod,
 surficial – acting on surfaces with a variable power density, e.g., with Gaussian
distribution,
 volumetric – three-dimensional.

There can be distinguished fixed, mobile and mobile high-speed heat sources (at speed
close to the heat flow rate in the material). And in terms of action time, there can be
distinguished continuous heat source (with constant thermal power) and an instantaneous heat
source whose operation time tends to zero.

2.2. Mathematical Representation of Temperature Field

The initial stage for the representation of the temperature field in an isotropic and
homogeneous body is followed by the law of conservation of energy, the differential equation
of heat conduction (Smithies et al., 1952):

𝜕𝑇(𝒓,𝑡) 𝑄
𝑘𝛻 2 𝑇(𝒓, 𝑡) = 𝜕𝑡
− 𝑐𝜌 (2.1)

where k - thermal conductivity [W/mK], T – temperature [K] c - thermal capacity [J/Km3] r -

radius vector with respect to the heat source of the considered area point, t = time [s], (c -
specific heat [J/kgK],  - density [kg/m3]), Q - heat source [J].
After entering the thermal diffusivity

𝐾
𝑎 = 𝑐𝜌 (2.2)

equation (2.1) takes the form:

𝜕𝑇(𝒓,𝑡) 1 𝜕𝑄𝑣
𝑎𝑇(𝒓, 𝑡) = 𝜕𝑡
− 𝑐𝜌 𝜕𝑡
(2.3)

It is called the Fourier-Kirchoff equation; a denotes thermal diffusivity [m2/s]. In welding

processes, the heat source is mobile. The temperature induced by it exceeds not only the melting
point and often evaporation. Thus, phase changes occur between all three states of aggregation
(melting, evaporation, solidification) and similarly in the solid state. Taking consideration the
dependence of thermo-physical properties on temperature, i.e., a particular case of material
heterogeneity, the differential equation of transient heat flow with a convection term for a
318 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

control area in a spatial coordinate system takes the form (Joshi et al., 2013; Kumar and
DebRoy, 2004):

 T r , t   Q
  kT r , t   Cef   T r , t   v   v (2.4)
 t  t

where:  = (r, T), the vector of the body point coordinates and velocity vector are given by r
= r(x,y,z), v = v(r, t), respectively, and Cef effective heat capacity, which may contain phase
transformation heat in solid-state and latent heat of fusion and evaporation heat in the case of
laser welding (Ki, Mohanty and Mazumder, 2002). The effective heat capacity values are
determined by equations:
For phase transformations in the solid-state (Domański and Bokota, 2011; Piekarska and
Kubiak, 2011):

𝜙𝑖 𝑑𝜙𝑖 (𝑇)
𝑝ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑑𝜌𝑠 𝑐𝑠 + 𝐻𝑖 𝑑𝑇
𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 ∈ ⟨𝑇𝑠𝑖 , 𝑇𝑓𝑖 ⟩
𝐶𝑒𝑓 ={ (2.5)
𝑎𝑛𝑑𝜌𝑠 𝑐𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 ∉ (𝑇𝑠𝑖 , 𝑇𝑓𝑖 )

where Hi, Tsi, Tfi - enthalpy and the starting and last temperatures of the ith phase transformation,
i - volume fraction of this phase, s and cs are density and specific heat of solid, respectively
for the solid-liquid state (Joshi et al., 2013; Kumar and DebRoy, 2004):

𝑎𝑛𝑑𝜌𝑠 𝑐𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 < 𝑇𝑆

𝑑𝑓𝑠 (𝑇)
𝐶𝑒𝑓 (𝑇) = {𝑎𝑛𝑑𝜌𝑙𝑠 𝑐𝑠𝑙 + 𝐻𝐿 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 ∈ ⟨𝑇𝑆 , 𝑇𝐿 ⟩ (2.6)
𝑑𝑇
𝑎𝑛𝑑𝜌𝑙 𝑐𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 > 𝑇𝐿

whereHL latent heat of fusion (solidification), Ts and Tl - solidus and liquidus temperatures
respectively, lcl – thermal capacity of the liquid phase, while slcsl is heat capacity of the solid-
liquid phase is determined by the relationship:

𝜌𝑠𝑙 𝑐𝑠𝑙 = 𝑐𝑠 𝜌𝑠 𝑓𝑠 + 𝑐𝑙 𝜌𝑙 (1 − 𝑓𝑠 ) (2.7)

𝑎𝑛𝑑1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 < 𝑇𝑆

𝑇𝐿 −𝑇
𝑓𝑠 = {𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑇 −𝑇 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇𝑆 ≤ 𝑇 ≤ 𝑇𝐿 (2.8)
𝐿 𝑆
𝑎𝑛𝑑0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 > 𝑇𝐿

To solve the differential equation of transient heat flow during welding, it is necessary to
formulate the equation’s boundary conditions In addition to the geometrical and physical
conditions determining the shape, dimensions and physical properties of the body, as well as
the distribution of heat source efficiency; it is necessary to define initial and boundary
conditions.
The initial (Cauche) conditions determine the initial temperature T0 for time:

𝑇(𝒓, 𝑡)|𝑡=0 = 𝑇0 (𝒓) (2.9)

 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 319

Due to the practical importance of solving heat transfer problems in welded elements, the
following conditions apply:
The Dirichlet (or first-type) boundary condition, when on edge A of the body, the
temperature distribution is set

𝑇(𝒓𝐴 , 𝑡)|𝐴 = 𝑇(𝒓𝐴 , 𝑡) (2.10)

The Neumann (or second-type) boundary condition, when the given heat flux penetrates
the boundary surface

𝜕𝑇
𝑞̇ (𝒓𝐴 , 𝑡)|𝐴 = − 𝑘 𝜕𝑛| (2.11)
𝐴

and if the surface is thermally isolated

𝜕𝑇
𝜕𝑛 𝐴
| =0 (2.12)

where q - heat flux density [W/m2],

The Robbin (or third-type) boundary condition (also called the Danckwertz condition or
Newton’s cooling law) determining the heat exchange on the body surface A

𝜕𝑇
− 𝑘 𝜕𝑛| = 𝛼(𝒓𝐴 , 𝑡, 𝑇𝑎 )[𝑇(𝒓𝐴 , 𝑡) − 𝑇0 ] (2.13)
𝐴

where denotes convective heat-transfer coefficient, T0ambient temperature. In the case of the
anisotropic body, the condition takes the form:

𝜕𝑇
−𝑘 | = 𝛼(𝑇𝐴 − 𝑇0 ) (2.14)
𝜕𝑛 𝐴

where: α – convective heat transfer coefficient [W/m2K], the boundary condition of the fourth
type at the interface of two bodies, practically not used, which can be used in modelling the
temperature field when welding two parts with significantly different thermal properties:

𝑇1 |𝐴 = 𝑇2 |𝐴
𝜕𝑇1 𝜕𝑇2
𝑘1 | = 𝑘2
𝜕𝑛 𝐴 𝜕𝑛 𝐴
| (2.15)

The solution of equation (2.4) with appropriate initial-boundary conditions is often

obtained by numerical methods, among which FEM is the most commonly used, e.g., Karlsson
and Josefson, 1990; Lindgren, 2007; Goldak and Akhlaghi, 2010. This method is usually used
taking into account the effect of temperature on material properties such as thermal
conductivity, density, specific heat, e.g., Deng and Murakawa, (2006); Jiang et al., (2005)
Mahapatra et al., (2006), Na and Lee, (2001), as well as excluding this impact (Wang et al.,
2009), obtaining satisfactory compliance of the numerical simulation results with the results of
experimental tests.
320 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

In analytical solutions, the influence of heat of phase transformations is generally omitted.

The thermophysical characteristics of the material are assumed to be independent of
temperature using the equation (2.1).

2.3. Analytical Solutions of the Heat Conduction Equation for Point Source

To elaborate the temperature field in the welding processes, various analytical solutions
have attempted in the middle of the last century. The works on modelling the temperature
distribution due to a moving source were introduced by Rosenthal (1941) and Rykalin (1947).
The temperature distribution equation for a quasi-steady state for different heat source models
(linear, point and exterior) obtained Rosenthal for the first time by introducing temperature-
independent thermo-mechanical properties of the heated material. A heat source in segment
form along the weld and Rykalin in the form of a normal segment adopted by Rosenthal.
The analytical illustration of the temperature distribution can obtain by the result of the
differential heat conduction equation (2.1), which in the case for an infinite body having a point
source:

𝑄
𝑇(𝑅, 𝑡) − 𝑇0 = 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝑅2 /4𝑎𝑡) (2.16)
𝑐𝜌(4𝜋𝑎𝑡)1.5

where R - the gap between the considered point and the source, T0 - the initial temperature of
the body. For a semi-infinite body, the equation solution has the form:

2𝑄
𝑇(𝑅, 𝑡) − 𝑇0 = 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝑅2 /4𝑎𝑡) (2.17)
𝑐𝜌(4𝜋𝑎𝑡)1.5

or

2𝑄 (𝑥−𝑥′)2 +(𝑦−𝑦′)2 +𝑧 2
𝑇(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) − 𝑇0 = 𝑐𝜌(4𝜋𝑎𝑡)1.5 𝑒𝑥𝑝 (− 4𝑎𝑡
) (2.18)

With the source position at x,’ y,’ the temperature at a particular point with coordinates x,
y, z can be calculated by Equation (2.18).
Figure 2.1 indicates a temperature variation caused by the instantaneous point heat source
(2.4). There are some values of thermal properties of the material (a = 8·10-6 m2/s,
c = 5,2·106 J/m °C, Q = 3,3·103 J and T0 = 0) which is consider in the estimations.
On the exterior of the semi-infinite body (in the case of a point source), moving with speed
v from x0 point along the x-axis of the Cartesian system, the temperature rises sum due to the
heat release at elementary time increments dt’ expresses at time t the temperature field from
the starting of action of the welding heat source at the point having coordinates x, y, z (Figure
2.2).

𝑡 2𝑞̇ (𝑥−𝑣𝑡′−𝑥0 )2 +𝑦 2 +𝑧 2
𝑇(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) − 𝑇0 = ∫0 𝑐𝜌[4𝜋𝑎(𝑡−𝑡′)]1.5 𝑒𝑥𝑝 (− 4𝑎(𝑡−𝑡′)
) 𝑑𝑡′ (2.19)

here x0 is the coordinate of the starting of the source path and 𝑞̇ its power.
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 321

Figure 2.1. Temperature near the temporary heat source: a) heat cycles for points at different distances
from the source; b) body’s temperature distribution for selected times.

Figure 2.2. Arrangement for describing the temporary temperature during heating of moving heat
source.

To obtain a solution closest to the real temperature distribution, much research has been
carried out.

2.4. Surface and Volumetric Heat Source Models

Rosenthal’s model is modified by Eagar and Tsai (1983) with the introduction of a surface
heat source (6) with Gaussian distribution (Figure 2.3) to the description of the temperature
field in the semi-infinite body. The characterization of Gaussian distribution can be made by
averaged radius r0 in which the heat volume qmax/e:

𝑞𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑞(𝑥, 𝑦) = 2𝜋(𝑟 2 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−(𝑥 2 +𝑦 2 )/2𝑟 2 ) (2.20)
0) 0

(Goldak et al., 1984) introduced a double-ellipsoidal, three-dimensional heat source

(Figure 2.4) the first time. A new heat source was given by combining two different semi-
ellipses. A set of the equation represents the heat flux for the particular elliptical heat source.
The equation of heat flux for the points (x, y, z), in the front part of the welding arc regarding a
semi-ellipse can be written as:
322 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

6√3𝑟𝑓 𝑄 3𝑥 2 3𝑦 2 3𝑧 2
𝑄(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = 𝑎 𝑒𝑥𝑝 (− 𝑐 2 − 𝑎ℎ2
− 𝑏ℎ2
) (2.21)
ℎ 𝑏ℎ 𝑐ℎ𝑓 𝜋 𝜋
√ ℎ𝑓

and for the points (x, y, z) belonging to a semi-ellipse coinciding with the rear part of the arc:

6√3𝑟𝑓 𝑄 3𝑥 2 3𝑦 2 3𝑧 2
𝑄(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧) = 𝑒𝑥𝑝 (− 2 − − ) (2.22)
𝑎ℎ 𝑏ℎ 𝑐ℎ𝑓 𝜋 √𝜋 𝑐ℎ𝑓 𝑎ℎ2 𝑏ℎ2

where the proportionality coefficients corresponding to the heat distribution in the rear and
front parts of the ellipsoidal heat source are represented by ah, bh, chf, chb, rf, rb, where rf + rb =
2 and Q the applied arc heat.

Figure 2.3. Model of surface two-dimensional Gaussian distributed heat source.

Figure 2.4. Double ellipsoidal Goldak’s model of heat source.

A tilted double ellipsoidal heat source to calculate the temperature field using the FEM is
proposed by Hongyuan et al.(2005). Importing the energy fraction ff +fr= 2 gives the heat source
formula for a forward next half ellipsoid:
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 323

3[𝑥+𝑣(𝜏−𝑡)]2
𝑄(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝑄(0)𝑓𝑓 𝑒𝑥𝑝 {− 𝑎2
}
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛽
𝑏2
𝑒𝑥𝑝 (−3𝑦 2 / 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛾) 𝑒𝑥𝑝[−3𝑧 2 /(𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃)2 ] (2.23)

and for a rear half of the ellipsoid:

𝑎2
𝑄(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝑄(0)𝑓𝑟 𝑒𝑥𝑝 {−3[𝑥 + 𝑣(𝜏 − 𝑡)]2 / }
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛽
𝑏2
𝑒𝑥𝑝 (−3𝑦 2 / 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝛾) 𝑒𝑥𝑝[−3𝑧 2 /(𝑐 𝑐𝑜𝑠 𝜃)2 ] (2.24)

where θ, β, γ are the angles between the plane of the workpiece and the vertical axis of the heat
source model, the half axis a, the half axis b, respectively.

3. NUMERICAL MODELLING OF THE THERMAL FIELD TAKING

INTO ACCOUNT SOLID-LIQUID CHANGES

Phase change (solidification and melting) is observed in all the fusion welding processes.
The analysis of the location of liquidus and solidus temperature is essential to determine the
quality of joint quality. Because of the functional significance of welding in daily life, several
qualitative, theoretical and computational studies have been performed on phase adjustment
issues. Unfortunately, solving the mathematical equations that explain the physical phenomena
is a challenging empirical technique; this is why the simulation is used. Thus, a mathematical
model is required to integrate and combine the effects of various driving forces, such as the
phase changes (solidification and melting) in the working component, the natural and
Marangoni convection of the melt pool convective and radiative heat losses from the welded
layer. Such a model can be obtained by coupling the heat transport equation with the Navier–
Stokes equations. In literature, several phase change models (Piekarska and Kubiak, 2011;
Zhou and Tsai, 2008) are available that are employed depending on the type of metal of which
the welding process is to be carried out. The evolution of latent heat over a range is taken for
alloys that solidify/freeze over a range of temperatures. The numerical approaches proposed to
model phase change are mainly divided into two classes; the front-tracking and fixed-grid
enthalpy methods (Patel et al., 2020). Most of the articles available in the literature do not
consider phase change. Even when the phase change is considered, fluid flow in the weld pool
is ignored (Yadav, Kumar, et al., 2019). The inclusion of fluid flow help researchers predicts
the thermal field with great accuracy (Yadav et al., 2017). Also, there is a dearth of articles that
describe the phase change models, which solve the model in three dimensions. Here, a
comprehensive three-dimensional model to include phase change and fluid flow in the weld
pool is presented. This section outlines basic governing equations, boundary conditions to
obtain thermal field and velocity field in the melt pool and weld plate during the welding
process taking into account phase change.
324 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

3.1. Thermal and Fluid Flow Modelling of the Molten Pool

A representative schematic sketch of the weld cross-section showing fluid flow in the weld
pool and phase change in weld plate is illustrated in Figure 3.1. The workpiece gets melted by
welding heat source. The heat conduction in the workpiece is dependent on welding speed and
heat sources distribution. The buoyancy in the melt pool is solely responsible for the liquid flow
(Marangoni convection induced due to surface tension). This flow in the mushy region can also
be approximated by flow through porous media.
Here, we use a three-dimensional computational model as an example for the readers to
present the thermal fluid transfer phenomenon during welding. The heat transport and fluid
flow co-occurring in the welding process, a volumetric source of heat, melting, solidification,
and; Marangoni and natural convection in the melt pool during the welding process should be
considered. Figure 3.2 represent the well-suited diagram of the computational domain and
boundary conditions. It can be noticed that the welded plates’ actual dimensions must be taken
to get accurate results.

Figure 3.1. Schematic diagram of weld cross-section showing fluid flow in the weld pool with phase
change in the weld plate.

3.2 Governing Equations

We have explained a fixed-grid continuum formulation model based on the classical

mixture theory (Brent et al., 1988). This fixed-grid continuum formulation model has been
implemented for modelling the solidification and melting phase change in the weld pool. For
the analysis of thermal-fluid phase change phenomena in the welding process comprise of mass,
momentum and energy conservation equations can be used, the governing equations rest on
continuum formulation, described in subsequent subsections.
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 325

Figure 3.2. Schematic of the representative computational domain and boundary conditions
(Yadav et al., 2017).

3.2.1. Continuity Equation

The continuity equation is formulated as given bellow

∇. 𝑢
⃗ =0 (3.1)

where 𝑢
⃗ denotes the velocity vector in the weld pool.

3.2.2. Energy Conservation Equation

By the solution of the energy conservation equation, the temperature field is obtained,
illustrate in the following equation

𝜕𝑇
⃗ . ∇ 𝑇 = ∇. (𝑘∇𝑇) + 𝑞
𝜌𝐶𝑃 𝜕𝑡 + 𝜌𝐶𝑃 𝑢 (3.2)

where, 𝐶𝑃 - the heat capacity,𝜌denotes the density, 𝑇 - temperature, t - time, 𝑘 - the thermal
conductivity and q - the volumetric source of heat.
During the phase change (both melting and solidification), Cp can be calculated by the
method of apparent capacity as defined in (Hu and Argyropoulos, 1996). The calculation of ρ,
k andCp during phase change can be calculated with the help of the following equations:

𝜌 = 𝑓𝑙 𝜌𝑙 + (1 − 𝑓𝑙 )𝜌𝑠 (3.3)

𝑘 = 𝑓𝑙 𝑘𝑙 + (1 − 𝑓𝑙 )𝑘𝑠 (3.4)

1 𝜕𝛼𝑚
∁𝑝 = 𝜌 (𝑓𝑙 𝜌𝑙 ∁𝑝,𝑙 + (1 − 𝑓𝑙 )𝜌𝑠 ∁𝑝,𝑠 ) + 𝐿 𝜕𝑇
(3.5)

where ∁𝑝,𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∁𝑝,𝑙 - the specific heat capacity of solidus and liquidus phase respectively, 𝜌𝑠
and 𝜌𝑙 - the density of solidus and liquidus phase respectively, L - the latent heat of fusion, 𝛼𝑚
- mass fraction 𝑘𝑙 and𝑘𝑠 - the thermal conductivity of liquidus and solidus phase, 𝑓𝑙 - phase
fraction of the liquid phase.
326 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

The phase fraction 𝑓𝑙 is a linear function that varies between 0 and 1. 𝑓𝑙 can be calculated
using the following equation:

0 𝑇 < 𝑇𝑠
𝑇− 𝑇𝑠
𝑓𝑙 = (𝑇 −𝑇 𝑇𝑠 ≤ 𝑇 < 𝑇𝑙 ) (3.6)
𝑙 𝑠
1 𝑇 ≥ 𝑇𝑙

where Tl and Ts - liquidus and solidus temperature, respectively, The liquidus and solidus
temperature is dependent on the material of weld. 𝛼𝑚 in Eq. 3.5 is the mass fraction given by

1 𝑓𝑙 𝜌𝑙 −(1−𝑓𝑙 )𝜌𝑠
𝛼𝑚 = (3.7)
2 𝜌

3.2.3. Momentum Conservation Equation

The velocity field in the melted zone of liquid material can be obtained using the solution
of momentum equation with convective motion according to Boussinesq’s model and fluid flow
through porous medium formulated using Darcy’s model (Piekarska and Kubiak, 2011; Zhou
and Tsai, 2008). Incompressible Navier-Stokes equations is the conservation of momentum or
time-dependent governing equation for the fluid flow:

⃗
𝜕𝑢
𝜌 + (𝜌 𝑢
⃗ . ∇)𝑢 ⃗ + (∇ 𝑢
⃗ = −∇𝑝 + ∇. (µ( ∇ 𝑢 ⃗⃗⃗𝑆 + ⃗⃗⃗⃗
⃗ )𝑇 ) + 𝐹 𝐹𝑁 (3.8)
𝜕𝑡

where 𝜇 - viscosity.
To reduce the velocity of the fluid at the solid-liquid phase transition interface and making
the fluid velocity in the unmelted zone equals zero, the source term 𝐹 ⃗⃗⃗𝑆 in Eq. 3.8 is
implemented.

2
⃗⃗⃗𝑆 = − (1−𝑓
𝐹 3
𝑙)
𝐶𝑢
⃗ (3.9)
𝑓𝑙 +𝑑

The mushy zone constant symbolized by the constant C in Eq. 3.9 and a value of 150,000
kg m-3 s-1 are suggested (Yadav et al., 2017). To prevent division by zero, the constant term d
having a minor value (taken as 10-6) is used. when the liquid fraction becomes zero in the solid
unmelted zone. With the help of Boussinesq approximation, flow driven by thermal buoyancy
is included in this model, as described in equation 3.10.
The ⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐹𝑁 source term in Eq. 3.8is given as

⃗⃗⃗⃗
𝐹𝑁 = 𝜌𝑔𝛽𝑇 (𝑇 − 𝑇∞ ) (3.10)

where ⃗⃗⃗𝑔 - gravitational acceleration, 𝛽𝑇 = coefficient of thermal expansion, 𝑇∞ - ambient

temperature.
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 327

3.3. Initial and Boundary Conditions

In this part, the computational model mentioned is transient in nature. An initial state at
time t = 0 is recommended. A defined initial temperature is recommended on the entire network
(equal to ambient temperature).

𝑇(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 0) = 𝑇∞ (3.11)

Dissipation of heat in the atmosphere through the convection and the radiation heat loss
from the welded plate’s top and side surfaces at the welding time. The heat loss caused by
radiation and convection is calculated by:

𝜕𝑇 4
−𝑘 =⥂⥂ ℎ(𝑇
⏟ − 𝑇∞ ) + 𝜎𝜀[(𝑇)
⏟ − (𝑇∞ )4 ] (3.12)
𝜕𝑦
𝐶𝑂𝑁𝑉𝐸𝐶𝑇𝐼𝑉𝐸 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝑆𝐸𝑆 𝑅𝐴𝐷𝐼𝐴𝑇𝐼𝑉𝐸 𝐿𝑂𝑆𝑆𝐸𝑆

where ℎ - convective heat transfer coefficient, 𝜀 - the workpiece’s emissivity, 𝜎 - Stefan-

Boltzmann constant.
The bottom surface may be assumed to be insulated. It can also be presumed that the top
surface is flat. The below equations define the boundary conditions of the Marangoni
convection on the top free surface.

𝜕𝑢 𝜕𝛾 𝜕𝑇
𝜏𝑥𝑧 = −𝜇 ( ) = ( ) ( ) (3.13)
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑥

𝜕𝑣 𝜕𝛾 𝜕𝑇
𝜏𝑦𝑧 = −𝜇 ( ) = ( ) ( ) (3.14)
𝜕𝑧 𝜕𝑇 𝜕𝑦

where 𝜏𝑥𝑧 and 𝜏𝑦𝑧 denotes the shear stresses and 𝛾denotes the surface tension.
Using the above-presented model, one can accurately describe the weld plates’ thermal
field to achieve better quality welds. The presented model can even be applied to multi-layer,
multi-pass welding processes with great accuracy (Yadav, Ghosh, et al., 2019).

4. QUANTITATIVE DESCRIPTION OF PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS

IN SOLID-STATE

The primary structure of steel converts into austenite after heating. The cooling turns
austenite into pearlite, ferrite, bainite, and martensite structures. In conjunction with their
cooling (also hardening), the structural modifications in the soldered joint create a
heterogeneous image of the material structure that affects stress status after welding. The joint’s
mechanical properties depend primarily on the form of welding material and the characteristics
of the subsequent heat cycles (their primary structure and chemical construction in steel).
Temperatures reached during heating, the velocity of cooling in the 800-500 °C range, and the
hold time in particular temperatures decide the form of structure present in the joint after and
during welding.
328 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

The distribution characteristic of the weld joint zone of structural carbon steel with a
schematic of a fragment of the iron-carbon system and fragment of TTT-welding diagram
(Ruge, 1980; Winczek, 2016) is presented in Figure 4.1. Together, we can distinguish the
following zones:

 fusion zone, which is characterized by the dendritic structure of solidification and

undergoes a thorough penetration
 partial joint penetration, where the material which underwent the perfect conversion
to austenite structure and the border existed between the melted material and semi-
melted material,
 overheating zone, which is dominated by the coarse-grained structure,
 proper transformation zone, where the primary structure has fully converted into
austenite,
 partial transformation zone where only a part of structure changes into austenite
distinguished between temperature A1 of the beginning of austenitization and A3 of the
end of austenitization,
 recrystallization zone.

There are many works that are devoted to the description and numerical modelling of steel
phase conversion. Rhode and Jeppson, 2000 presented a review of this kind of work.

Figure 4.1. Depending on the temperature and the carbon share in the steel, the
characteristicstructuralareasof a welded joint.
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 329

4.1. Calculating of Structural Shares during the Single Thermal Cycle

The form of the new phase is primarily based on heating and cooling kinetics. Johnson
Mehl-Avrami’s and Kolmogorov’s (JMAK) rules explain these processes’ kinetics (Piekarska
et al., 2011). While heating the ferrite-pearlitic steel austenite A is created therefore defined
according to the formula:

𝜙𝐴 (𝑇) = ∑𝑗 𝜙𝑗0 (1 − 𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝑏𝑗 (𝑇)𝑡 𝑛𝑗(𝑇) )) (4.1)

where an initial share of bainite (jB). pearlite (jP) and ferrite (jF) constituted by j0,
With the help of conditions of the beginning and the end of transformation determined the
constants bj and nj:

𝑛𝑗 = 𝑙𝑛(𝑙𝑛(0.99)) / 𝑙𝑛(𝐴1 /𝐴3 ) ; 𝑏𝑗 = 0.01𝑛𝑖 /𝐴1 (4.2)

The volume fraction of some phases during cooling in welding processes depends on the
cooling rate, temperature and austenite share (in the incomplete conversion region of 0  A 
1). The advancement of the phase transition during cooling is calculated with the voluminal
fraction additive law in quantitative perspective by volume fraction j of created phase what
can be expressed analogically to Avrami’s formula (Avrami, 1939) by the equation:

𝑛(𝑇(𝑣8/5 ))
𝑚𝑎𝑥{1−𝑒𝑥𝑝[𝑏𝑗 (𝑇(𝑣8/5 ))𝑡(𝑇) ]}
𝜙𝑗 (𝑇, 𝑡) = 𝜙𝐴 𝜙𝑗 (4.3)

Figure 4.2. Scheme of phase changes of overcooled austenite depending on cooling velocity within
temperature range 800-5000C.
330 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

Based on the continuous cooling diagram (Figure 4.2), here φjmax is the maximum
volumetric fraction of phase j for the determined cooling rate estimated. In contrast, the integral
volumetric fraction equals to:

∑𝑘𝑗=1 𝜙𝑗 = 1 (4.4)

and the number of structural participation is denoted by k.

The quantitative description of the dominance of quality and material’s structure on
temperature and transformation time of over-cooled austenite during surfacing is made using
the time-temperature-transformation diagram during continuous cooling, which binds the time
of cooling t8/5 (it is the time where the velocity of cooling (v8/5 = (800-500)/t8/5, or material stays
within the range of temperature from 5000C to 8000C) and the temperature with the progress of
phase transformation (Figure 4.2).
The progress of phase transformation is predicted by a volumetric fraction j of created
phase In quantitative cotext, where i can denote ferrite pearlite (jP), (jF), or martensite (j
M) bainite (jB). With the help of formula (4.3), volumetric fraction j of created phase can be
expressed, where time t is replaced with a new independent variable – temperature T (Parkitny
and Winczek, 1999):

𝑛𝑗 0
𝑚𝑎𝑥(1−𝑒𝑥𝑝(−𝑏𝑗 𝑇 ))
𝑗
𝜙𝑗 = 𝜙𝐴 𝜙𝑗 (4.5)

wherein:

𝑓 𝑓
𝑙𝑛(𝑙𝑛(1−𝜙𝑗𝑠 )/ 𝑙𝑛(1−𝜙𝑗 )) 𝑛𝑗 (1−𝜙𝑗 )
𝑛𝑗 = 𝑓 ; 𝑏𝑗 = (4.6)
𝑙𝑛(𝑇𝑗𝑠 /𝑇𝑗 ) 𝑇𝑗𝑠

𝑓
𝜙𝑗𝑠 𝜙𝑗
𝑚𝑎𝑥 ; (4.7)
𝜙𝑗 𝜙𝑗𝑚𝑎𝑥

where j0 - volumetric participation of j-th structural component, which has not been converted
during the austenitization.
Initial and final temperature of phase transformation of this component are Tjs = Tjs(v8/5)
and Tjf = Tjf(v8/5) respectively.
By using the Koistinen-Marburger formula, the martensite formation fraction below the
temperature Ms is calculated (Domański and Bokota, 2011; Hashiguchi and Yamakawa, 2012)

𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑚𝑎𝑥{1−𝑒𝑥𝑝[−𝜇(𝑀𝑠 −𝑇)]} 𝑙𝑛(𝜙𝑀 ())
𝜙𝑀 (𝑇) = 𝜙𝐴 /𝜙𝑀 ;𝜇=− 𝑀𝑠 −𝑀𝑓
(4.8)

where m - volumetric share of martensite, T - the current temperature of the process, Ms and
Mf - initial and final temperature of martensite transformation, respectively.
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 331

4.2. Structural Shares during Multi-Pass Welding

The share of austenite A during heating in multi-pass welding can be calculated by

(Winczek, 2018):

 
 A T    0j 1  exp b j T t
n j T 
  0
A (4.9)
j

where: A0 accounts for the amount of residual austenite remaining from the previous welding
thermal cycle, while constants nj and bj are determined according to (4.2).
The structural component shares calculation during cooling is performed according to the
equations (4.5) – 4.8).
It should be noted that the above formulas do not take into account the tempering phase
changes, i.e., the transformation of martensite into sorbite and bainite during heating. Despite
numerous studies and extensive literature, the critical temperatures of these changes are still
difficult to determine for weldable steels.

5. THERMAL AND STRUCTURAL STRAINS, DILATOMETRIC CURVES

5.1. Thermal and Structural Strains during Single-Pass Welding

The sum of thermal and structural strains during heating (H) and cooling (C) represents
total strain in single-pass surfacing:

𝜀(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝜀 𝐻 + 𝜀 𝐶 (5.1)

Strains at the time of heating are given by:

𝜀 𝐻 = ∑𝑖=𝐴,𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀{𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖0 (𝑇 − 𝑇0 )𝐻(𝑇𝐴1 − 𝑇) + 𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 )𝐻(𝑇𝐴3 − 𝑇)𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 ) +

+𝛼𝐴 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴3 )𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴3 ) + 𝜙𝑖 𝛾𝑖𝐴 } (5.2)

where i - linear thermal expansion coefficient of i-th structure, iA - the structural strain of i-
th structure in austenite, T0 - initial temperature, H(x) - function defined as follows:

1 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 > 0
𝐻(𝑥) = {0.5 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 = 0 (5.3)
0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑥 < 0

In the cooling period, the strain can be described by the relation:

𝜀 𝐶 = 𝛼𝐴 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆𝑂𝐿 )𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑠 ) + 𝛼𝐴 (𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇𝑆𝑂𝐿 )𝐻(𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇) +

+ ∑𝑖=𝐴,𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀 𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝑠𝑖 )𝐻(𝑇𝑠𝑖 − 𝑇) + ∑𝑖=𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀 𝜙𝑖 𝛾𝐴𝑖 (5.4)
332 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

where Ts - the initial temperature of phase transformation, TSOL - solidus temperature, γAi - the
structural strain of austenite in i-th structure Tsi - the initial temperature of austenite
transformation in i-th structure. In addition, due to the limit on solid-state of material:

𝜀(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = 0 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑇 > 𝑇𝑆𝑂𝐿 (5.5)

The structural values of strains () and thermal expansion coefficients of individual phases
() presented in Table 1 (Winczek and Kulawik, 2012) can be used in the calculation of strains
in single- and multi-pass welding.

Table 1. Thermal () and structural () expansion coefficients of phases(J. Winczek and
Kulawik, 2012)

 [1/C] 
austenite 2.17810 -5
F, P, SA 1.98610-3
ferrite 1.53410-5 BA 1.44010-3
pearlite 1.53410-5 AF,P 3.05510-3
bainite 1.17110-5 AB 4.00010-3
martensite 1.36010-5 AM 6.85010-3

Figure 5.1 shows the graph of temperature and strains during a single thermal cycle.
The strain curve disorders are the result of phase changes: stage 1 - austenitization, stage 2
- austenite transformation into ferrite and perlite, stage3 - austenite transformation into bainite.

Figure 5.1. Thermal cycle and strains during single-pass welding.

5.2. Thermal and Structural Strains during Multi-Pass Welding

The total strain during multi-pass welding surfacing represents the sum of thermal strain
jHand structural strain jC (caused by phase transformations) formed in individual thermal
cycles j = 1 k, respectively(J. Winczek, 2018):
𝜀(𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = ∑𝑘𝑗=1 𝜀𝑗 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = ∑𝑘𝑗=1 (𝜀𝑗𝐻 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) + 𝜀𝑗𝐶 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡)) (5.6)
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 333

where εjH and εjC represent the thermal and structural strains during heating and cooling,
respectively, while padding the j-th bead.
Then strains during heating are equal to:

𝜀𝑗𝐻 = 𝜀𝑗𝑇ℎ − 𝜀𝑗𝑇𝑟ℎ (5.7)

where jTh and jTrh are thermal and structural strains, respectively:

𝜀𝑗𝑇ℎ = ∑𝑖=𝐴,𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀(𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖0 (𝑇 − 𝑇0𝑗 )𝐻(𝑇𝐴1 − 𝑇) + 𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖 (𝑇𝐴1 − 𝑇0 )𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 ) +

+ 𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 )𝐻(𝑇𝐴3 − 𝑇)𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 ) + 𝜙𝑖 𝜂𝑖 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 )𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴1 )𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝐴3 )) (5.8)

𝜀𝑗𝑇𝑟ℎ = ∑𝑖=𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀 𝜙𝑖 𝛾𝑖𝐴 (5.9)

where i - linear thermal expansion coefficient of i-th structure, T0 = initial temperature, iA -
the structural strain of i-th structure in austenite.
During cooling, the strain can be described by the relation:

𝜀𝑗𝑇𝑟ℎ = ∑𝑖=𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀 𝜙𝑖 𝛾𝑖𝐴 (5.9)

where Tc - strain caused by thermal shrinkage of material, jTrc - structural strain caused by
phase transformation during cooling:

𝜀𝑗𝑇𝑐 = 𝛼𝐴 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝑆𝑂𝐿 )𝐻(𝑇 − 𝑇𝑠 ) + 𝛼𝐴 (𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇𝑆𝑂𝐿 )𝐻(𝑇𝑠 − 𝑇) +

+ ∑𝑖=𝐴,𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀 𝛼𝑖 𝜙𝑖 (𝑇 − 𝑇𝑠𝑖 )𝐻(𝑇𝑠𝑖 − 𝑇) (5.10)

𝜀𝑗𝑇𝑟𝑐 = ∑𝑖=𝑃,𝐹,𝐵,𝑀 𝜂𝑖 𝛾𝐴𝑖 (5.11)

where Ts - initial temperature of phase transformation, TSOL represent solidus temperature, Tsi -
initial temperature of austenite transformation in i-th structure, Ai - the structural strain of
austenite in i-th structure, Ts - max {TsF, TsP,TsB,TsM }.
Analogical to equation (5.5), because of the limit on solid-state of material, for temperature
exceeding solidus temperature, the strain equals 0.

5.3. Dilatometric Curves

The dilatometric curve is a graphical representation of the strain (or the elongation Δlof the
sample when testing a sample of the base lengthL0 in the dilatometer) as a function of
temperature during a given thermal cycle. It enables the determination of critical phase
transformation temperatures (during experimental tests) or verifying numerical simulation
results. Figure 5.2 shows examples of dilatometric plots. In Figure 5.1a, the dilatometric curve
for a single thermal welding cycle is presented. Initially (point 1), the graph is rectilinearly
334 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

related to the thermal expansion of the material. In point 2, the collapse of the graph is caused
by the start of austenitic transformation (material shrinkage caused by structural deformation -
a different density of austenite than the other structures), which ends in point 3. The further
course of the plot is rectilinear. After reaching the maximum temperature (point 4), cooling will
begin (point 5).In point 6, a re-start of the curvature of the graph transformation caused by
supercooled austenite into ferrite-pearlite (points 6 - 7) and bainite (points 7 – 8). The final
segment of the plot (point 9) is rectilinear related to the heat shrinkage of the material. Figure
5.1b shows the dilatometric diagram for 3 cycles of multi-pass welding. In the first cycle (points
1 - 5), austenitic transformation takes place during heating (point 2), and during cooling, the
transformation of austenite into ferrite, pearlite and bainite(point 4). Similarly, in the second
cycle (points 5 - 9), the austenitic transformation (point 6) takes place first, and then the
austenite transformation into cooling structures (point 8). During the third cycle (points 9-11),
there are no phase transformations, and the graph is rectilinear.

a) b)

Figure 5.3. Examples of dilatometric curves: a) single-pass welding; b) multi-pass welding.

6. STRAINS AND STRESSES DURING WELDING

The causes of residual stresses caused by the process of welding elements of steel are well
known. These include temperature gradients and phase transitions, which cause plasticization
in the welding process. Apart from the phase transformations and variable temperature field,
an indirect influence on the state of plasticization is also exerted by the change with temperature
of the thermo-mechanical properties, especially the yield point of the welded material. These
properties change with the temperature and phase composition of the steel.
Thus, the full illustration of welding issues consists of a description of the variable
temperature field, phase transformations and the state of stress and strain related to a specific
constitutive law. These fields interact with each other. The full coupling of thermal, mechanical
and material (phase transformations) phenomena is often mentioned. For the accurate
computation of welding problems, some of these couplings are important, while others are
purely cognitive. Figure 6.1 shows a diagram of these couplings. The continuous bold arrows
indicate significant couplings, considered in further considerations; dashed lines indicate
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 335

couplings that can be omitted as less critical. The dotted line represents the strain-stress-to-
temperature coupling, which is practically insignificant.

Figure 6.1. Scheme of the couplings.

6.1. Modeling of Non-Isothermal Plastic Flow of Steel

The basic assumption of the formulated theory is the assumption that the total strain
tensorεi,j is expressed respectively by the sum of elastic, plastic and thermal strains and the
structural strain due to phase transitions:

𝜺𝑖𝑗 = 𝜺𝐸𝑖𝑗 + 𝜺𝑃𝑖𝑗 + 𝜺𝑇𝑖𝑗 + 𝜺𝑇𝑟

𝑖𝑗 (6.1)

where the superscript E, P, T, Tr indicate elastic, plastic, thermal and structural strain,
respectively.
This assumption allows the application of the classical theory of non-isothermal plasticity
(Han and Reddy, 2012; Hashiguchi and Yamakawa, 2012; Inoue and Raniecki, 1978; Snyder
and Bathe, 1981; Z. Wang et al., 2018; Yu and Li, 2012; Bokota and Parkitny, 1991; Negahban,
2012; Prasad, 2018).
The constitutive law of an isotropic thermoelastic material with a temperature-dependent
modulus is as follows:

𝐸
𝝈𝑖𝑗 = 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 (𝜺𝑘𝑙 − 𝜺𝑃𝑘𝑙 − 𝜺𝑇𝑘𝑙 − 𝜺𝑇𝑟
𝑘𝑙 ) (6.2)

where:

𝐸
𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 = (∑(𝐾) 𝜆𝐾 𝜙 𝐾 )𝛿𝑖𝑗 𝛿𝑘𝑙 + (∑(𝐾) 𝜆𝐾 𝜙 𝐾 )(𝛿𝑖𝑘 𝛿𝑗𝑙 + 𝛿𝑖𝑙 𝛿𝑗𝑘 ), (6.3)

𝐸𝐾 𝜈𝐾
𝜆𝐾 = (1+𝜈𝐾)(1−2𝜈𝐾) (6.4)

𝐸𝐾
𝜇𝐾 = (6.5)
2(1+𝜈𝐾 )

𝜺𝐸𝑘𝑙 = (∑(𝐾) 𝛼 𝐾 𝜙 𝐾 )(𝑇 − 𝑇0 )𝛿𝑘𝑙 (6.6)

𝜺𝑇𝑟 𝐾 𝐾
𝑘𝑙 = (∑(𝐾) 𝛽 𝜙 )𝛿𝑘𝑙 (6.7)

wherein EK – Young’s modulus of the component K [MPa], μK – shear modulus of the

component K [MPa], vK – Poisson number of the component K, δij – Kronecker delta, αK –
336 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

coefficient of linear thermal expansion of the component K [1/K, 1/0C], βK – the structural
strain of component K, φ – the share of component K, T0 – reference temperature (weld
K

preheating temperature or ambient temperature) [K, 0C].

The general form of the flow function for a non-isothermal condition is as follows(Inoue
and Raniecki, 1978; Snyder and Bathe, 1981):

1 1 2
𝑭 = (𝑺𝑖𝑗 − 𝜶𝑖𝑗 )(𝑺𝑖𝑗 − 𝜶𝑖𝑗 ) − (∑(𝐾) 𝝈𝐾 𝐾
𝑦𝜙 ) (6.8)
2 3

wherein

1
𝑺𝑖𝑗 = 𝝈𝑖𝑗 − 3 𝛿𝑖𝑗 𝝈11 - stress deviator, (6.9)

𝝈𝐾 𝐾 𝑝
𝑦 = 𝝈𝑦 (𝜺 , 𝑇) - yield stress, (6.10)

𝑡
𝜺𝑃 = ∫0 𝜺̇ 𝑝 𝑑𝜏 - effective plastic strain, (6.11)

2 𝑝 𝑝
𝜺̇ 𝑝 = √ 𝜺̇ 𝑖𝑗 𝜺̇ 𝑖𝑗 - effective plastic strain rate, (6.12)
3

𝑡
𝜶𝑖𝑗 = ∫0 𝜶̇𝑖𝑗 𝑑𝜏 - flow surface translation tensor (internal stress), (6.13)

𝐶 = 𝐶(𝑇̇, 𝜂1 , . . . . . . . , 𝜂 𝐾 ) - strengthening parameter. (6.14)

For the elastic behaviour of the material F < 0, and the plastic behaviour F = 0. The rate of
plastic deformation is expressed in the form:

𝑝 𝜕𝑭
𝜺̇ 𝑖𝑗 = 𝛬̇ 𝜕𝝈 (6.15)
𝑖𝑗

where 𝛬̇ is a positive scalar variable with respect to time and place determined by the specified
strengthening law. This law describes changes in the flow surface with progressive plastic
deformation. The laws of isotropic and kinematic strengthening are the most commonly used.
After calculating the derivative of equation (6.2) with respect to time and substituting to
(6.15), we get:

𝜕𝐹
𝐸
𝝈̇ 𝑖,𝑗 = 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 (𝜺̇ 𝑘𝑙 − 𝛬̇ 𝜕𝜎 − 𝜺̇ 𝑇𝑘𝑙 − 𝜺̇ 𝑇𝑟 ̇𝐸 𝐸
𝑘𝑙 ) + 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝜀𝑘𝑙 (6.16)
𝑘𝑙

Plastic deformations take place whenF = 0, then also𝐹̇ ≡ 0. Then, taking into account the
equation (6.8) for isotropic reinforcement (𝜶𝑖𝑗 = 0) the following relationship follows:

2
𝑺𝑖𝑗 𝝈̇ 𝑖𝑗 = (∑(𝐾) 𝜎𝑦𝐾 𝜙 𝐾 )(∑(𝐾) 𝝈̇ 𝐾 𝐾
𝑦𝜑 ) (6.17)
3
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 337

Remembering that 𝝈𝐾 P
𝑦 is a function of the effective plastic strainε and temperature T, the
change in yield stress 𝝈̇ 𝐾
𝑦 with respect to time can be written as:

𝜕𝝈𝐾 𝜕𝝈𝐾
𝑇̇
𝑦 𝑝 𝑦
𝝈̇ 𝐾
𝑦 = 𝜕𝜺𝑝
𝜺̇ + 𝜕𝑇
(6.18)

Moreover, using the relations given in the explanations to formula (6.8) regarding εP and
𝑃
𝜺̇ the relationship:

𝜕𝑭
= 𝑺𝑖𝑗 (6.18)
𝜕𝝈𝑖𝑗

From the condition F = 0 is:

2 2
𝑺𝑖𝑗 𝑺𝑖𝑗 = (∑(𝐾) 𝝈𝐾 𝐾
𝑦𝜙 ) (6.19)
3

Then the equation (6.17) can be written:

2 2 𝜕𝝈𝐾 𝜕𝝈𝐾
𝑺𝑖𝑗 𝜎̇𝒊𝒋 = 3 𝝈𝑦 (3 𝛬̇𝝈𝑦 (∑(𝐾) 𝜕𝜺𝑝 𝜙 𝐾 ) + 𝑇̇ (∑(𝐾)
𝑦 𝑦
𝜕𝑇
𝜙 𝐾 )) (6.20)

where it was assumed that

𝜎𝑦 = ∑(𝐾) 𝜎𝑦𝐾 𝜙 𝐾 (6.21)

Multiplying the equation (6.16) by δij and substituting this result into the dependence
(6.20), the result of the solution is in the form:

2 𝜕𝜎𝐾
𝑦 𝐾 ̇
𝐸 𝜎 (∑(𝐾) 𝜙 )𝑇
𝑺𝑖𝑗 (𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 (𝜺̇ 𝑘𝑙 −𝜺̇ 𝑇 𝑇𝑟 ̇𝐸 𝐸
𝑘𝑙 −𝜺̇ 𝑘𝑙 )+𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝜺𝑘𝑙 ) 3 𝑦 𝜕𝑇
𝛬̇ = 𝜕𝝈𝐾
− 𝜕𝝈𝐾
(6.22)
4 2 𝑦 𝐸 𝑺 4 2 𝑦 𝐸 𝑺
𝝈 (∑(𝐾) 𝑃 𝜙𝐾 )+𝑺𝑖𝑗 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝑘𝑙 𝜎 (∑(𝐾) 𝑃 𝜙𝐾 )+𝑺𝑖𝑗 𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝑘𝑙
9 𝑦 𝜕𝜺 9 𝑦 𝜕𝜺

𝜕𝝈𝐾
To determine 𝛬̇from relation (6.22), it is necessary to know 𝜕𝝈𝐾 𝑃
𝑦 /𝜕𝜺 and
𝑦
for
𝜕𝑇
individual structural components of the welded material. These dependencies are obtained from
a series of tensile tests of austenitic, pearlitic, bainitic and martensitic steels carried out at
various temperatures. The method of determining these values is presented in Figure 6.2
(Bokota and Parkitny, 2003):

𝜕𝝈𝐾
𝑦 𝐸𝐾 𝐸𝑇𝐾
= (6.22)
𝜕𝜺𝑝 𝐸𝐾 −𝐸𝑇𝐾

and
 Ky _K
  E K ETK   y 0
K

 p    (6.23)
T T  E K  ETK  T
338 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

where 𝐸𝑇𝐾 = 𝐸𝑇𝐾 (𝑇) - modulus of strengthening of the plastic structural component K, 𝜕𝜎𝑦0
𝐾
-
yield point of the structural component K in the natural state.

Figure 6.2. Plastic strengthening surface in coordinates of stress, plastic deformation and temperature.

Carrying out considerations for the general relationship of the flow function (6.8), i.e.,
taking into account also the kinematic strengthening αij, the following dependencies arise:

𝜕𝑭
= 𝑺𝑖𝑗 − 𝜶𝑖𝑗 (6.24)
𝜕𝝈𝑖𝑗

𝜕𝑭
= −(𝑺𝑖𝑗 − 𝜶𝑖𝑗 ) (6.25)
𝜕𝜶𝑖𝑗

2  y K K
K
F
 Ky
     
3   K  T 
(6.26)

𝜕𝜎𝑦𝐾 𝑝 𝜕𝜎𝑦𝐾
𝜎̇𝑦𝐾 = 𝜕𝜺𝑝
𝜺̇ + 𝜕𝑇
𝑇̇ (6.27)

which allows writing the equation 𝑭̇ = 0in the form of:

2 𝜕𝜎𝑦𝐾 𝐾
𝜕𝜎𝑦
(𝑺𝑖𝑗 − 𝜶𝑖𝑗 )𝝈̇ 𝑖𝑗 = (𝑺𝑖𝑗 − 𝜶𝑖𝑗 )𝜶̇ + 3 𝜎𝑦 (𝜺̇ 𝑝 (∑(𝐾) 𝜕𝑇
𝜙 𝐾 + 𝑇̇ ∑(𝐾) 𝜕𝑇 𝜙 𝐾 )) (6.28)

By making analogous substitutions as in (6.17), 𝛬̇takes the form:

 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 339

𝐸
(𝑺𝑖𝑗 −𝜶𝑖𝑗 )(𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 (𝜺̇ 𝑘𝑙 −𝜺̇ 𝑇 𝑇𝑟 ̇𝐸 𝐸
𝑘𝑙 −𝜺̇ 𝑘𝑙 )+𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝜺𝑘𝑙 )
𝛬̇ = 𝜕𝝈𝐾
+
2 2 4 𝑦 𝐸 (𝑺 −𝜶 )
𝜎 𝐶+ 𝜎𝑦2 (∑(𝐾) 𝑝 𝜙𝐾 )+(𝑺𝑖𝑗 −𝜶𝑖𝑗 )𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝑖𝑗 𝑖𝑗
3 𝑦 9 𝜕𝜺

2 𝜕𝜎𝐾
𝑦 𝐾 ̇
𝜎 (∑(𝐾) 𝜙 )𝑇
3 𝑦 𝜕𝑇
− 𝜕𝝈𝐾
(6.29)
2 2 4 𝑦 𝐸 (𝑺 −𝜶 )
𝜎 𝐶+ 𝜎𝑦2 (∑(𝐾) 𝑝 𝜙𝐾 )+(𝑺𝑖𝑗 −𝜶𝑖𝑗 )𝐶𝑖𝑗𝑘𝑙 𝑖𝑗 𝑖𝑗
3 𝑦 9 𝜕𝜺

According to the relations (6.22) and (6.23), using the plastic strengthening surfaces
(Figure 6.2), the values of 𝝈𝐾 𝑦 /𝜕𝜺
𝑃
and 𝜕𝝈𝐾𝑦 /𝜕𝑇are determined by the strengthening
𝐸𝐾 𝐸𝐾
parameter𝐸𝐾 −𝐸𝑇𝐾.taking into account plastic strength behave like a function of temperature.
𝑇
To determine the value of the C, taking into account the strengthening as mentioned above
parameter to be considered the following cases of load components (K) at the same temperature,
i.e.,

𝜎11 ≠ 0, all others 𝜎𝑖𝑗 = 0,

𝜎̇11 ≠ 0, all others 𝜎̇𝑖𝑗 = 0,

Then

1
𝑆22 = 𝑆33 = − 2 𝑆11 (6.30)

Because

2
𝑆11 = 𝜎11 (6.31)
3

then

1
𝑆22 = 𝑆33 = − 3 𝜎11 (6.32)

and the rest

𝑺𝑖𝑗 = 0 (6.33)

From the incompressibility condition:

𝑝 𝑝 𝑝
𝜺11 + 𝜺22 + 𝜺33 = 0 (6.34)

we receive

𝑝 𝑝 1 𝑝
𝜺22 = 𝜺33 = − 2 𝜺11 (6.35)

and
340 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

𝑝 𝑝 1 𝑝
𝜺̇ 22 = 𝜺̇ 33 = − 2 𝜺̇ 11 (6.35)

while the others

𝑝
𝜺𝑖𝑗 = 𝜺̇ 𝑖𝑗 = 0 (6.36)

Consequently, the flow surface translation tensors are:

1
𝜶22 = 𝜶33 = − 2 𝜶11 (6.37)

1
𝜶̇22 = 𝜶̇33 = − 𝜶̇11 (6.38)
2

Determining F = 0 and 𝐹̇ = 0 for the above isothermal load test, after transformations are:

4
(𝑺11 − 𝜶11 )2 = 𝝈2𝑦 (6.39)
3

and
𝑃 3
(𝑺11 − 𝜶11 ) (𝝈̇ 11 − 𝐶𝜺̇ 11 )=0 (6.40)
2

hence

3 𝑃
𝝈̇ 11 = 𝐶𝜺̇ 11 (6.41)
2

From the stress-strain curve (for uniaxial tensile) follows the tensor value:

𝜺̇ 11 ≡ 𝜀̇11 (6.42)

and

𝐸𝐾 𝐸𝐾
𝜎̇𝑦 = (∑(𝐾) 𝐸𝐾 −𝐸𝑇𝐾 𝜂 𝐾 ) 𝜀̇11 (6.43)
𝑇

Comparing the dependencies (6.41) and (6.43) and taking into account (6.42) in the finally
have:

2 𝐸𝐾 𝐸𝐾
𝐶 = (∑(𝐾) 𝐾 𝑇𝐾 ) (6.44)
3 𝐸 −𝐸 𝑇

The present considerations concerning the basics of the theory of non-isothermal plasticity,
taking into account phase transformations, and the presentation of the theory modified due to
these transformations allow for the description of welding issues.
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 341

6.2. Temperature-Dependent Mechanical Properties

In modelling the strain and stress states, it is necessary to consider changes in the
mechanical properties of the material (individual structures) depending on temperature. These
mainly include the modulus of elasticity, the yield point and the tensile strength limit.

Figure 6.3. The stress-strain curves of austenite in relation to temperature.

Figure 6.4. The stress-strain curves of bainite in relation to temperature.

342 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

Figure 6.5. The stress-strain curves of ferrite in relation to temperature.

Figure 6.6. The stress-strain curves of martensite in relation to temperature.

Below, the stress-strain curves for particulars basic structures in relation to temperature are
presented (Figures 6.3–6.7) (Winczek, 2013). Tensile curves of pearlite and ferrite are assumed
based on Szeliga et al., 2005 and Vila Real et al., 2004. In the case of austenite, bainite and
martensite based on data from Melander, 1985 and Lian et al., 1991 are determined tensile
curves according to Swift’s law (Kim et al. 2005; Kim et al., 2006).
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 343

Figure 6.7. The stress-strain curves of pearlite in relation to temperature.

6.3. Physical Non-Linearity of the Material in the Elasto-Plastic Range

The stresses of elasto-plastic can be iterated in a variable modulus of longitudinal elasticity

using the stress-transpression curve (Bokota and Parkitny, 2003). The elastic solutions are used
in this manner. Used in the iteration function, the tension-and-compression curves are
replicated by σ = f(ε). Let by σsbe the limit of elasticity (limit of applicability of Hook’s law),
that is, unloading does not leave plastic deformation. Based on (6.45), the first solution is the
beginning of the iteration for the determined external load. The stress 𝜎 corresponds to strain:
(1)

𝜀 = 𝜎/𝐸 (6.45)
(1) (1) (1)

If the obtained stress for Young’s modulus is in the plastic range (| 𝜎 | > 𝜎𝑆 ), The change
(1)
in modulus E is required.
Young’s modulus (Figure 6.8) is given with the help of the estimated value of 𝜎 from the
(1)
stress-strain curve for strain 𝜀 :
(1)

𝐸 = 𝜎(1)/ 𝜀 (6.46)
(2) (1)

The modulus E can be iterated for every sequential step k by modulus:

𝐸 = 𝜎(𝑘 − 1)/ 𝜀 (6.47)

(𝑘) (𝑘−1)
344 J. Winczek and A. Yadav

Figure 6.8. Iteration of elasto-plastic states.

The stresses 𝜎 (the n-th iteration step) are the final solution in the elasto-plastic range.
(𝑛)
They must satisfy the condition:

| 𝜎 − 𝜎(𝑛)| ≤ 𝛥𝜎 (6.48)
(𝑛)

where Δσ = complex accuracy of the solution. Then the plastic strain (permanent) is equal to:

𝜀𝑝𝑙 = 𝜎(𝑛)/ 𝐸 − 𝜎(𝑛)/ 𝐸 (6.49)

(𝑛) (1)

CONCLUSION
Physical phenomena occurring during welding processes are complex. They are the subject
of interdisciplinary analyzes: thermodynamics, metallurgy, materials science and
thermomechanics. In the literature on the subject, many publications on the analysis and
modelling of thermo-mechanical phenomena in welding processes can be found, and the study
of these phenomena for individual welding methods. Modelling of thermal, structural and
mechanical phenomena can be done using universal engineering packages such as Ansys®,
Abaqus®, Adina®. There are professional programs on the market dedicated to both
simulating welding processes (e.g., Sysweld, Simufact Welding, Weldsim) and supporting the
preparation of technologies for these processes (e.g., StarWeld). In these programs’ base,
specific models of heat sources and thermo-mechanical specifications of both welded and
additional materials used for welding are implemented. These programs allow them to be
modified to a limited extent, using their solutions, models or other materials. This chapter
presented the basics of modelling the temperature field, phase transitions and transformations,
 Fundamentals of Thermo-Fluid-Mechanical Modelling in Welding Processes 345

strain and stress state, enabling the construction of own models and the implementation of
analyzes. Many aspects of modelling have only been signalled by referring the reader to
literature sources.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors are grateful to Czestochowa University of Technology, Poland and CSIR –
Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute, India for support in this work’s
preparation. CSIR-CSMCRI PRIS no. is 22/2021.

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 12

ROLE OF NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS

IN WELD ANALYSIS

D. Das1, S. Jaypuria1, S. Gupta1, A. Kundu1,

D. K. Pratihar1, and G. G. Roy2
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India
2
Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur, India

ABSTRACT
Experimental results have always been very crucial for different weld analyses. But
the data collected through experiments are subjected to environmental, physical, financial
and several other constraints. Hence, any investigation employing experimental data is very
tedious. These issues, associated with the experiment-based analysis are addressed through
the use of different simulation techniques and thereby, revolutionizing not only the welding
process but also the entire manufacturing sector. The simulation includes modeling of heat
source, computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based study of melt pool fluid flow in and
associated influence of various forces in the weld, data-driven statistical techniques and
machine learning-based analysis, modeling of microstructure, analytical techniques of
various weld attributes. The present chapter introduces the readers to these techniques to
address different aspects of welding for obtaining fast, cost-effective and accurate results.

Keywords: welding, numerical simulation, finite element analysis, phenomenological model,

regression analysis, machine learning

1. INTRODUCTION
Data obtained through experiments are known to be very useful to investigate the effects
of input parameters on different weld outputs. The experimental outputs, such as thermal


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
352 D. Das, S. Jaypuria, S. Gupta et al.

history, stress developed, deformation, etc. are measured through several available gadgets,
namely thermocouples, X-ray diffraction, surface profilometer, and many more. However,
investigation through experiments alone is very difficult, time taking and costly. Thus, it
requires procurement of materials, cleaning and other pre-processing activities for accurate
welding followed by different post-processing analyses. Additionally, all the equipment also
have their own set of constraints, which need to be addressed to obtain reliable data-set. Thus
the different equipment and accessories require proper maintenance and calibration to function
properly.
Hence, some alternate solution is required to reduce the number of experiments without
compromising with the database. This issue is addressed through simulation techniques. The
role of numerical simulation in weld analysis is very significant. It has contributed not only to
modernize the entire manufacturing sector but also assisted in cost minimization, system
automation, enhancing the safety standards and improving the aesthetic value. This assists in
pre-evaluation of the different welding conditions before carrying out actual experiments
(Jaypuria et al., 2018).
It is known that almost all the mechanical and metallurgical weld properties are influenced
by the thermal cycle (Das et al., 2016). Being a crucial parameter, it has been predicted
effectively using various available numerical tools against different process parameters. Apart
from the heat source modeling, simulation techniques are also utilized to study the welding
induced mechanical changes, safety and reliability of components, failure conditions,
metallurgical attributes, cost estimation, etc. The mechanical analysis includes the study of
residual stresses and deformations developed during the welding processes. It also accurately
simulates tensile, fatigue, Charpy, bending and other destructive tests. The condition for crack
generation and propagation is also simulated accurately. The metallurgical analysis includes
simulation of the solidification process, phase change, variations in the microstructure
corresponding to change in the input conditions. Furthermore, several data-driven conventional
and non-conventional techniques are also available to effectively model welding processes and
thereby optimize desired weld attributes.

2. SIMULATION OF WELD ATTRIBUTES

Finite element modeling (FEM) is one of the extensively employed numerical tools to
simulate different welding processes (Das et al., 2018). Commercial FEM packages, namely
Abaqus, Ansys, Comsol etc. are often utilized for such simulations. It is known to all that an
electron beam is a stream of electrons moving from its source to the target. However, the same
charge is also known to repel each other. As a result, the space charge forces among the
electrons repel each other, and thereby cause the beam to diverge. Hence, the use of electron
beams in welding with different degree of beam divergence due to varying space charge forces
have a strong influence on the different weld attributes. That is, as the space charge forces
increases, an increase in the electron beam divergence is observed. This results in a decrease of
the beam intensity on the work-piece, leading to reduced penetration and increased bead width.
Thus, a large bead width and smaller weld penetration result in higher cooling rate due to the
availability of a larger surface area to lose heat. Moreover, this also results in microstructural
changes. Thus, this variation in the weld geometry, cooling rate and associated microstructure
 Role of Numerical Simulations in Weld Analysis 353

because of the space charge induced electron beam divergence is presented successfully
through the FEM simulations (Das et al., 2020b). Other than FEM techniques, the
computational fluid dynamics (CFD)-based simulations have been used to study the fluid
velocity in the weld-pool, solidification features, phase change, etc. The phenomenological
model (Das et al., 2020; Das et al., 2018; Roy et al., 2002) is one such efficient CFD tool, which
models the welding process accurately. The solidification and associated microstructures are
popularly studied through cellular automata (CA) (Shojaeefard et al., 2014). Calculation of
Phase Diagram (CALPHAD) technique is another popular tool to simulate the phases (Jha &
Dulikravich, 2021). Additionally, many analytical models are also available to mathematically
investigate the welding features (Fachinotti et al., 2011; Luo et al., 2010; Mullick et al., 2015).
The detailed applications of these techniques are discussed in the following sections.

2.1. Finite Element Modeling (FEM) Techniques

As stated above, the study of different welding aspects using FEM has been a common
practice among numerous researchers due to its vast scope of applications and accuracy in
predictions (de Schiara & de Ribeiro, 2016; Farias et al., 2017; Kumar & Sinha, 2018). It is
also used to study various weld defects, such as stress distribution, deformation, etc. accurately.
It is reported by several authors to study different welding processes (Bai et al., 2017; Kazemi
& Goldak, 2009; Mohanty et al., 2012; Zubairuddin et al., 2017). In fact, many researchers
validated the experimental weld outputs through several available FEM techniques (Ferro et
al., 2005; Koleva et al., 1999; Luo et al., 2010). FEM techniques have also been used to
investigate failure analysis, tensile, Charpy, fatigue tests, etc. It, thus, helps in reducing the
requirement of the number of experiments by eliminating the obvious ones. Thus, FEM analysis
is known to be cost-effective. It also saves time and effort because of the minimization of
unnecessary experiments.
FEM-predicted thermal cycle and HAZ size have been observed to agree with the manual
arc welding process, carried out by Bai et al., (2017) on SA508Gr4 steel work-piece. Pandey
et al., (2018) carried out shielded metal arc welding on P91 steel work-pieces to study the effect
of diffusible hydrogen content on weld quality. They also measured the welding stresses using
the hole drilling technique and validated with the help of FEM techniques. Desai & Bag, (2014)
used Ansys commercial FEM package to efficiently simulate weld-geometry, cooling rate,
thermal and stress profiles during laser micro-spot welding process with AISI 304 stainless
steel sheet, and the results were validated with the experiments. K-type thermocouples had been
used to measure the thermal cycle during the joining of AISI 304 stainless steel with St37
carbon steel using the Gas Tungsten Arc welding (GTAW) process. The experimental
measurements had been validated using Abaqus FEM package simulations (Attarha & Sattari-
Far, 2011). Das et al., (2020a) measured residual stresses developed during electron beam
welding experimentally, and those were found to agree with the FEM-predicted ones. Lorza et
al., (2017) conducted butt welding through Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) to study
temperature and stress distributions, distortion, etc. They utilized drill-hole techniques to
measure stress. FEM was used to validate the stress, where the measured and FEM-predicted
stresses were found to be closely matching each other. Podder et al., (2015) experimentally
measured the welding stress and validated these results through ANSYS commercial FEM
354 D. Das, S. Jaypuria, S. Gupta et al.

techniques. Temperature and stress distribution, HAZ hardness data, etc. were obtained
experimentally, while carrying out in-service sleeve repair multi-pass welding of API 5L X65
pipelines. The FEM-predicted HAZ geometry and hardness were found to closely agree with
the experimental results (Bang et al., 2002). Steel sheets samples were laser spot welded by De
et al., (2003) to study cooling rate, microstructure and hardness. The experimental results were
in good agreement with the FEM simulations. AISI 304 stainless steel pipes were Tungsten
inert gas (TIG) welded by Deng & Murakawa, (2006). Their predictions of cooling rate, thermal
and stress distribution using FEM packages closely matched with the experimental results. The
role of welding parameters on the geometries, distortion, etc. had been investigated through
FEM and different soft computing techniques by Lostado et al., (2015) to optimize the weld
outputs during the GMAW process. Abaqus simulation of the thermal cycle and cooling rate
were compared between laser beam welding and laser arc hybrid welding processes by
Piekarska et al., (2011). They found the performance of laser arc hybrid welding process to be
better than that of the laser beam welding process. The multi-pass GTAW process was
simulated using Sysweld FEM package. They used grade 91 steel plates as work-piece. The
FEM prediction and experimental results regarding temperature and stress distribution,
distortion, etc. were compared (Zubairuddin et al., 2017). The cooling rate, predicted through
Abaqus FEM package by Das et al., (2018) was found to reasonably match with that obtained
using SDAS-analytical equation combinations during the Electron Beam Welding (EBW)
process.
An analytical solution in a semi-infinite body had been developed by Nguyen et al., (1999)
considering a double-ellipsoid moving heat source. The experimentally measured weld
geometries and temperature profile during bead-on-plate welding of steel plates were in good
agreement with the model-predicted results. An analytical solution along with its 2D and 3D
FEM validation using Open Engineering OOFELLE Multi-physics simulation package was
proposed to solve the unsteady heat conduction problem using a double-ellipsoid heat source
on a semi-infinite body (Fachinotti et al., 2011; Fachinotti & Cardona, 2008). Single-pass
similar and dissimilar GTAW process using AISI 304 stainless steel and St37 carbon steel were
carried out by Attarha & Sattari-Far, (2011). The temperature distribution, measured
experimentally at the HAZ using K-type thermocouple was in good agreement with the same,
predicted through Abaqus simulations. 2D and 3D FEM models were developed by Gery et al.,
(2005) to predict the temperature distribution in the fusion zone (FZ) and heat-affected zone
(HAZ) of low carbon steel butt welded plates using a heat source model, based on the Goldak’s
method. They observed temperature distribution to be strongly influenced by the heat source
distribution, energy input and welding speed. They also found the 3D model to be more accurate
than 2D. Experimental validation of the GMAW process for joining of low carbon steel was
developed using numerical methods by Meseguer-Valdenebro et al., (2016). They further
correlated weld geometry and HAZ size with the double ellipsoid heat source parameters.
Moreover, they also reported the influence of power and welding speed to be nearly the same.
FEM simulations using ANSYS package were developed for the prediction of temperature and
stress distributions during dissimilar GTAW of AA 5052-H32 and AA6061-T6 plates.
Numerical results showed AA6061-T6 to get the higher values of residual stress and lower
values of temperature distribution because of the higher values of yield strength and thermal
conductivity. Theoretical and experimental examination of the influence of process parameters
on weld geometries, thermal cycle, cooling rate, microstructure and hardness were done by De
et al., (2003) by employing double ellipsoid heat source during laser spot welding of low alloy
 Role of Numerical Simulations in Weld Analysis 355

steel sheets. They obtained satisfactory agreement between the measured and estimated
hardness values. Ganesh et al., (2014) carried out autogenous GTAW of 316SS plates. They
simulated temperature distribution, residual stress and distortion with Sysweld package. The
predicted results were validated through experimental results. The influence of welding
parameters on weld-induced temperature and stresses distribution, distortion etc. in ferritic-
martensitic stainless-steel joints had been investigated by Olabi et al., (2014). Xu et al., (2016)
developed a 3D numerical model using Fluent package to investigate the hump formation
during bead-on-plate GMAW process, assuming a double-ellipsoid heat source. They reported
that a strong backward fluid flow due to arc pressure and shear drag stress was the cause of
humps. Single-pass GMAW of austenitic stainless steel plates was carried out by Aarbogh et
al., (2010). FEM simulations were carried out employing double ellipsoid heat source using
WeldSimS package. Qualitative agreement between the experimental and simulated results
related to temperature distribution, distortion etc. was obtained. The thermal cycle was
measured utilizing K-type thermocouples by Das et al., (2016) during electron beam melting
(EBM) and validated the same through FEM models. Single-pass butt GMAW of thin ASTM
A36 shipbuilding steel plates had been carried out by Chen et al., (2018). The temperature
distribution and longitudinal residual stresses were measured experimentally and also simulated
through Ansys FEM package. The results of the numerical model were found to have good
agreement with the experimental results. Zubairuddin et al., (2016) observed that pre-heating
caused a reduction of the maximum value of the temperature of the thermal cycle, cooling rate,
residual stress and distortion during autogenous GTAW process of P91 steel. The
experimentally measured results were in good agreement with the Sysweld FEM package
results. GTAW of SS304 pipes had been carried out by Xu et al., (2017). The experimentally
measured weld-geometries, temperature profile and residual stresses were in close agreement
with the simulations. They reported LBW to be more efficient than GTAW process in terms of
residual stress, deformation, and production efficiency. Velaga et al., (2015) carried out
numerical simulations of L and C butt GTAW process using Sysweld package. The predicted
temperature distribution and stress profile closely matched with the experimentally measured
results. The difference in welding of plate and pipes and the effect of martensitic transformation
during butt welding of plate and pipe having same cross-section were studied by Wang et al.,
(2017). The temperature and stress fields were also simulated using FEM package. They
observed martensitic transformation to cause reduction in stress. They had also observed
significant differences in residual stress between a plate and a pipe due to the strong influence
of shape.

2.1.1. Modeling of Material Properties at Elevated Temperature

Usually, data on temperature-dependent material properties are available in the literature.
These data are more or less accurate for temperature below the melting point. However, the
measurement of material properties above the melting temperatures becomes difficult because
of solid to liquid transformation and vaporization of materials, increase in convention-based
heat losses, turbulence in the melt pool, etc. As a result, limited data are available at these
elevated temperatures because of the difficulty in measurement. Moreover, the data available
are often found to be less reliable. As a result, many researchers tackled these uncertainties by
assuming the higher values of conductivity, specific heat etc. at higher temperatures (Bag et al.,
2009; He et al., 2003, 2005; Mohanty et al., 2012; Rai, Roy, et al., 2007; Roy et al., 2006). Bag
356 D. Das, S. Jaypuria, S. Gupta et al.

et al., (2009) tackled these uncertainties effectively by enhancing the thermal conductivity to
5-20 times of the room temperature.

2.1.2. Modeling of Popular Heat Sources and Background Equations

Equation 1 denotes the differential heat condition equation (Fourier-Kirchoff equation)
(Chang & Na, 2001; Das et al., 2016; Podder et al., 2015),

T   T    T    T 
ρC p  k   k   k   QG , (1)
t x  x  y  y  z  z 

where x, y and z represent the space coordinates. ρ, C p ,T , k , QG and t are the symbolic
representation of density, specific heat, temperature, thermal conductivity, heat generation and
time, respectively. The effects of heat losses through convection h f (Tsurface  T0 ) and radiation
 (T 4
 T04 )  are also considered in some studies. Here, h f ,T0 , and  represent the coefficient
of convective heat transfer, ambient temperature, Stefan-Boltzman constant and emissivity,
respectively.
Rosenthal, (1941, 1946) proposed the concept of moving heat source. Later, many different
surfaces and volumetric heat source models came into the existence, out of which, Goldak’s
double ellipsoid model (Goldak et al., 1984) and conical heat source models were extensively
employed in various research work. The conical models were preferred for the deep-penetration
welding processes (Chang & Na, 2001; Das et al., 2016; Ferro et al., 2005; Luo, You, et al.,
2010; Phanikumar, 2016). Some popular heat source models were summarized by Phanikumar
in his video lectures (Phanikumar, 2016).
Figure 1 (a, b, c) depicts the conical, cylindrical and double ellipsoid heat source models,
respectively. The details of the conical heat source have been previously reported in the
literature (Das et al., 2016; Ferro et al., 2005; Luo, You, et al., 2010). In Figure 1 (a), re and
r represent the beam radius at the surface and at a depth of the work-piece, respectively. The
instantaneous and maximum workpiece thickness up to which the effect of heat source is
considered are denoted by z and h , respectively, where 0  z  h . The volumetric heat flux
qv  , distributed in the conical and cylindrical regions (Phanikumar, 2016) have been
represented in Eqs. (2) and (3), respectively (Luo, You, et al., 2010), as follows:

 h2 3( x 2  y 2 ) 
  
9Qv  ( h z ) 2 re2 
qv ( x, y, z )  e , (2)
re2 h
  z  3( x 2  y 2 ) 
  1  
9Qv   h re2 
qv ( x, y, z )  e  
re2 h (3)

Even after three decades of its proposal, and a good number of models now available in
the literature, Goldak’s double ellipsoid heat source model, in particular, is still one of the most
 Role of Numerical Simulations in Weld Analysis 357

preferred and widely used volumetric heat source models. This is because of its capability to
accurately simulate a wide variety of both shallow as well as deep penetration welding
techniques (Fachinotti et al., 2011; Fachinotti & Cardona, 2008). Nguyen et al., (1999) stated
that the double ellipsoidal heat source could be reduced to semi-ellipsoidal, semi-sphere, 2-D
Gaussian-distributed and the classical instant point heat source had been used extensively by
several researchers in different welding simulations. Eq. (4) depicts the volumetric heat flux of
the double ellipsoidal heat source model (Bajpei et al., 2016; Goldak et al., 1984; Podder et al.,
2015).

    z 2 
2 
 x   y
2
   
6 3 f f , r Qv
qv ( x, y, z, t )  exp 3    ,
  c  
(4)
3   a   b f , r 
ab f , r c 2
   

where a, b, c represent the semi-axes of the double-ellipsoid along x, y, z coordinates,

respectively. The semi-axis b is further sub-divided into b f , r representing the front and rear
semi-axes, respectively. Similarly, f f , r represents the power density distribution in the front
and rear quadrants, respectively, and these are related, as shown in Eq. (5) (Bajpei et al., 2016;
Goldak et al., 1984; Podder et al., 2015).

f f  f r  2, (5)

Rest of the terms, namely Qv and q v are stated earlier.

Figure 1. Heat source models a) Conical (Ferro et al., 2005; Luo, You, et al., 2010), b) Cylindrical
(Mohanty et al., 2012) and c) Double-ellipsoid (Goldak et al., 1984; Podder et al., 2015).

The performances of conical, cylindrical and double ellipsoidal heat sources models (refer
to Figure 1) were compared during FEM-based simulation of the EBM process by Das et al.,
(2017), where the differences in their performances found to be marginal. The conical keyhole,
358 D. Das, S. Jaypuria, S. Gupta et al.

cylindrical keyhole with a flat bottom, cylindrical keyhole with round bottom and conio-
cylindrical keyhole shape during the laser beam welding were compared by Mohanty et al.,
(2012). They reported cylindrical keyhole with a round bottom to perform the best.
Besides these, some new hybrid models had been proposed for the better simulation of
weld attributes. The groove shrinkage was studied using a combination of two Goldak’s
volumetric heat sources to simulate multi-pass GMAW of narrow deep groove of low carbon
steel samples. They employed CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy
Commission) WPROCESS numerical tool with FE Code Cast3M and Salome platform to
develop their numerical simulations (Asserin et al., 2014). A cylindrical shaped heat source
was combined with the double ellipsoid heat source model for the numerical simulation of
plasma arc welding (PAW) process on SS304 plates by Wu & Huo, (2013). The predicted
temperature distributions were validated through experiments.

2.2. CFD-Based Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Modeling

The phenomenological model was used by Nandan et al., (2008) to investigate the
influence of input parameters on the heat transfer and associated welding defects during friction
stir welding (FSW) process. CFD-based analysis of the heat transfer and fluid flow during LBW
and pulsed-LBW of SS304 were conducted by Hozoorbakhsh et al., (2019) and Roy et al.,
(2006), respectively. The influence of melt-pool turbulence on the different weld outputs was
studied utilizing the phenomenological model during LBW of tantalum, stainless steel, titanium
and vanadium alloys by Rai, Elmer, et al., (2007). Rai, Roy, et al., (2007) further investigated
the influence of Peclet number on the heat transfer and fluid flow simulation of weld attributes
during LBW of stainless steel. The concept of Prandtl’s mixing length on the melt-pool
turbulence during EBW of stainless steel were also simulated by Rai et al., (2009). Wu et al.,
(2017) used volume of fluid (VOF) technique to analyze the hybrid welding of stainless steel
material.

2.3. Statistics-Based Modeling

Different statistical techniques were extensively employed to model and optimize welding
processes. Regression analysis (RA) was widely used to mathematically correlate the input
parameters to the weld outputs (Effertz et al., 2019; Wan et al., 2016). Taguchi method
(Shojaeefard et al., 2014) was employed during FSW of aluminium to investigate the influence
of process parameters on the grain size and tensile strength. A Bayesian technique named
Kriging was used to map the complex welding process (Lupera et al., 2018). Response surface
methodology (RSM) was used by Srivastava & Garg, (2017) during gas metal arc welding to
analyze the influence of welding parameters on the joint quality. Additionally, RSM with the
desirability function approach (DFA), (Korra et al., 2015) was utilized to study different
welding attributes. Periyasamy et al., (2013) studied the influence of input parameters on the
tensile strength and weld nugget during FSW process employing RSM-DFA.
 Role of Numerical Simulations in Weld Analysis 359

2.4. Machine Learning Algorithm (MLA)-Based Modeling

Intelligent modeling through different clustering techniques (Nies et al., 2019), artificial
neural network (ANN) (Pola et al., 2020; Shettigar et al., 2020), mathematical models
(Tynchenko et al., 2019), etc. have also gained importance in recent times. Genetic algorithm-
tuned ANN was reported to outperform BPNN and RA during input-output modeling of
welding process (Dutta & Pratihar, 2007). Das et al., (2020) also employed different types of
popular MLAs to predict the welding residual stresses and validated it through experiments.
Boersch et al., (2018) predicted the weld diameter during resistance spot welding through
support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) techniques etc. Verma et al., (2018)
predicted the tensile strength during FSW of Aluminium utilizing SVM and other algorithms.
Support vector regression (SVR) was observed to most accurately predict the influence of
power, speed and other input parameters on laser weld quality by Petkovi, (2017). An elaborate
review of a wide variety of conventional and non-conventional optimization techniques, their
advantages, limitations, scope of applications, etc. are discussed by Das et al., (2021).

2.5. Microstructure Modeling

Heat transfer and fluid flow in the melt pool affect the geometry and solidification
parameters, which, in turn, influence the microstructure, based on which the mechanical
properties are dependent. As a result, the prediction of microstructure and grain morphologies
during the study of solidifications have gained importance (Farzadi et al., 2008). Ramirez–
Ledesma et al., (2020) proposed a solidification-based dendrite growth model during gas
tungsten arc welding of austenitic stainless steel pipes in a petrochemical plant. They also used
scanning electron microscope, Transmission Electron Microscopy, and X-ray Diffraction
during failure analysis and found the role of porosity on crack initiation. The grain growth in
the HAZ during the welding of SS400 steel was simulated by Shi et al., (2004) utilizing a 3-D
Monte Carlo simulation technique. It showed an increase in the grain size with an increase in
heat input. Satbhai et al., (2017) simulated the grain structure evolution during the casting
process to monitor the influence of casting parameters, cooling rate, dendrite fragmentation etc.
on the transition of grains from columnar configuration to equi-axed one and vice-versa,
through multi-physics solidification model. The recrystallized grain were simulated by Masaki
et al., (2008) during friction stir welding (FSW) of 1050 Al to determine the effective strain
rate. They utilized the plane-strain compression test and cooling curve data for the said purpose.
Sullivan et al., (2011) conducted FSW of aluminium plates subjected to ballistic impact. The
mechanisms of failure had been studied by simulating the microstructures. Sulaiman et al.,
(2020) combined the Monte-Carlo method with the thermo-elastic-plastic FEM simulation to
predict the grain size distributions during a cutting process. The change in the microstructure
and dendrite morphology had been predicted by Pavlyk & Dilthey, (2003) as a function of
different fluid flow and solidification conditions during the GTAW process employing finite
difference - cellular automata, phase-field model and other models. In addition, the model
predictions had been accompanied by experimental validation. Farzadi et al., (2008) simulated
microstructures utilizing the phase-field model during weld-pool solidification during GTAW
of Al–3wt%Cu alloy. This was followed by the estimation of solidification parameters
360 D. Das, S. Jaypuria, S. Gupta et al.

employing heat transfer and fluid flow model. The predictions had also been validated through
experimental results.

CONCLUSION
Welding as a primary manufacturing process needs progressive innovation to optimize the
lead time and resources. Although Industry 4.0 promotes more on evolutionary and intelligent
modeling tools, the simulation tool for welding is inevitable due to their precision of results
and capability to handle complex multi-physics during the welding processes. The
advancement in modeling procedure of heat source, convection process and other thermo-
physical activities during welding is promising and leading to the age of the assumption-free
physics-based model. In addition to this, the open-source and commercial simulation tools are
evolving day by day, which is directly helpful for both the industries and academia. This book
chapter also reveals that recent simulation studies have the capability of handling both the
conduction and keyhole modes of welding. The melt pool forces and fluid motion, statistical
and machine learning-based modeling, metallurgical aspects of welding and defect
characterization through simulations are the current topics of research for R&D group of many
manufacturing industries.

FUTURE SCOPE
A few numerical simulations and physics-based simulations had been used by Yu et al.,
(2019) and Satbhai et al., (2017) to investigate the solidification behavior on microstructure
during casting. These techniques could also be utilized in various weld simulations. Moreover,
the influence of flow velocity in the melt-pool on the different joint properties could also be
investigated.

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In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 13

CONTROL OF RESIDUAL STRESS AND MITIGATION

APPROACHES OF LASER WELDING-
COMPUTATIONAL MODELING AND
EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATIONS

Fanrong Kong1, and Radovan Kovacevic2

1ESAB
Advanced Joining Center at SMU,
ESAB Welding & Cutting Products, Dallas, TX, US
2Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Lyle School of Engineering,

Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, US

ABSTRACT
Compared to traditional arc welding processes, laser welding could travel faster and
penetrate deeper with relatively low heat input and higher cooling rate. Laser welding could
definitely contribute to obtaining a smaller weld fusion zone and noticeably reduce
distortion of the welded parts. A three-dimensional (3D) thermo-mechanical finite element
(FE) model was developed to predict the thermally-induced residual stress field of laser
welding processes. The FE model was combined with experimental approaches by using
an X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Through the experimentally-verified nonlinear FE
model, the following effects were investigated comprehensively, including material
properties, processing parameters, external constraints exerted by the fixturing on the
residual stress distribution, and welding-induced permanent distortion of welded
components. The potential mitigation approaches of residual stress concentration and over-
large distortion were subsequently discussed in relevant case studies. It is noticed that
optimization of structural design and process improvements could both help in the control
of residual stress and distortion with assistance of numerical simulation as a cost-efficient
tool.


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
370 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

Keywords: laser welding, finite element analysis, residual stress, distortion control, process
optimization

1. INTRODUCTION
In the last fifty years, the laser welding technique has been widely applied in variable
industrial sectors due to its unique characteristics of high welding speed, deep penetration
capability, non-contact processing and, especially, its efficient combination with highly flexible
robotic technology (Dawes, C., 1992; Duley, W.W., 1990). However, due to its inherent
limitation of local rapid melting and accompanying solidification, a high temperature gradient
inevitably causes local stress concentration to remain in the welded structures. As a result, the
material expands or shrinks accordingly with a certain extent of temperature to be lifted or
dropped. The thermal expansion/shrinkage is restrained by the surrounding colder/hotter area,
which inevitably causes elastic thermal stresses. If the thermal induced stress/strain partly
exceed the yield limit that is typically dependent on the specific temperature level, the
permanent plastic deformation will be remained at the weld area and nearby heat-affected zone
(HAZ). And after cooling down, tensile residual stresses are usually remained with compressive
residual stresses distributed at the surrounding area (Radaj, D., 1992). In some other welding
cases, microstructural transformation during cooling for example of austinite-to-martensite
transformation involves an increase in volume, which also contributes to the ultimate residual
stress distribution (Radaj, D., 1992). Genreally saying, the residual stress originally results from
the local unbalanced heating and cooling phases occurring in the laser welding process (Radaj,
D., 1992). However, the final residual stress amount and distribution depend on a number of
factors including material properties, welding parameters, geometrical size, configuration of
joints, etc. (Grong, Ø., 1997; Radaj, D., 1992; Goldak, J.A. et al., 2005; Lindgren, L.E., 2007;
Nguyen, T.N. et al., 1995)) and usually are very complex to be clearly demonstrated. With the
laser welding induced residual stresses there also remain temporarily or permanently welding
deformations or distortions. Stress and deformation are interactional and basically “opposed”
(Radaj, D., 1992). In most of cases, stress remains at a high level where the deformation is
restrained and usually kept at a low level. Similarly, stress remains at low level where the
deformation is unrestrained and usually kept a high level (Radaj, D., 1992).
The over-large residual stresses are usually harmful to the fatigue life and strength of
welded structures (Radaj, D., 1992; Lindgren, L.E., 2007; Nguyen, T.N. et al., 1995; Webster,
G.A. et al., 2001). Therefore, a variety of experimental approaches were presented to mitigate
or reduce the generation of residual stress during or after the welding processes. It is effective
to control and adjust the amount and distribution of residual stress by optimizing processing
parameters and selecting weld materials reasonably. Secondary approaches using pre- and post-
weld, such as preheating before welding and a post-weld heat treatment after, are also effective
(Duley, W.W., 1990). Much of the published literature talks about the generation mechanism
and mitigation methods for laser welding induced residual stress and distortion. However,
welding-induced residual stress with distortion control and adjustment is still one of most
challenging issues facing industry for structural design and production.
In order to better understand the laser welding processes and their applications in various
industrial sectors, a lot of work has been published, including process development work
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 371

(Kong, F.R. et al., 2019; Yonetani, H., 2008; Silanen, J. et al., 2012; Forrest, M. et al., 2015;
Cerrone, C. et al., 2008; Wang, H.X., 2013), sensing and control (Boillot, J.P. et al., 2015),
computer aided analysis and simulation (Ma, J.J. et al., 2014; Xia, P. et al., 2014; Ma, J.J. et
al., 2011), industrial applications (Siltanen, J. et al., 2012; Forrest, M. et al., 2015; Cerrone, C.
et al., 2008; Wang, H.X., 2013), etc. Process sensitively depends on the real situations.
Therefore, it is very important to develop robust laser process parameters for the specific
production case. In laser welding of stainless-steel sheets with a partial penetration for railcar
assembly, it is necessary to develop a suitable weld procedure specification (WPS). The WPS
ensures that the weld maintains a satisfactory joint strength with acceptable surface esthetics.
That is, minimum distortion at the back side of as-welded steel sheets. As we know, each of
weld defects occurring in the laser welding applications has specific thermal physics
mechanisms. It is necessary to fully identify the potential relationship between the main process
parameters and thermal and fluid dynamic behaviors in the laser weld pool, residual stress and
distortion of welded components, and associated metallurgical behaviors in the weld zone. This
understanding leads to discovering the root causes of typical weld defects, identifying
corresponding mitigation approaches, and developing a desired weld-process standard in the
real industrial production. Figure 1 briefly summarizes the potential relationship of typical
process features and the thermal, mechanical, and metallurgical behaviors in the laser welding
processes. Challenges of laser welding applications for stainless steel railcar manufacture
includes the following: (a) accurately real-time monitoring of the laser weld penetration and
the capability of preserving a stable penetration depth at the bottom sheet by closed-loop control
of laser power, (b) reliably maintaining an acceptable weld width at the joint interface to gain
desired failure and fatigue strengths of the laser welded panel, and (c) at the same time,
minimizing the back-side distortion of overlapped stainless steel sheets to acquire a good
surface esthetics without visible discoloration.

Figure 1. Diagram of potential relationship of typical process features and the thermal, mechanical, and
metallurgical behaviors in the laser welding processes.

As a typical application case, fiber laser was applied to weld the stainless-steel side panel
of a railcar body. The laser stitch welds were applied to reduce the weld distortion and maintain
the best surface esthetics (Kong, F.R. et al., 2019). It was seen from the typical case analysis
372 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

that without ramping control of laser power at the start or stop of each stitch weld, weld defects
were obtained. Defects included an unacceptable weld concavity at the end of stitch weld or
over-penetration at the start of weld. In order to avoid those defects, the laser power ramping
control has to be used for the laser start and stop in the laser stitch welding applications for
railcar manufacture (Kong, F.R. et al., 2019). Specifically, in the case of a keyhole mode, the
laser weld could cause a weld concavity at the end of weld due to the sudden laser power
reduction to zero. However, there is no related study to understand thermal and mechanical
behaviors with such applications. With a proper welding process control at the beginning and
end of weld for each stitch weld, those weld surface defects could be effectively avoided. In
the meantime, numerical modeling as a cost-efficient way has been applied to help understand
the thermo-physical behavior involved in the laser welding process. This model is expected
subsequently to provide a guideline for laser welding to improve the welding efficiency,
including optimizing process parameters to control the distortion and final residual stress
concentration in the achieved laser welded components.
In this chapter, an uncoupled thermal-mechanical Finite Element (FE) model based on
ANSYS Parametric Designed Language (APDL) is developed and combined with the
experimental data to further study the correlation between the factors. The factors include laser
start/stop ramping lengths, and thermally induced distortion and residual stress concentration
in the laser stitch welding of overlapped stainless-steel sheets with a partial penetration control.
Verification experiments of numerical modeling were performed. Weld tests were done on the
1 mm over 1 mm overlapped 301L stainless steel sheets by a 6-axis ABB robot with a Trumpf
disc laser with a max power of 10 kW and a focal spot size of 0.6 mm. The achieved weld
samples’ surface appearance was then measured by a high-resolution surface profilometer. An
X-ray diffraction machine was applied for measuring the residual stress distribution of the
achieved laser welded samples. The failure behaviors of those overlapped weld samples were
tested by a tensile testing machine.
This chapter aims at developing a cost-effective 3D thermo-mechanical FE model
combined with experimental verification to identify the correlation between the process
parameters, material property, external constraint, preheating temperature, and weld qualities.
Also identified are root causes of typical weld defects like concavity of the weld end, and
unacceptable distortion and residual stress concentration.

2. FINITE ELEMENT MODELING

2.1. Basic Assumptions

In order to reasonably simplify the thermal and mechanical FE modeling, the following
assumptions were made.

1. The fluid flow in the weld pool was not considered. Instead, a temperature-dependent
thermal property was applied in this study.
2. A temperature-independent surface convection coefficient was considered for the
thermal boundary condition.
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 373

3. The laser absorptivity for laser was assumed to be independent of temperature and
processing parameters.
4. The material mechanical behaviors were assumed to be elastic-plastic one and
temperature-dependent (Kong, F.R. et al., 2010). A bilinear hardening model was
adopted for predicting the plastic behavior after yielding happens in the mechanical
analysis.
5. Influence of shield gas flow on the thermal behavior of laser weld pool was ignored.
6. The mass loss of weld material in the laser welding process was ignored.

2.2. Governing Equation of Thermal Analysis

Correctly understanding the thermal behaviors and accurately obtaining the temperature
field in the laser welding process could be critical for studying the outcomes of the welding
process. Outcomes of weld penetration, thermally-induced residual stress concentration, and
the associated metallurgical behaviors taking place in the fusion zone (FZ) as well as heat-
affected zone (HAZ) were studied. As described in Subsection 2.1, the influence of heat transfer
due to the convection term was ignored. The laser beam power was modeled as a volume heat
source with a rotary Gaussian distribution. Therefore, the governing equation of thermal
analysis is shown below.

( cT )  2 (k mT )  2 (k mT )  2 (k mT )
    q laser ( x, y, z, t ) (1)
t x 2 y 2 z 2

Here thermal conductivity km is given by

 k T  Tl (2)
km   0
 0
k  k ' T  Tl

Where k’ is the additional value by which the convection heat transfer capability is equally
considered in the proposed thermal modeling, ρ is the density, and c is the specific heat, and x,
y, and z are Cartesian coordinates. The laser radiation induced volume heat input is
qlaser ( x, y, z, t ) and is given by the following equation:

𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑟 (𝑥−𝑥0 )2 +(𝑦−𝑣𝑡)2 𝑧

𝑞̇ 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑟 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = 𝜂𝑙 𝑒𝑥𝑝 (− ) ⋅ ( 2 ) ⋅ 𝛿1 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) (3)
2𝜋𝑅𝑙2 2𝑅𝑙2 𝐿𝑤

Where 𝜂𝑙 denotes laser obsorptivity, Plaser denotes nominal laser power, Rl denotes the
radius of laser focal spot, x0 denotes the laser beam location along the x-direction, Lw denotes
the laser effective penetration depth, v is the scanning speed. 𝛿1 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) is the location control
function and shown as follows.

1 (𝑥 − 𝑥0 )2 + (𝑦 − 𝑣𝑡)2 ≤ 𝑅𝑙2
𝛿1 (𝑥, 𝑦, 𝑧, 𝑡) = { (4)
0 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑤𝑖𝑠𝑒
374 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

The boundary conditions at all the surfaces can be given by:

𝜕𝑇
−𝑘(𝑇) = ℎ𝑐 (𝑇 − 𝑇0 ) (5)
𝜕𝑛

Here, n is the normal outward vector to the surface of weld sample, hc denotes the
equivalent surface heat transfer coefficient, and T0 denotes the room temperature.

2.3. Stress-Strain Relationships

During the laser welding process, the ultimate strain could result from thermally-induced
expansion/shrinkage, and solid-state phase transformation behavior, etc. (Radaj, D., 1992;
Lindgren, L.E., 2007). Therefore, the total strain increment (𝛥𝜀) can be written as the sum of
the individual components of strain increment as (Radaj, D., 1992):

𝛥𝜀 = 𝛥𝜀 𝐸 + 𝛥𝜀 𝑃 + 𝛥𝜀 𝑇 + 𝛥𝜀 𝛥𝑉 + 𝛥𝜀 𝑇𝑟𝑝 (6)

The various components in this equation represent the strain rate due to elastic, plastic,
thermal loading, volumetric change, and transformation plasticity, respectively. In this study,
the volume change and transformation induced plasticity are not taken into account. This
decision is to reasonably reduce the difficulty of convergence in the nonlinear thermo-
mechanical finite element analysis. By ignoring those two components, the strain increment
can be rewritten as follows (Kong, F.R. et al., 2010):

𝛥𝜀 = 𝛥𝜀 𝐸 + 𝛥𝜀 𝑃 + 𝛥𝜀 𝑇 (7)

2.4. Implementation of Numerical Procedure

In this study, a 3D commercial finite element modeling software ANSYS was used to
perform thermo-mechanical simulation of laser welding process. The element type used in the
thermal analysis, SOLID70, has a 3-D thermal conduction capability (ANSYS Manual, 2017).
The element type used in the subsequent mechanical analysis, SOLID185, has elasticity,
plasticity, stress stiffening, creep, large deflection, and large strain capabilities (ANSYS
Manual, 2017). The ANSYS Parametric Design Language was used to apply a moving 3D
volume heat source as described by Ma, J.J. et al. (2011) and Kong, F.R. et al. (2010). Figures
2a and 2b shows the schematic view of overlapped stainless-steel sheets’ size and its cross-
sectional view. Figure 3 displays non-uniform finite element meshes that are applied in this
numerical computation. A much finer mesh near and along the weld bead was incorporated to
ensure satisfactory simulation resolution. Courser meshes were chosen in other regions far from
the weld bead in order to reduce computation cost.
In this study, an existing gap in between the top and bottom sheets was considered
numerically. At each step of transient thermal analysis, the thermal results all over the nodes in
the air film zone (gap zone) are checked one by one. If the temperature of the node was equal
to or greater than the melting point of stainless steel, which was set at 1420°C, the material
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 375

property of the element that the node belonged to would then automatically switch from air to
steel. All the elements whose maximum temperature exceeded the melting point were recorded
accordingly.

(a) (b)

(c)

Figure 2. (a) The schematic view of overlapped stainless-steel sheets’ size and (b) its cross-sectional
view, and (c) laser power loading curve in one-stitch weld.

Figure 3. FE modeling and use of non-uniform mesh.

Figure 4 shows the numerical procedures performed for thermal and mechanical FE
simulation. The thermal analysis was followed by experimental validation on thermocouples in
order to achieve the full temperature field in the laser welding process as well as follow the
cooling phase. The satisfying experimentally-validated accuracy of low than a 5% difference
on the thermal analysis was achieved. Subsequently, the mechanical analysis was performed
under temperature loads derived from the aforementioned thermal analysis. The temperature
data at each time step were then input into the mechanical model as thermal loads to calculate
the strain and stress evolution. Finally, the residual stress distribution and the permanent
distortion of weld were computed at the end of the time step. An X-ray diffraction residual
376 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

stress measurement and a surface profilometer confirmed experimentally the results by

measuring residual stress distributions at the weld sample surfaces and a backside permanent
distortion of weld sample, respectively. The constraints of the joint in the mechanical analyses
were that one edge of the joint was fixed (UX=UY=UZ=0), and the other edge was only
transverse shrinkage free (UY=UZ=0). In order to study the yielding behavior of weld material,
a bi-linear hardening model was adopted to consider the plastic mechanical behavior in the
laser welds. A von Mises yield principle was used to assess the failure behavior of the stainless-
steel welds. The nonlinear temperature dependent material properties used for thermal and
subsequent mechanical analyses are listed in Figure 5a and 5b (Kong, F.R. et al., 2010; Jiang,
W. et al., 2005; Tatkhoa, D. et al., 2012).

Figure 4. The numerical procedures performed for thermal and mechanical Finite Element simulation.
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 377

(a)

(b)

Figure 5. (a) Material properties used in the FE modeling for the stainless-steel samples and (b) material
properties used for the air/steel gap zone.

3. CASE STUDY AND EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION

The laser welding verification tests were performed at Laser Applications lab of Laser
Mechanisms Inc., Novi, MI. Figure 6 shows the laser lab welding system. The experimental
setup includes a 6-Axis ABB robotic arm, a Transmissive Laser Mechs’ laser head, 10 kW
Trumpf disc laser with a focal spot size of 0.6 mm. Weld materials were 301L stainless-steel
sheets with thicknesses of 1.0 mm + 1.0 mm in an overlap joint configuration. The chemical
composition and mechanical properties of 301L was listed in Table 1 (Sun, X. et al., 2020).
The shielding gas used was an argon of 99.99% purity with a flow rate of 40 standard cubic
feet per hour (SCFH). The achieved samples (as shown in Figure 7) were scanned by a surface
profilometer to measure the surface profile of the weld bead. An X-ray diffraction technique
was performed to measure the surface residual stress of laser welded samples. Then, the welded
samples were cut transversely and longitudinally to measure the weld macros as well as the
penetration depth. The laser welding process was applied to validate the accuracy of the thermal
FE modeling. The thermocouples were installed at the sample surface nearby the weld bead to
record the temperature history during the laser welding process. Tensile testing was performed
to inspect the failure strength of the laser welded stainless steel samples, and three samples
were repeatedly tested for each parameter set.
378 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

Figure 6. Photo of experimental setup of laser welding in the lab.

Table 1. Chemical compositions and mechanical properties of 301L stainless steel

Composition (wt-%) Mechanical properties

Material
C Si Mn P S Ni Cr N YS/MPa UTS/MPa EL/%
301L 0.03 1.00 2.00 0.045 0.030 6-8 16-18 0.20 515 825 25
Source: (Sun, X. et al., 2020).
Note: YS-Yield strength; UTS-Tensile strength; EL-Elongation.

Figure 7. Weld surface appearance with laser start/end control (the scale unit is millimeter).

The effect of ramping length on the weld surface appearance and tensile strength in the
laser welding of stainless-steel sheets with partially penetrated overlapped joints was studied
experimentally. Three different ramping lengths (4 mm, 6 mm, and 8 mm) were selected, as
shown in Figure 2c. In summary, the parameters of laser power and travel speed are listed in
Table 2.

Table 2. Process parameters selected for experimental verification tests

Laser power, Travel speed, Ramping length, Laser defocus distance from the
No.
kW mm/s mm weld surface, mm
1 2.1 63.5 4 0
2 2.1 63.5 6 0
3 2.1 63.5 8 0
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 379

The 3D thermo-mechanical FE Model accuracy was confirmed by well-designed

experiments. Effects of preheating temperature, external mechanical constraint loading by
fixturing design, material thermal-expansion coefficient, and laser power on welding-induced
residual stress distribution and associated out-of-plane distortion in the laser welding of thin
stainless-steel sheets were then numerically analyzed accordingly. Through parameter studies,
a fundamental guideline of controlling residual stress concentration and out-of-plane distortion
is expected to be given.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Experimentally-Verified Temperature and Residual Stress
Field Predictions
Figure 8 shows the weld macros of the longitudinal section with different ramping lengths
as shown in Table 2. It can be seen that with an increase in laser power at the start of weld,
there was a corresponding increase in the penetration depth. Then, the penetration maintained
a constant depth along the main weld length before reaching the ramping region at the end of
the stitch weld. The weld concavity depth at the end of stitch weld was inclined to decrease
with an increase in the ramping length.

Figure 8. The weld macros along the weld centerline with different ramping lengths as shown in
Table 2.

Figure 9 shows a good agreement was achieved for the comparison of weld longitudinal
section views by measuring weld macros and by numerical prediction. The thermal results of
laser welding are presented in Figure 10 with a validation of experimental measurements.
Figure 10a shows a top view of the weld pool zone prediction by FE thermal analysis. Figure
10b presents a comparison of the cross-sectional view of the weld macro photo on the left half
with the numerically-predicted thermal isotherms on the right half. The accuracy of numerical
380 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

modeling was then validated. The temperature history recorded by thermocouple is compared
to the numerically-predicted temperature evolution by ANSYS as presented at Figure 10c.

Weld start

Weld end

Figure 9 – Comparison of numerically-predicted weld

Figure 9. Comparison of numerically-predicted weld fusion zone (red) and experimentally observed
longitudinal view of weld macros in the welding case No.2 as shown in Table 2.

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure 10 – (a) Top view of temperature conto

Figure 10. (a) Top view of temperature contour at the weld zone, (b) comparison of thermal analysis at
the weld cross-section and weld macro photo obtained by optical microscopy, and (c) the comparison of
temperature histories at the bottom surface (shown in Figure 10b) recorded by thermocouples and by
numerical prediction.

Subsequently, the computed residual-stress distributions of each case followed as

displayed in Figure 11. It can be seen that the highest residual stress concentration that was
dominated by transverse and longitudinal stress components was located at the weld zone.
Moreover, the residual stress data were extracted from ANSYS data file and re-plotted by
Matlab code. Figure 12 presents the numerically-predicted residual stress distribution map at
the top surface, middle layer, and bottom of the weld joints with ramping lengths of 4 mm.
These data are similar to those obtained by ramping lengths of 6 mm, and 8 mm respectively.
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 381

An X-ray diffraction technique was performed to validate experimentally the numerical

prediction of residual stress at the top and bottom surfaces, respectively, as shown in Figures
13 and 14. It can be seen that a qualitively agreement between the numerical computation and
experimental measurement can be well achieved. Effect of ramping length on maximum
residual stress in the welds are shown in Figure 15. It can be found that the numerically-
predicted residual stress concentration had a slight increase with a reduction in ramping length.
The ramping control of laser power substantially improved the weld surface defects (Figure 8)
and definitely helped to increase the tensile strength of the laser stitch weld, as shown in Figure
16. Additionally, the surface concavity at the end of each stitch weld could be substantially
improved. This improvement will lead to the apparent improvement in the tensile strength of
the stitch weld. Along with the numerical prediction and associated experimental validations,
an increase in ramping length could cause an increase in the distortion of welded parts, as shown
in Figure 17.

Figure 11. Contours of temperature (fourth column), transverse stress SX (third column), longitudinal
stress SY (second column) and von Mises equivalent stress SEQV evolution with time set in the laser
welding process (first column), where Laser power = 2100W, Travel speed = 63.5 mm/s, Ramping
length = 4 mm, and Linear ramping was adopted for laser start/stop control.
382 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

(a) Stress map at the top surface of the joint (z=2.1mm)

(b) Stress map at the interface of the joint (z=1.1mm)

(c) Stress map at the bottom of the joint (z=0mm)

Figure 12. The numerically-predicted residual stress distribution at the top surface, middle layer, and
the bottom of weld joints with the ramping lengths of 4mm, where the linear ramping curve was
adopted for laser start/stop control.
 (a) (b)

Figure 13. Experimental validation of numerical predictions of (a) transverse SX, and (b) longitudinal SY residual stress distribution by an X-ray diffraction
technique where No.1 case study in Table 2 was selected and the measuring path of residual stress was located at the weld top surface in middle of weld length
(Y = 25mm).

(a) (b)

Figure 14 – Experimental validation of nume

Figure 14. Experimental validation of numerical predictions of (a) transverse SX, and (b) longitudinal SY residual stress distribution by an X-ray diffraction
technique where No.1 case study in Table 2 was selected and the measuring path of residual stress was located at the weld bottom surface in the middle of weld
length (Y = 25mm).
384 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

Figure 15. Effect of ramping length on maximum residual stress components in the laser welds where
the linear ramping curve was adopted.

Figure 16. The tensile test results of weld samples with different ramping lengths.

Figure 17. Effect of ramping length on distortion of weld backside: numerical prediction versus
experimental measurement by surface profilometer.
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 385

4.2. Main Influence Factors of Thermally Induced Residual Stress and

Distortion Controls

By using an experimentally-verified thermo-mechanical FE model, the main factors of

influencing thermally-induced residual stress concentration and out-of-plane distortion are
further studied, as shown in Table 3. In those weld cases, the ramping lengths for both laser
start-and-stop control are kept constant as 4mm. Maximum von Mises equivalent stress and
maximum out-of-plane distortion of UZmax-UZmin for all case studies was collected and
summarized into Table 3 as well. Through the methodical parameter studies, the guideline of
controlling residual stress and distortion is expected to propose for real practices in the
industrial production.

Table 3. Numerical study cases on parameter influence of residual stress and

distortion control

Laser Travel Thermal Maximum (UZmax-

External constraint Preheating
No. power, speed, expansion SEQV, UZmin),
loading temperature, °C
kW mm/s coefficient MPa mm
A1 2.1 63.5 One-edge fixed, and Room See Figure 770 0.24
the other kept temperature 5
transverse extension
free
A2 2.6 63.5 One-edge fixed, and Room 100% of 741 0.212
the other kept temperature A1
transverse extension
free
A3 3.1 63.5 One-edge fixed, and Room 100% of 734 0.169
the other kept temperature A1
transverse extension
free
B2 2.1 63.5 Without clamping Room 100% of 770 0.692
temperature A1
B3 2.1 63.5 Fully Clamped Room 100% of 767 0.237
temperature A1
C2 2.1 63.5 One-edge fixed, and 120 100% of 745 0.211
the other kept A1
transverse extension
free
C3 2.1 63.5 One-edge fixed, and 220 100% of 702 0.178
the other kept A1
transverse extension
free
D2 2.1 63.5 One-edge fixed, and Room 75% of A1 689 0.179
the other kept temperature
transverse extension
free
D3 2.1 63.5 One-edge fixed, and Room 50% of A1 599 0.102
the other kept temperature
transverse extension
free
386 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

4.2.1. Influence of Laser Powers on Residual Stress Concentration

and Distortion Controls
In order to study the effect of heat input on thermo-mechanical behaviors of laser welds,
three cases of different laser powers of 2.1, 2.6 and 3.1 kW were numerically investigated. All
the other welding parameters were kept constant. It can be seen that an increase in laser power
can help to improve the penetration depth and increase heat input accordingly. Additionally,
the residual stress concentration and out-of-plane distortion of laser weld tend to decrease
accordingly. The stress contours of transverse stress SX, longitudinal stress SY, and equivalent
stress SEQV are presented in Figure 18. The out-of-plane maximum distortion is summarized
in Table 3.

No
SX, Pa SY, Pa SEQV, Pa
.

A1

A2

A3

Figure 18. Contours of transverse stress SX, longitudinal stress SY, and equivalent stress SEQV of laser
welds in three cases of different laser powers of 2.1, 2.6 and 3.1 kW, respectively.

4.2.2. Effect of External Mechanical Constraint on Thermally-Induced Residual Stress

Concentration and Distortion Control
Figure 19 presents the stress contours of SX, SY, and SEQV with three different constraint
conditions,1) fully constraint at both ends, 2) one side fixed and the other one only keeping the
transverse extension free, and 3) free of clamping at both ends, respectively. The corresponding
maximum out-of-plane distortion of those three cases is listed in Table 3. It can see that when
the clamping constraint was released gradually, the welding-induced distortion became worse
accordingly. However, there is not yet the same clear change as distortion seen in the residual
stress distributions in all three cases.
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 387

No
SX, Pa SY, Pa SEQV, Pa
.

A1

B2

B3

Figure 19. Contours of transverse stress SX, longitudinal stress SY, and equivalent stress SEQV of laser
welds with three different constraint conditions of fully constraint at both ends, one side fixed and the
other one only keeping transverse extension free, free of clamping at both ends, respectively.

4.2.3. Effect of Preheating on the Residual Stress Concentration and Maximum

Out-of-Plane Distortion
Three cases of different preheating temperature including room temperature of 20oC,
120 C, and 220oC are selected to study numerically the preheating effect on welding-induced
o

residual stress concentration and out-of-plane distortion. Figure 20 shows the residual stress
contours of transverse stress SX, longitudinal stress SY, and equivalent stress SEQV,
respectively. The maximum out-of-plane distortion of those three cases is summarized into
Table 3. It can be clearly seen that a reasonable increase in preheating temperature can help in
reducing the maximum residual stress value in the weld joints. The out-of-plane distortion can
also be effectively controlled to a lower level.
388 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

No
SX, Pa SY, Pa SEQV, Pa
.

A1

C2

C3

Figure 20. Contours of transverse stress SX, longitudinal stress SY, and equivalent stress SEQV of laser
welds with three different preheating temperature including room temperature of 20°C, 120°C, and
220°C, respectively.

4.2.4. Effect of Material Thermal Expansion Coefficients on the Thermo-Mechanical

Behaviors of Laser Welds
In order to further quantitatively analyze the effect of mechanical property of materials on
laser welding-induced residual stress/strain and distortion, three different thermal expansion
coefficients were selected in the numerical modeling. Considering that the material properties
are dependent on temperature, three different percentages of 100%, 75% and 50% of material
thermal expansion coefficients listed in Figure 5 were chosen at all temperature ranges. All
other material properties were assumed to be kept as constant. The achieved residual stress
contours of SX, SY, and SEQV are shown in Figure 21. The maximum SEQV and maximum
out-of-plane distortion of those cases are summarized in Table 3. It can be seen that the residual
stress concentrations and out-of-plane distortion are inclined to effectively decrease with a
reduction of thermal expansion coefficient.
 Control of Residual Stress and Mitigation Approaches of Laser Welding … 389

No
SX, Pa SY, Pa SEQV, Pa
.

A1

D2

D3

Figure 21. Contours of transverse stress SX, longitudinal stress SY, and equivalent stress SEQV of laser
welds with three different percentages of 100%, 75% and 50% of material thermal expansion
coefficients listed in Figure 5. All other material properties are assumed to be kept as constant.

CONCLUSION
A 3D thermal-mechanical Finite Element (FE) model based on ANSYS Parametric
Designed Language (APDL) was developed and combined with the experimental data. The
correlation between the process parameters was studied, including laser start/stop ramping
control, and thermally induced distortion and residual stress concentration in the laser welding
of overlapped stainless steel sheets with a partial penetration depth. The numerical results of
temperature evolution and residual stress distribution have a good agreement with the
experimental validations, respectively. The ramping length affects the weld surface concavity
depth at the end of the weld stitch by the laser irradiation. The reasonably-increased ramping
length could result in the improvement of the surface defect of the weld samples and the joint
failure strength as well.
The experimentally-verified thermo-mechanical FE model could be further expected to
apply to optimizing the process parameters. This optimization could control the welding-
induced distortion and mitigation of permanent residual-stress concentrations in the variable
weld applications of metal sheets and large-sized components. Based on the numerical
modeling results in the parameters study mentioned above, the following conclusive comments
390 Fanrong Kong and Radovan Kovacevic

could be made: i) The final weld induced residual stress distribution and plate distortion could
be affected by material properties, laser heat input, external constraint condition and others, to
varying extents; ii) gradually releasing the external mechanical constraint with a fixturing tool
could cause a worse distortion of welded sheets; and iii) reasonably increasing preheating
temperature could help in reducing residual stress concentration and out-of-plane distortion in
the laser welding process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The laser welding tests were performed with assistance of Applications engineers, Mr.
Elmer Wang and Mr. Kyle Krotak, at Laser Application Lab of Laser Mechanisms Inc, Novi,
MI. The weld quality tests were done with assistance of Dr. Zhe Zhang, a research engineer at
Research Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, and
are sincerely appreciated.

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Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 14

COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF T-JOINT

FILLET WELDING

F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

TEMA—Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro,
Campus de Santiago, Portugal

ABSTRACT
The last decade has been rich in advances and progress in the field of Computational
Welding Mechanics. Numerical algorithms made it possible to assess complex phenomena
such as the residual stresses and distortions originated during welding. Currently, software
specifically designed for welding simulation is being introduced, capable of analysing
thermo-metallurgical and thermo-mechanical phenomena typical of any welding process
and necessary to build reliable models. This work focuses on the development of a
numerical model under Abaqus code. Although not developed specifically for welding
applications, it is a powerful software here assessed to simulate the welding of fillet T-
joints. A benchmark test, based on T-joint fillet welding of S355JR steel, is simulated and
comparisons are performed with the experiments and other numerical models developed
under Abaqus FE code. For this benchmark, the thermo-mechanical model was developed
to simulate the pass of double joints, each followed by cooling periods. Based on previous
works available in the literature, the influence of the element type is assessed, and different
techniques of element birth and death employed to simulate the weld bead deposition are
also explored. In addition, the torch temperature ramping is also analysed. Thanks to the
temperature field and residual distortions data from the experiments, it was possible to
assess the numerical model reliability. The results show a reasonable agreement between
the numerical model and the experiments.

Keywords: welding simulation, T-joint fillet weld, temperature field, welding distortion,
prescribed weld temperature, finite element analysis, thermo-mechanical analysis


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected]
394 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

1. INTRODUCTION
Welding induced residual stresses and distortions are common in welded structures (Konar
and Mician 2012). The localized heating and non-uniform cooling result in a complex
distribution of the residual stress in the joint region. In any welding process, the localized
heating followed by subsequent rapid cooling is in the origin of residual stresses around the
welding zone, or any other region affected by the heat, causing post-weld deformations.
Residual stresses and distortions need to be carefully addressed during design and fabrication
since these can undermine the performance and reliability of welded structures (Feng 2005).
Typically, the numerical simulation of a welding process consists of at least two analysis:
thermal analysis and mechanical analysis (Nguyen et al. 2017; Perić et al. 2020, 2014; Deng,
Liang, and Murakawa 2007; Lee and Chang 2008; Gannon et al. 2010; Long et al. 2009; Deng
2009). In the first, the temperature is determined and mapped as a function of time for each
integration point, serving as input for the structural analysis. The thermal analysis can be fully-
coupled to the mechanical solution or just sequentially (Perić et al. 2014). The latter one is more
common, with a thermal analysis followed by a mechanical one, neglecting the heat generation
due to mechanical dissipation (Perić et al. 2020, 2014; Nguyen et al. 2017; Barsoum and
Lundbäck 2009; Teng et al. 2001; Shan et al. 2009; R. Wang et al. 2009). Numerical simulation
of welding processes is a complex task mainly due to the high number of variables and
complexity of the process. The intense heat causes several localised microstructural
transformations that result in different mechanical properties. Recently, these transformations
have been addressed in the form of metallurgical analysis, with some already implemented in
commercial software developed specifically for welding simulation (Ramos et al. 2018).
Complex finite element (FE) models can be computationally expensive, being necessary to
found a proper balance between accuracy and efficiency (Marenić, Skozrit, and Tonković 2010;
Perić et al. 2014; Attarha and Sattari-Far 2011; S. Wang et al. 2009; Ogawa et al. 2009).
Therefore, knowledge of the welding process is of utmost importance, but so it is of numerical
methods and computational mechanics and modelling in order to achieve accurate predictions
of post-weld deformations and residual stresses.
In the last two decades, numerical studies have been carried out to investigate the residual
stresses and distortions in T-joint fillet welds. Teng et al. (2001), aiming to predict residual
stresses and distortions, developed a thermal elastoplastic computational model of T-joint fillet
welds based on the plate thickness, penetration depth, and constraint conditions. Numerical
techniques such as the element birth and death technique have been employed to simulate the
adding of filler during the weld simulation (Pilipenko 2001; Perić et al. 2014; Nguyen et al.
2017). Deng et al. (2007) studied the influence of flange thickness on the welding deformation,
addressing the angular distortion generation mechanism. In another study, uncoupled-thermo-
mechanical FE analyses of tee joints for similar and dissimilar steels in order to assess the
residual stresses (Chang and Lee 2009). The characteristics of the welding residual stress
distribution in penetration nozzles welded by a multi-pass J-groove joint have also been studied
(Ogawa et al. 2009). The influence of the welding sequence on the distortions, residual stresses
and its distribution, has also been addressed (Gannon et al. 2010).
Although progress has been made, the CPU time necessary to run complex models has
been also one of the targets of some researchers. Perić et al. (2014) presented a numerical
thermo-mechanical model, under Abaqus FE code, based on shell-solid elements coupling to
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 395

reduce the CPU time and reproduce reasonable accuracy predictions of welding-induced
distortion in large structures. In this double T-joint model, the base metal and weld metal were
assumed to have the same thermal and mechanical properties (not considering creep,
transformations, etc.). Perić et al. (2014) was established as a benchmark, both the numerical
and experimental works, which will be discussed in detail in the following sections. More
recently, and based on the benchmark from Perić et al. (2014), Nguyen et al. (2017), thanks to
a purely thermal analysis, investigated the influence of torch temperature, both magnitude and
its variation, and the chunk length on the temperature predictions, employing the prescribed
temperature approach as in (Perić et al. 2014). The CPU time has been also the target for
optimisation in research works that employ specifically developed software for welding process
simulation. Ramos et al. (2018), using SYSWELD to simulate T-joint configurations, assessed
the influence of the number and element type, including first-order and second-order elements
in the evaluation. In the end, the best compromise between accuracy and CPU time was
obtained with a hybrid mesh composed of first-order hexahedral and tetrahedral elements.
In the present work, the main goal is to evaluate different types of hexahedral finite
elements applied to the benchmark case of Perić et al. (2014). Additionally, two techniques
based on element birth and death for the bead deposition will be explored and assessed, as well
as the influence of some of the torch parameters investigated by Nguyen et al. (2017).

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this work, a thermo-mechanical model is developed to simulate the welding of T-joint
fillets. T-joint fillet welds are some of the most common types of welds used in the fabrication
of structural parts for engineering applications, e.g., automotive industry. The selected
benchmark is the work carried out by Perić et al. (2014), in which it was presented a shell-to-
solid coupling model using 3D solid and shell elements: hexahedral elements in the joint and
heat-affected zone (HAZ) and quadrangular shells in the other regions. The present work aims
to uncover other numerical possibilities, from the element type to element birth and death
techniques based on the previous works of Perić et al. (2014) and Nguyen et al. (2017).
Additionally, other variables are explored, such as the torch temperature ramping, based on
Nguyen et al. (2017) previous results. The influence of these parameters in the temperature
field, and subsequently in the residual distortions, is analysed by establishing direct
comparisons with experimental data.

2.1. Welding Conditions - Perić et al. (2014) Experiments

In Perić et al. (2014), the welding experiments were conducted using the metal active gas
(MAG) pulsed welding process, according to the EN ISO 4063-135-P. The temperature and
displacement measurements were performed with thermocouples, with an infrared
thermographic camera, and a digital image correlation (DIC) system. The plates to weld were
made of non-alloyed structural steel EN 10025-2: S355JR. The dimensions of each 10 mm
thick plate and the T-joint configuration are presented in Figure 1. In addition to the dimensions,
396 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

the passes direction and order, boundary conditions and profiles for deflection and temperature
measurement are also depicted. The leg fillets have 7 mm.
Perić et al. (2014) reported joint preparation for the double-sided fillet welds following the
EN ISO 9692-1 Ref. No. 4.1.3, with perpendicular positioning, and partial penetration and no
gap between the horizontal and the vertical plates. The welding was performed steadily by a 6-
axis robot with the following welding parameters:

 Wire filler with a diameter of 1.2 mm (classification EN ISO 14341-A-G 42 4 M21

3Si1).
 shielding gas composed of Ar and CO2, 82% and 18%, respectively. (EN ISO 14175-
M21).
 welding current of 270 A
 arc voltage of 29 V
 and welding speed of 400 mm/min.

After welding the first fillet, the jig was rotated 180° for the second pass. The welding
sequence and direction is presented in Figure 1. The dwelling time between passes was 215
seconds. The same welding parameters were employed for both passes. According to Perić et
al. (2014), during MAG welding, the material transfer was supported by a pulsed current,
avoiding short-circuiting and spattering. It was also stated that visual testing was performed
according to EN ISO 17637 and no imperfections were observed, meeting the quality
requirements of EN ISO 5817 class B acceptance criteria.

Figure 1. Geometry of the T-joint (top view): dimensions, passes direction and order, boundary
conditions and profiles for deflection and temperature measurement.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 397

2.1.1. Thermal Measurements

Perić et al. (2014) designed an experimental apparatus composed by an infrared camera
and thermocouples in order to track the temperature history in specific locations and also the
temperature gradient during the whole welding process and cooling stages. Perić et al. (2014)
used an SC2000 infrared camera (FLIR Systems AB) with a sensitivity of 80 mK at 30°C, a
field of view is 24° x 18°, with a minimum focal distance of 0.5 m and a spatial resolution of
1.3 mrad, to measure the temperature on the surfaces of the plates during welding. The camera
was positioned at 1.5 m from the plates. More details regarding the thermograms can be found
in in the respective source (Perić et al. 2014).
The K-type thermocouples were placed approximately in the middle thickness of the
horizontal plate (Figure 1). The recording process was conducted with pauses between the three
stages of the experiment: two passes and a cooling stage.

2.1.2. Displacement Measurements

In Perić et al. (2014), the deflection was measured via a 3D digital image correlation system
ARAMIS 4M (GOM GmbH) composed of two digital cameras (facet size 15 x 15 pixels), and
the necessary spray pattern preparation. White markers were glued near the specimens to serve
as reference points for data transformation (into a new coordinate system) due to the necessity
of rotate 180º to weld on both sides in sequence. A detailed description of the preparation,
measurement settings and other details can be consulted in (Perić et al. 2014).

2.2. Finite Element Modelling

The geometry of the FE model of the T-joint configuration is based on the dimensions
displayed in Figures 1 and 2. Since the aim of this work is to analyse other possibilities of finite
elements to be used in this type of welding, most of the model is based on the experimental
data from Perić et al. (2014), and also on the findings of Perić et al. (2014) and Ngueyn et al.
(2017) obtained with their numerical models. In these works, the authors already analysed the
model convergence regarding some of the process parameters as well as numerical parameters,
but never analysed the influence of the finite element type.
Actually, Perić et al. (2014) aimed to validate the use of shell elements in this type of
simulations, developing hybrid models, capable of achieving approximate levels of accuracy in
comparison with FE models solely based on solid finite elements, and thus, reducing the CPU
time necessary. Nevertheless, it was concluded that hexahedral finite elements are necessary,
at least in the critical regions in order to achieve a satisfactory accuracy. In Perić et al. (2014),
only one type of hexahedral finite element was employed. Therefore, in the present work,
several types of hexahedral finite elements are assessed for the simulation of the T-joint
welding of two plates. Additionally, two methodologies on how the passes are performed and
the chunks are deposited are also evaluated. The remaining parameters are based on previous
convergences established by Perić et al. (2014) and Ngueyn et al. (2017). The later, only
focused on thermal analyses, while the former carried out thermo-mechanical analyses.
Regarding the FE mesh, the number of elements, their size and distribution is based on the
works from Perić et al. (2014) and Ngueyn et al. (2017), since these verified convergence, and
the distribution is also influenced by the points of interest. These correspond to the nodes which
398 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

coordinates match the experimental measuring points: thermocouples, profiles 1-3 and lines A-
A, B-B and C-C. Figure 2 presents the FE model developed in the present work with 68000
hexahedral elements.
Both thermal and temperature-dependent mechanical properties were adopted from
Pilipenko (2001). These are presented in Tables 1-7. The S355JR steel was modelled as an
elastic–plastic material, with kinematic hardening. Nonlinear plasticity is modelled using the
von Mises yield criterion with the associated flow rule. In addition, geometrically nonlinearities
were also considered for the entire model. In all the finite element analyses (FEA), it is assumed
that both the base metal (plates) and weld metal (filler material) have the same mechanical
properties. The weld material initial melt temperature was set to 1465°C.

Figure 2. Finite element mesh of the T-joint configuration.

Table 1. Thermal conductivity of S355JR steel

Conductivity [W/(m·°C)] Temperature [°C]

55 0
29 750
25.4 800
31 1450
31 3000

Table 2. Thermal conductivity of S355JR steel

Density [kg/m3] Temperature [°C]

7800 0
7438 1450
7438 3000
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 399

Table 3. Elastic properties of S355JR steel

Young’s Modulus [GPa] Poisson’s ratio Temperature [°C]

206 0.296 0
203 0.311 100
201 0.33 200
200 0.349 300
165 0.367 400
100 0.386 500
60 0.405 600
40 0.423 700
30 0.442 800
20 0.461 900
10 0.48 1000
10 0.48 3000

Table 4. Thermal expansion coefficient of S355JR steel

Expansion coefficient [°C-1] Temperature [°C]

1.2E-005 0
1.4E-005 1450
1.4E-005 3000

Table 5. Latent heat of S355JR steel

Latent heat [kJ/kg] Solidus temperature [°C] Liquidus temperature [°C]

247 1465 1544

Table 6. Specific heat of S355JR steel

Specific heat [J/kg/ºC] Temperature [°C]

388 0
894 700
1234 740
610 860
814 1450
814 3000

The boundary conditions applied to the plates are based on the schematics from Perić et al.
(2014) (Figure 1). The influence of the initial gap and the arrangement of the tack welds are
disregarded as in the previous studies for the sake of comparison. This work tries to be more
comparable to the works already referred (Nguyen et al. 2017; Perić et al. 2014) in order to
contribute with some of the missing sensitivity analysis, i.e., type of element and numerical
technique employed to simulate the filler material deposition. Regarding the thermal analysis,
both convection and radiation losses are considered:

 the Stefan–Boltzmann constant is 5.67 x 10-8 J/(m2·K4)

 the convection heat transfer coefficient of 10 W/(m2·K)
400 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

 the emissivity of 0.9

 a room temperature of 21.1°C

Table 7. Plastic properties of S355JR steel

Yield stress [MPa] Plastic strain Temperature [ºC]

344.64 0 0
422.64 0.1 0
331.93 0 100
409.93 0.1 100
308.30 0 200
386.30 0.1 200
276.07 0 300
342.57 0.1 300
235.22 0 400
290.22 0.1 400
185.77 0 500
230.77 0.1 500
127.71 0 600
162.71 0.1 600
68.55 0 700
96.05 0.1 700
64.35 0 800
84.35 0.1 800
45.65 0 900
60.65 0.1 900
11.32 0 1000
21.32 0.1 1000
11.32 0 5000
21.32 0.1 5000

The numerical simulation of the welding process is performed by applying a distributed

heat flux to the weld elements. The heat flux of 4.0 x 1010 J/m3s applied to the weld already
accounts for an 83% of heat input efficiency. Nguyen et al. (2017) also used Perić et al. (2014)
data as benchmarking (only thermal analysis) and concluded that the target torch temperature
that best describes this heat flux is 1500°C. Therefore, most of the parameters for the FE
thermal analysis are based on the experimental data from Perić et al. (2014) and the numerical
calibration carried out by Nguyen et al. (2017).
Nguyen et al. (2017) parametric study was based on a three-variable calibration: Deposited
weld chunk length; target torch temperature; and percentage of ramping. The last two are
related since the ramping option manages heat flux variations. The latter was modelled as
uniform by Perić et al. (2014), while Nguyen et al. (2017) studied variations from 10% up to
100%. The temperature interval studied was from 1200°C to 1600°C with increments of 100°C.
The models that included torch temperatures within 1400°C and 1500°C generated the best-
matched temperature predictions. The latter value was used for the ramping option calibration,
and the authors highlighted that this parameter shows an effect on the temperature history but
resulted in less model sensitivity than varying the torch temperature. In conclusion, it was found
that the ramping option can be used as “fine-tuning” to obtain an improved result after torch
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 401

temperature has been defined in a welding calibration. For a torch temperature of 1500°C, the
best results seemed to be achieved with a ramp of 60%.
The weld chunk length is also related with the previous parameters, since it defines the
time necessary to generate the chunk for a specified welding speed. The deposition into the
weld pool over a specific period of time will relate with the ramping parameter. Nguyen et al.
(2017) analyzed chunk lengths of 5, 10, 20 and 50 mm, and concluded that the larger the
deposited weld chunk length, the greater the temperature generated. Also, it was concluded that
the similarity between the temperature histories for the cases of 10 mm and 5 mm weld chunk
lengths shows a sign of convergence, considering then 10 mm for the calibration. Therefore,
for the case of a 10 mm deposited weld chunk length, with the predefined welding speed, the
step time to deposit a 10 mm chunk is 1.5 s.
Based on the work from Nguyen et al. (2017) and Perić et al. (2014), the main goal of this
work was to analyse the calibration of other parameters not evaluated in these previous studies.
This calibration, performed at the numerical level, aims to improve the model by exploring
alternative element formulations and algorithms for the weald bead generation. Nguyen et al.
(2017) and Perić et al. (2014) explored only one type of formulation of hexahedral elements
implemented in Abaqus code for each type of analysis: DC3D8 (thermal analysis) and C3D8
(structural analysis). This calibration is based on three steps: the calibration of the element
formulation for the thermal analysis; the calibration of the element formulation for the
mechanical analysis; the calibration of the technique/algorithm for weld bead deposition.
In the first stage, the following hexahedral element formulations will be explored:

 DC3D8 - An 8-node linear heat transfer brick.

 DCC3D8 - An 8-node convection/diffusion brick.
 DCC3D8D - An 8-node convection/diffusion brick, dispersion control.

Additionally, based on Nguyen et al. (2017) the ramping option was explored for the case
with best predictions. This additional analysis was carried out to unveil the degree of sensitivity
to this parameter indicated for “fine-tuning” of the thermal model. Therefore, 100% ramping
heat flux was defined for each step (i.e., without temperature hold step).
The second stage corresponds to the structural analysis, based on the predictions with
DC3D8 element for the sake of comparison with the literature. The following hexahedral
element formulations will be explored:

 C3D8 - An 8-node linear brick.

 C3D8H - An 8-node linear brick, hybrid, constant pressure.
 C3D8I - An 8-node linear brick, incompatible modes.
 C3D8R - An 8-node linear brick, reduced integration, hourglass control.
 C3D8S - An 8-node linear brick, improved surface stress visualization.
 C3D8 with second-order accuracy.

Other types of first-order 3D finite elements were disregarded due to its lower quality (e.g.,
tetrahedral elements). Although higher accuracy is expected with quadratic elements, the
resources and CPU time necessary to complete such a non-linear analysis, is the main reason
why these were not considered in the present study.
402 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

The last stage is based on the thermo-mechanical model that predicted the results with the
highest level of accuracy in comparison to the experiments. It consists of analysing two
different algorithms/techniques of element birth and death to simulate the weld filler deposition
with time:

 Model-level bead removal

 Pass-by-pass bead removal

All the analysis up to this point were carried out with the model-level bead removal. In
this, all the beads are removed immediately at the beginning of the analysis, being reinserted
during the corresponding torch step. The model-level method has the advantage that the beads
that are not yet deposited, and thus, they will not affect the structural solution. However, it is
not an easy solution to implement because when brought in, the elements might be distorted,
causing negative volume issues that lead to the solution failure. Even though, this technique
was employed for the element type analysis with success, using the pass-by-pass method in the
last stage for comparison.
In the pass-by-pass method, all the beads in the stress model will remain active during the
stress analysis until their corresponding torch step. In that moment, the specific bead is removed
in a short step, being reinserted strain-free into the stress model. The temperatures from the
thermal analysis will be mapped onto the reinsertion step. This method has the advantage that
the elements of the beads that are not yet deposited are still active and thus deform or go along
with it. Since the mesh is updated continuously, the elements will maintain a reasonable shape
up until the point where they are removed and reinserted strain-free. This method has the
disadvantage that the beads that are not yet deposited affect the stress profile of the underlying
region and can even cause erroneous plastic strains, although these should be small according
to the literature.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1. Thermal Analysis

The results obtained from the experiments carried out in (Perić et al. 2014) are compared
with those now obtained from the numerical simulations. Regarding the thermal analysis, it is
possible to compare the numerical results against experimental data from IR thermographic
camera and thermocouples. Figures 3 to 7 present comparisons between simulations and
experiments of the temperature history measured in the points highlighted in Figure 1.
Overall, the DC3D8 element was the finite element with better accuracy in the thermal
analysis. Nevertheless, in some regions, the temperature history prediction by the other
elements seemed better than the DC3D8. However, this was rarely verified, for instance, in the
point of thermocouple TC-102 during the second pass.
The results obtained with the DCC3D8 and DCC3D8D finite elements were exactly the
same, predicting the same temperature value for each corresponding increment. Therefore, the
dispersion control is not relevant for this type of analysis. Although there are some deviations,
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 403

overall, the numerical results are in good agreement with the experiments, especially
considering the results from other numerical models (Nguyen et al. 2017; Perić et al. 2014).

Figure 3. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-102 and the
numerical results.

Figure 4. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-103 and the
numerical results.
404 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 5. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-104 and the
numerical results.

Figure 6. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-105 and the
numerical results.

Another comparison with numerical results from the thermal analysis is done by looking
to the temperature profiles measured with the IR thermographic camera with the results from
FEA. The comparison is made for the instants 290 s and 403 s of the welding process. Figures
8-13 present the results for profiles 1 to 3.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 405

Figure 7. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-106 and the
numerical results.

Figure 8. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical temperature
profiles, for the profile 1 at 290 s.

There is experimental data always starting from the origin that corresponds to the point on
the top surface of the horizontal plate in contact with the vertical plate at its half thickness. It is
not clear how these results were obtained using a camera, especially after the second pass.
Therefore, for the cooling instant of 403 s, only after 12 mm (5 mm of the vertical plate
thickness plus the fillet leg of 7 mm) the temperature data was considered eligible. A similar
procedure was done for the instant of 290 s, only extracting results from the simulations
between 5 mm and 150 mm.
406 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 9. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical temperature
profiles, for the profile 1 at 403 s.

Figure 10. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 2 at 290 s.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 407

Figure 11. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 2 at 403 s.

Figure 12. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 3 at 290 s.

Overall, the numerical results are in good agreement with experiments, and even
comparing with other numerical models from the literature (Perić et al. 2014). The numerical
models presented a better prediction of the profiles for the cooling instant of 403 s. Deviations
were higher in the case of 290 s, right before initiating the second pass.
408 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 13. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 3 at 403 s.

Again, the DC3D8 element presented the best predictions. The other elements presented
better results but only for particular cases such as the nearest point of profile 2 to the welding
bead, at instant 403 s. Additionally, and as expected based on the previous results, the
temperature profile predictions with the finite elements DCC3D8 and DCC3D8D were exactly
the same.

3.1.1. Full Ramp Sensitivity

Nguyen et al. (2017) explored the ramping option to unveil the degree of sensitivity to this
parameter indicated for “fine-tuning” of the thermal model. Since the temperature history
results presented in the previous section showed in some cases peak temperatures high than the
experimental ones, and following the conclusions from Nguyen et al. (2017), regarding the
“fine-tuning” parameter, a 100% ramping heat flux was defined for each step. This simulation
was carried out with the DC3D8 finite element and comparison was performed for the same
finite element with 60% ramping (Figures 3-13).
Figures 14-18 and 19-24 compare temperature histories and profiles, respectively, between
simulations with 60% and 100% ramp and experiments. Although in some cases the peak
temperature, mostly during the second pass, was better predicted with the full ramp heat flux,
the temperature deviations during the entire welding process are greater in the full ramp case.
Overall, better predictions were achieved with the 60% ramp heat flux. The magnitude of
deviation between the two numerical cases was more than expected following the conclusions
from Nguyen et al. (2017). Nevertheless, it is clear that it is possible to tune the model
temperature level by exploring its sensitivity to this parameter.
Similar conclusions can be withdrawn regarding the temperature profiles. Additionally, it
becomes clear that better predictions were achieved for the colling phase (instant 403 s) than
the colling period between passes (instant 290 s), and, therefore, the 60% ramp model was
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 409

always more accurate for later stages of the welding process. Also, for almost all the cases, the
temperature prediction near the joint (in the HAZ) was highly accurate. Profile 2 at 290 s is an
exception with a slight deviation from the experiment.

Figure 14. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-102 and the
numerical results for 60% and 100% ramping.

Figure 15. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-103 and the
numerical results for 60% and 100% ramping.
410 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 16. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-104 and the
numerical results for 60% and 100% ramping.

Figure 17. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-105 and the
numerical results for 60% and 100% ramping.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 411

Figure 18. Comparison between the temperature history measured by thermocouple TC-106 and the
numerical results for 60% and 100% ramping.

Figure 19. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 1 at 290 s, obtained with 60% and 100% ramping.
412 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 20. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 1 at 403 s, obtained with 60% and 100% ramping.

Figure 21. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 2 at 290 s, obtained with 60% and 100% ramping.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 413

Figure 22. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 2 at 403 s, obtained with 60% and 100% ramping.

Figure 23. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 3 at 290 s, obtained with 60% and 100% ramping.
414 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 24. Comparison between the experimental (IR thermographic camera) and numerical
temperature profiles, for the profile 3 at 403 s, obtained with 60% and 100% ramping.

3.2. Structural Analysis

The model developed in this work is a thermo-mechanical model, where the structural
analysis is based on priorly computed thermal analysis. The finite element type sensitivity
study, in the case of the structural analysis, is based on the thermal analysis with the finite
element DC3D8 with a 60% ramped heat flux.

Figure 25. Deflection on the surface of the flange along the line A-A – comparison between experiment
and simulations with several finite element formulations.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 415

Figure 26. Deflection on the surface of the flange along the line B-B – comparison between experiment
and simulations with several finite element formulations.

Figure 27. Deflection on the surface of the flange along the line C-C – comparison between experiment
and simulations with several finite element formulations.

The finite element type sensitivity in the case of the structural analysis is evaluated based
on the out-of-plane deformation predictions in the T-joint fillet weld. The plate deflection in
the Y-direction along lines A-A, B-B and C-C after cooling (at 500 s) is shown in Figures 25-
27. In these, the results from the simulations are compared with experimental data from the
416 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

literature, being possible to assess the finite element influence on the results. The results
presented are accordingly an X-axis inverted relative to the configuration in Figure 1.
Overall, the impact of element formulations in the deflection is not significant. For each of
the three cases, some finite elements performed better than the others, but the magnitude of the
deviation is low. For a strong and complete comparison, the residual stresses should also be
compared. However, only experimental deflection values are presented in (Perić et al. 2014).
Nevertheless, this analysis still makes it possible to exclude some types of finite elements.
Another curious aspect of these experimental results is the symmetry observed between the first
and second pass. In other words, the symmetry of the deflection profile. Contrary, in the
simulations, the deflections were always higher in the second-pass side, even though this
difference was small.
Although the influence of the hexahedral element formulation available in Abaqus library
is low, the one-Gauss point element (reduced integration) resulted in the worst predictions for
all the cases, as expected. The deviations increase near the weld bead, in the central region as
can be seen by the two points nearest to the center. This deviation pattern is observed in all
three regions (A-A, B-B, and C-C). Only the C3D8R predicted results with such degree of
deviation for the cases B-B and C-C. In Figures 25-27, the results for the other elements are
practically overlapping. Therefore, the deflection values for the point nearest each bead are
presented in Tables x-x. These were chosen because the maximum deflection is within this
interval, and it corresponds to the higher deviation between experiments and simulations.

Table 8. Deflection [mm] on the nearest points to the bead (125 mm and 175 mm) along
line A-A – comparison between experiment and simulations

X-coordinate
Case
125 175
Experiment -2.13687 -2.13687
C3D8 -2.89411 -2.89027
C3D8_2nd -2.89411 -2.89027
C3D8H -2.89411 -2.89027
C3D8I -2.88684 -2.88530
C3D8R -2.99075 -2.98260
C3D8S -2.91947 -2.90720

Table 9. Deflection [mm] on the nearest points to the bead (125 mm and 175 mm) along
line B-B – comparison between experiment and simulations

X-coordinate
Case
125 175
Experiment -2.07054 -2.07780
C3D8 -2.88709 -2.82726
C3D8_2nd -2.88709 -2.82726
C3D8H -2.88709 -2.82726
C3D8I -2.88209 -2.82747
C3D8R -2.98491 -2.92762
C3D8S -2.89370 -2.83524
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 417

Table 10. Deflection [mm] on the nearest points to the bead (125 mm and 175 mm) along
line C-C – comparison between experiment and simulations

X-coordinate
Case
125 175
Experiment -2.01231 -2.01231
C3D8 -2.72093 -2.66419
C3D8_2nd -2.72093 -2.66419
C3D8H -2.72093 -2.66419
C3D8I -2.72133 -2.66695
C3D8R -2.82522 -2.76362
C3D8S -2.71026 -2.66423

Table 11. Summary of the CPU time necessary to run the mechanical analysis with each
type of element

Case CPU time [s]

C3D8 1.44963E + 05
C3D8_2nd 1.45962E + 05
C3D8H 1.58420E + 05
C3D8I 2.69416E + 05
C3D8R 9.4245E + 04
C3D8S 3.18971E + 05

Tables 8-10 show that C3D8R finite element was the case with higher deviations, as
already highlighted. These tables also show that the fully integrated C3D8 with and without
second-order accuracy and the hybrid version (C3D8H) computed the same values.
In the line A-A, the best prediction was achieved with incompatible modes (C3D8I). The
same was verified for the line B-B, at 125 mm. Nevertheless, at 175 mm, the best results were
achieved with C3D8 and C3D8H. Besides, the difference in both cases was minimal. In the line
C-C, the C3D8S achieved the best predictions. All in all, the results are very similar, excluding
only the reduced integration case since its predictions were worst. Still, the deviation between
this element and the other elements was around 0.1 mm (circa 5%). If this deviation is
admissible, it might be an option since fewer CPU resources are necessary, resulting in faster
calculations. Therefore, Table 11 presents the CPU time necessary for each case of the
mechanical analysis. As expected, the total CPU time for the C3D8R is the lowest of all options.
Nevertheless, it comes with a cost and thus, the C3D8 provides the best compromise between
accuracy and computation time.

3.3. Bead Removal/Deposition Method

Based on the results of both thermal and structural analysis, the thermo-mechanical model
with the best performance was defined. Therefore, in the structural case, the results valid for
comparison are the ones obtained with the C3D8 finite element. The results in the previous
sections correspond to the model-level bead removal, where all the beads are removed
418 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

immediately at the beginning of the analysis, being reinserted during the corresponding torch
step.

Figure 28. Deflection on the surface of the flange along the line A-A – comparison between Model-
level and pass-by-pass bead removal methods.

Figure 29. Deflection on the surface of the flange along the line B-B – comparison between Model-
level and pass-by-pass bead removal methods.
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 419

In this section, this model is compared with a similar one, being the bead removal method
the only difference. In the pass-by-pass method, all of the beads in the stress model will remain
active during the stress analysis until their corresponding step. Each bead is removed in a short
step, then reinserted strain-free. The temperatures from the thermal analysis will be mapped
onto the reinsertion step.
The results of the thermal simulations were analysed similarly to what has been described
in the previous sections and presented in the form of graphical data in Figures 3-24.
Nevertheless, since the temperature mapping is the same, independently of the bead removal
method, no graphical data is presented, pointing to the curves in Figures 3-24. As described in
the methodology section, the influence of both methods is expected in the results of the
structural analysis. Figures 28-30 present the deflection obtained along the lines A-A, B-B and
C-C for both methods.

Figure 30. Deflection on the surface of the flange along the line C-C – comparison between Model-
level and pass-by-pass bead removal methods.

Overall, the results obtained with both methods are similar. The main differences occurred
along line A-A, particularly at the middle of each side of the horizontal plate (x = 75 and x =
225). The CPU time with the pass-by-pass method was 1.58204E+05 s, which is higher than
the 1.44963E+05 s necessary for the model-based method (C3D8 value in table 11).
Additionally, the latter is more intuitive, considering the removal of the entire bead at the
beginning of the analysis, and inserting chunk-by-chunk based on the thermal analysis
mapping, which in terms of visualization is also more realistic.
Based on all the results presented in this work, Figure 31 presents the most accurate thermal
analysis history, and Figure 32 shows the post-cooling results in the form of deflection and von
Mises stress mapping.
420 F. A. O. Fernandes and A. B. Pereira

Figure 31. Temperature mapping history: (a) 37.5 s; (b) 75 s; (c) 290 s; (d) 327.5 s; (e) 365 s; (f) 500 s.

Figure 32. After cooling (500 s): (a) Y-displacement [m]; (b) von Mises stress [Pa].

CONCLUSION
Finite element models made it possible to assess complex phenomena such as the residual
stresses and distortions from welding. In this work, a numerical model under Abaqus code was
developed to simulate the welding of fillet T-joints. The numerical model was validated by
comparing the results with the experiments for a benchmark (Perić et al. 2014). The model was
defined based on previous works available in the literature, and the sensibility of the model to
some parameters was analysed: the element type for each type of analysis; ramping condition;
and element birth and death techniques for the weld bead deposition. Base on the experimental
data and the numerical results of other authors, the results obtained in this study were promising
regarding the model performance. Based on the sensibility study, it can be said that the
combination of DC3D8 Abaqus’ finite element for the thermal analysis, with C3D8 Abaqus’
 Computational Modelling of T-Joint Fillet Welding 421

finite element for the structural analysis, and the model-level bead removal method make it the
best compromise between accuracy and CPU time.
Thanks to the temperature field and residual distortions data from the experiments, it was
possible to assess the numerical model reliability. The results show a reasonable agreement
between the numerical model and the experiments. It is believed that mesh refinement could
still be used to improve the results and the model’s robustness. This sensibility analysis was
not performed since the goal was to have a similar model (including element distribution and
size) to the ones in (Nguyen et al. 2017; Perić et al. 2014), varying only the numerical
parameters indicated in the previous paragraph. The analysis of longitudinal residual stresses
would also be interesting, but unfortunately, these data is not available in (Perić et al. 2014).
Nevertheless, the T-joint fillet model is now calibrated and can be employed in other similar
cases where other experimental data are available and thus, increase its robustness.

FUNDING
This work was supported by the projects UIDB/00481/2020 and UIDP/00481/2020 - FCT
- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia; and CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-022083 - Centro
Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Centro2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020
Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund. Researcher under
grant CEECIND/01192/2017 acknowledges the support given by Fundação para a Ciência e a
Tecnologia (FCT).

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Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 15

RECENT ADVANCES IN CONTROLLING,

MONITORING AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE
FRICTION STIR WELDING PROCESS

R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo and L. M. Serio

DMMM - Department of Mechanics,
Mathematics and Management (DMMM), Bari, Italy

ABSTRACT
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding process and currently turns out
to be the most widely used friction joining technique for light alloys, dissimilar materials,
and metals that are not easily weldable. This process offers many advantages with respect
to the traditional welding methods and it is considered an energy-saving, environment
friendly, and relatively versatile technology.
In the last years, several works in literature focused on the study and optimization of
the process parameters directly related to the quality of the produced joints. This work
presents a collection of new advanced studies for investigating the correlation between the
process parameters and the quality of joints in terms of their mechanical properties such as
the Ultimate Tensile Strength and hardness. Moreover, it is presented the capability of
thermography to study the FSW process. A new approach based on the investigation of the
thermal behaviour of plates during both the heating and cooling phase is proposed. This
approach revealed more effective in the description of the process parameters than the
classical one based on the monitoring of the absolute temperature. In addition, Artificial
Neural Networks (ANNs) were used for optimizing and predicting the mechanical
properties (output values) of the welded joints based on the FSW process parameters (input
variables).

Keywords: friction stir welding, thermography, thermal signal analysis, artificial neural
networks


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
426 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

1. INTRODUCTION
Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a new joining process developed in 1991 at The Welding
Institute (TWI). It is considered the most significant development in metal joining in the last
20 years and it can be considered a “green” technology due to its energy efficiency and
environmental friendliness (Thomas et al., 1991), (Mishra et al., 2005), (Von Strombeck et
al.,2000), (Su et al., 2003), (Salem et al., 2003), (Rhodes et al., 1997), (Thomas et al., 2001),
(Serio, 2014), (Colegrove et al., 2005), (Buffa et al., 2006), (Bendzsac et al., 2000), (Thomas
et al., 2002), (Kulekci et al., 2008).
The conventional FSW involves the translation of a rotating cylindrical tool along with the
interface between two plates. Friction heats the material which is then essentially extruded
around the tool before being forged by the shoulder. The weld is generated deforming the
material at temperatures below the melting point for metals (Barcellona et al., 2004), (Dawes
et al., 1999), (Midling et al., 1999), (Scialpi et al.,2007), (Colegrove et al., 2003), (Ulysse et
al., 2002), (Senkara et al., 2000), (Davis, 1993), (Kaufman et al., 2004), (Miles et al., 2004),
(Murr et al., 1998).
Since its invention, many variants of FSW, used on different joint configurations, were
studied and patented. These are successfully used to joint different metals in different
thicknesses. The application of the innovative and modern solid-state FSW process, if
compared with fusion welding processes, offers many advantages referring to the process
quality such as no splash, no smoke, no gas, and no oxidation shielding.
FSW is a versatile process: the FSW machine can weld almost any shape of contoured
parts, including seam welding of cylinders. Usually, the FSW process includes butt, T-butt, lap,
butt laminate, butt both sides, T-butt dual-pass, lap laminate, L-outside, flange, multi-thickness,
T-single weld, and L-inside (which requires special joint preparation) joints.
Aluminium alloys are super lightweight construction materials used in several engineering
applications as the automotive, shipbuilding, aerospace, and railway industries. Some of the
most interesting aluminium alloys in aircraft and car manufactures (Thomas et al., 2001) are
the non-heat-treatable aluminium-magnesium (Al-Mg) alloys (5xxx series). The use of
traditional welding methods on these alloys causes stresses, splashes, pores, slags, and other
defects.
This chapter presents a collection of new advanced studies for investigating 5754-H111
aluminium plates and in particular, the correlation between the process parameters and the
quality of joints in terms of their mechanical properties such as the Ultimate Tensile Strength
and hardness. In the technical literature, there are not many works about FSW of the 5754-
H111 aluminium alloy, despite the huge interest of many industrial sectors, first of all, the naval
sector, which consider very interesting the application of this aluminium alloy, because it has
a high resistance to corrosion in seawater (Serio, 2014).
Literature works (Peel et al., 2003), (Serio et al., 2014), (Lombard et al., 2009), (Kwon et
al., 2009), (Palumbo et al., 2014), (Schlichting et al., 2012), (Çam et al., 2009), (Taban et al.,
2007), (Jin et al., 2001) on 5xxx series investigated the effect of process parameters by means
of destructive tests such as mechanical tests, micrographs, macrographs, and X-ray diffraction
for measuring residual stresses. However, these techniques are time-consuming and then
unfeasible for industrial applications (Atallah et al., 2007), (Garware et al., 2010), (Dressler et
al., 2009), (Masayuki and Nakata, 2009), (Kostka et al., 2009), (Sathiya et al., 2004), (Reynolds
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 427

et al., 2003), (Cho et al., 2011), (Dey et al., 2009), (Seong et al., 2003), (Shigematsu et al.,
2003), (Chen et al., 2008), (Cabibbo et al., 2012), (Kuo and Lin, 2006), (Bolt et al., 2001),
(Nandan et al., 2008), (Buffa et al., 2006). In this regard, the main novelty of the work regards
the use of thermography procedures for investigating the thermal behavior of the plates during
the process.
Other authors in the literature used thermography for investigating the thermal behavior of
metal plates during the process (Hwang et al., 2008), (Chiefa, 2016), (Schmidt et al., 2004),
(Albanese, 2016), (Serio et al., 2016), (De Filippis et al., 2017), (Serio et al., 2018), (De Filippis
et al., 2016), (De Finis et al., 2017), (De Finis et al., 2018). All the works used the absolute
temperature measured with IR cameras or thermocouples for describing the thermal behavior
of plates and validating analytical and numerical simulations. However, the absolute
temperature cannot be used as a representative index for studying the process parameters, since
it is affected by environmental conditions and is influenced by the experimental set-up adopted
for the tests (Serio et al., 2014), (De Filippis et al., 2016), (De Finis et al., 2017), (De Finis et
al., 2018). Therefore, in this work, two more sensitive thermal indexes were proposed for the
monitoring of the FSW process. These parameters are representative of the heat generated
during the process and the cooling behavior of aluminium plates.
The experimental plan has been structured in several phases. Firstly, the process
optimization was made by focusing the attention on two process parameters: the rotation tool
and speed welding. Design of Experiments (DoE) was used to identify the combinations of the
process parameters able to achieve high resistant joints by using a 22 full factorial design and
the application of the steepest descent method in order to optimize the process parameters
(rotation and travel speeds) in terms of the quality of joints.
During the experimental tests have been acquired thermographic sequences with the aim
to investigate the thermal behaviour of plates. Two thermal indexes were extracted from the
analysis of thermal sequences: the heating rate and the linearity of the cooling rate. The first
index is related to the frictional power input and then can be used for evaluating the stationary
of the FSW process and the quality of joints in terms of UTS. The second index is capable to
detect and quantify the typical superficial defects of the FSW process (Chiefa, 2016), (Schmidt
et al., 2004), (Albanese, 2016), (Serio et al., 2014), (De Filippis et al., 2017), (Serio et al., 2018),
(De Filippis et al., 2016), (De Finis et al., 2017), (De Finis et al., 2018).
Additionally, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model was developed for the analysis
and simulation of the correlation between the friction stir welding parameters and mechanical
properties. To develop the complete ANN were employed two models in cascade. For the input
parameters were used the investigated process parameters and the thermal characteristics of the
joints, which have resulted from the development of an empirical model built in the screening
phase. The outputs parameters included mechanical properties as the tensile strength and
hardness of the heat-affected zone (HAZ). So, the combined influence of the process parameters
on the mechanical properties of welded Al plates was simulated. A comparison is made between
measured and calculated data (De Filippis et al., 2016).
The obtained results demonstrated the efficiency of this FSW joining technique, the
excellent quality of the obtained joints, the potential of the thermographic techniques both for
monitoring the FSW process, and for predicting the quality of joints in terms of tensile strength.
Moreover, the adopted approach demonstrates that the use of different techniques and methods
can be promising for investigating welding processes.
428 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

2. THE FRICTION STIR WELDING PROCESS

FSW is a continuous solid phase joining process where a rotating cylindrical, shouldered
tool with a profiled probe is plunged into the joint line between two pieces of sheets, which are
butted together. Figure 1 shows the schematization of the process with the main associated
terms.
The tool serves two main functions: to heat the workpiece and to move the material to
produce the joint. Frictional heat is generated between the welding tool and the material
workpiece.
The localized heating softens the material around the probe without reaching its melting
point and creates an almost hydrostatic condition around the immersed probe and the contacting
surface of the shouldered region of the workpiece top surface.
The combination of tool rotation and translation leads to the material movement from the
leading edge to the trailing edge of the tool probe and coalesces behind the tool. The process
can be regarded as an autogenous keyhole joining technique since a hole is generated to
accommodate the process, then filled during the welding sequence. Furthermore, the intense
plastic deformation, that the process produces, results in the generation of fine and equiaxed
recrystallized grains (Su et al., 2003), (Salem et al., 2003), (Rhodes et al., 1997), that produce
good mechanical properties.
Friction stir welded materials have a characteristic through-thickness cross-section, as
illustrated in Figure 2. The weld itself forms a consolidated nugget of fine-grained, fully
recrystallised material, and this is surrounded by a thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ)
which normally has a significantly different microstructure. Further away from the weld is a
heat-affected zone (HAZ), with the unaffected base metal on the outside and the nugget.
The direction of rotation and of advancing of the tool determines the position of the
Advancing Side (where the motion and rotation direction of the tool are in the same direction),
and of the Retreating Side (where the rotation direction is opposite to the tool movement),
Figure 1.
FSW presents a lot of metallurgical, environmental, and energy benefits which are listed
below (Table 1), (Thomas et al., 1991), (Mishra et al., 2005), (Von Strombeck et al., 2000).

Figure 1. FSW process schematization and the main associated terms.

 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 429

Figure 2. Classification of the microstructure of FSW: A. Unaffected material; B. Heat affected zone
(HAZ); C. Thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ); D. Weld nugget.

Table 1. FSW benefits

BENEFITS
Metallurgical Environmental Energy Structural
 Solid phase process.  No Shielding gas.  Only 2.5% of the  No melting,
 Low distortion.  No surface energy needed for a  Absence of gas
 Good dimensional cleaning. laser weld. porosity and
stability and repeatability.  Elimination of  Improved materials oxidation.
 No loss of alloying grinding wastes. allow reduction in  Low cost.
elements.  Elimination of weight.  Higher mechanical
 Fine microstructure solvent.  Decrease of fuel properties
(usually).  Consumable consumption in  Low residual stresses
 Absence of cracking. materials saving. light vehicles.

2.1. Operating Principles

The most important welding parameter in the FSW process is the rotation speed. Rotation
speed determines the heat input and temperature as well as the shear experienced by the FSW
welds. Consequently, it influences the microstructure and mechanical properties of the FSW
welds. Other important process parameters are the following: the transverse speed, plunge
depth, tilt angle, spindle power, torque, Z force, as well as the distance between the FSW weld
and the side of the plate (Thomas et al., 2001), (Serio, 2014).
When using FSW, the following parameters must be controlled: downforce, welding speed,
the rotation speed of the welding tool, the welding tool geometry and diameter, and tilting angle
(Serio, 2013), (Colegrove et al., 2005), (Buffa et al., 2006), (Bendzsac et al., 2000), (Thomas
et al., 2002). In Table 2 are listed the main process parameters and their effects in friction stir
welding.

Table 2. Main process parameters in friction stir welding

Parameter Effects
Rotation speed Frictional heat, ‘stirring,’ oxide layer breaking and mixing of material
Tilting angle The appearance of the weld, thinning
Welding speed Appearance, heat control
Down force Friction heat, maintaining contact conditions
430 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

2.1.1. Tools
The tool can be clearly considered the essence of the FSW process and must have some
essential properties (Thomas et al., 2001), (Serio, 2013), (Colegrove et al., 2005), (Buffa et al.,
2006), (Bendzsac et al., 2000), (Thomas et al., 2002): Strength at service temperature; Wear
resistance; Creep resistance; Fracture toughness at ambient and service temperature; Ability to
process in complex shapes; To be inert with workpiece material; Thermal stability; Good
friction couple.
Moreover, ideally, the thermal conductivity of tool material should be less than the
workpiece material. This is not typically a problem for welding of Al alloys because tool steels
have much poorer heat conduction than aluminium (the situation is opposite for welding of
high temperature materials). If the workpiece has a higher thermal conductivity, most of the
heat generated will be conducted away into the material. When the tool has a greater thermal
conductivity, heat will travel up the tool, where it must be removed to prevent damage of the
milling machine.
Therefore, for the process of friction stir welding is possible to summarize that the tool
serves three primary functions, that is for heating the workpiece, for moving the material to
produce the joint, and for containing the hot metal beneath the tool shoulder (Bendzsac et al.,
2000), (Thomas et al., 2002).
As for the geometry of the FSW tool, it is possible to say that there has been a variety of
tool shapes used to obtain joints with good mechanical properties. Some characteristic
geometries are shown in Figure 3.
However, several studies (Barcellona et al., 2004), (Dawes et al., 1999), (Midling et al.,
1999), (Colegrove et al., 2003), (Ulysse, 2002) which have been carried by the FSW invention,
have developed advanced tool design that provides intensified material flow in the stirred zone
and better weld quality.
In summary, it is necessary to keep in mind the following two factors when designing an
FSW tool: 1 - the shoulder is the upper part of the tool which has the function of generating the
plasticization heat while it crawls on the surface of the two workpieces and 2 - FSW tools are
heavily loaded during welding and then high stresses can be produced, which could potentially
break the tool through fatigue (cyclic loading) or overload.

Figure 3. Basic FSW tool pin profile.

 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 431

2.2. Relevant Applications of FSW Process on 5XXX Series

Aluminium Alloys

The rapid development of FSW on Al-alloys and its successful implementation into
production have motivated its application to other materials like steel, magnesium, titanium,
copper, and their composites.
Since 1991 FSW has had a lot of success to weld metals (Senkara et al., 2000), (Davis
1993), (Kaufman et al., 2004), (Miles et al., 2004), (Murr et al., 1998), (Peel et al., 2003), (Serio
et al., 2014), (Lombard et al., 2009), (Kwon et al., 2009), (Palumbo et al., 2014), (Schlichting
et al., 2012), (Cam et al., 2009), (Taban et al., 2007), (Jin et al., 2001), (Atallah et al., 2007),
Garware et al., 2010): Aluminium alloys, steel, Titanium, Copper, Magnesium alloys, Metal
Matrix Composites, and Aluminium alloys foam have been successfully welded by this
technique in different joint configurations.
The Aluminium Alloys 5754-H111 are of wide interest in the shipbuilding industry
because it has high marine corrosion resistance, and currently, are welded with the conventional
technologies for fusion. However, these techniques typically produce joints with low
mechanical properties and a possible way to overcome these problems is to use a solid-state
process like FSW.
Currently, literature provides different contributions regarding the application of this solid
state welding process, which is used with success either for welding of low-melting temperature
alloys and for steel plates with considerable thickness and also for dissimilar materials which
are generally considered difficult for fusion-welding and for which large forces are needed
(Dressler et al., 2009), (Masayuki and Nakata, 2009), (Kostka et al., 2009), (Sathiya et al.,
2004), (Reynolds et al., 2003), (Cho et al., 2011), (Dey et al., 2009), (Seong et al., 2003),
(Shigematsu et al., 2003), (Chen et al., 2008), (Cabibbo et al., 2012).
The FSW process of non-heat-treatable aluminium-magnesium (Al-Mg) alloys (5xxx
series), is substantially less explored in the literature despite the huge interest of the AA 5xxx
alloys in automotive construction. The mechanical properties of the welds produced from AA
5xxx alloys depend mainly on the grain size and on the dislocation density due to the
phenomena of plastic deformation and recrystallization occurring during the FSW process
(Senkara et al., 2000), (Davis, 1993), (Kaufman et al., 2004), (Miles et al., 2004), (Murr et al.,
1998).
The studies that investigated the behavior of these alloys have shown that by welding the
5xxx alloy series in the annealed condition, no softening occurs in the thermo-mechanically
affected zone (TMAZ) and heat-affected zone. In contrast, when these alloys are provided in
the strain hardened condition and are welded with the FSW, the structure of material will
readily recover and/or recrystallize during welding, and softening may occur (Peel et al., 2003),
(Serio et al., 2014), (Lombard et al., 2009), (Kwon et al., 2009), (Palumbo et al., 2014),
(Schlichting et al., 2012), (Çam et al., 2009), (Taban et al., 2007).
The AA 5754 is commonly employed in the fabrication of car body panels thanks to its
properties such as exceptional formability, good fatigue strengths, and the high resistance to
pitting and intercrystalline corrosion (Senkara et al., 2000), (Kuo et al., 2006), (Bolt et al.,
2001), for which very few works were found in the literature.
Thermography can be of great support in detecting the efficiency of the process and in
assessing the quality of the joints.
432 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

3. THERMOGRAPHY FOR PROCESS MONITORING:

PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS

3.1. InfraRed Theory

The common opinion on the concept of ‘Heat Transfer’ is that it represents the energy
interaction that occurs solely due to the temperature difference between a system and its
surroundings, in the presence or absence of an intervening medium. In general, the term Heat
Transfer refers also to the different modes of energy exchange: conduction, convection, and
radiation.
Radiation is the transfer of thermal energy in the form of electromagnetic waves, in this
case, there is not the aid of a medium: solar energy, X-rays, Cosmic rays represent examples
on how energy propagates by means of radiation.
A schematic representation of the electromagnetic spectrum is provided by Figure 4.
The thermal radiation is the part of electromagnetic radiation emitted by a material
substance solely due to its temperature. All bodies at temperature higher than 0 K emit a
radiation in the band of Infrared wavelengths. At such the temperature particles (electrons, ions,
atoms, molecules) oscillate and produce heating. The related heat transfer is provided by
electromagnetic waves capable of carrying energy from one location to another, under vacuum
conditions (Mahan, 2002), (Walker et al., 2014), (Mc GrawHill, 2017), (Maldague, 2001).
The behavior of an object when it is subjected to incident radiations can be described from
the Total Radiation Law in which are present the coefficients of incident energy absorption (α),
reflection (ρ) and transmission (τ):

1=𝛼+𝜌+𝜏 (1)

where each coefficient is a function of both the temperature and wavelength. The concept of
perfect blackbody is important for relating IR radiation to an object’s temperature. A perfect
blackbody is a perfect absorber (ρ=τ=0, while α=1) and its radiative properties can be described
by Planck’s Law. As depicted in Figure 5, the emittance curve depends on both the temperature
and wavelength and the maximum of the radiation is related to the wavelength through Wien’s
displacement Law. However, the objects considered for experiments are not perfect blackbody,
but the radiative properties of an object can be described in relation to a perfect blackbody
considering the emissivity coefficient (ε). This latter is a number between 0 and 1 and depends
on both the temperature and wavelength. Usually, for thermographic measurements of the
temperature, the emissivity of a real object can be considered the same within a short range of
wavelengths (graybody). In this conditions, Stefan-Bolzmann’s law takes the form:

𝑊 = 𝜀𝜎𝑇 4 (2)

To detect the thermal radiation the thermographic device is the infrared detector. The
detector contains a sensor capable of converting the radiant energy hitting the sensor into an
electrical signal, a voltage or a current. The device provides an apparent temperature scale if
emissivity, distances, ambient and reflected temperatures are not been set. To obtain the real
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 433

temperature scale it is necessary to evaluate these physical factors that influence the
temperature measurement.

Figure 4. The electromagnetic spectrum, the part of the spectrum ‘visible’ by humans occupies only a
little range of the spectrum 0.4 μm – 0.8 μm.

Figure 5. Emittance curve of a black body.

Figure 6. Different contributions to the radiance value reaching the IR camera for a gray body.
434 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

By considering as a simplifying hypothesis that the object is a gray body with a Lambertian
surface, it is possible to express the radiance value reaching the IR camera (Wm). Such a quantity
is proportional to the apparent temperature and it is composed by the sum of several
contributions (Figure 6):

𝑊𝑚 = 𝑊(𝑇)𝜀𝜏𝑎𝑡𝑚 + 𝑊(𝑇𝑟𝑖𝑓 )(1 − 𝜀)𝜏𝑎𝑡𝑚 + 𝑊(𝑇𝑎𝑡𝑚 )(1 − 𝜏𝑎𝑡𝑚 ) (3)

The one linked to the observing object (T) through coefficient of transmission (τatm) and
surface emissivity (ε), the one related to the reflections of the environment on the workpiece
(which reach the thermal imaging camera), and the one due to atmospheric emissions (the
atmosphere has a τatm different from 1 and this means that it absorbs, then it emits). By
observing the equation, in case of objects exhibiting high emissivity, the contribution to the
radiation of the object is much more significant than the one related to the environmental
reflections. In addition to these factors, the lens and the internal devices of the thermal imaging
camera also emit radiation, which, however, is automatically compensated by the system’s
electronics.
Equation 1 shows that a series of information are needed to obtain the correct object
temperature. This information must be set in IR camera software as ‘object parameters’:
emissivity, reflected temperature, atmospheric temperature, distance (IR camera-object),
relative humidity.

3.2. Passive and Active Thermography

To obtain information about the thermal behaviour of a body two technique can be carried
out: passive and active thermography (Mahan, 2002), (Walker et al., 2014), (Mc GrawHill,
2017), (Maldague, 2001), (Calle and Casanova, 2008), (Theodorakeas et al., 2015), (Leicht et
al., 2018).
The passive approach takes advantage of the natural thermal radiation of the system
without using any type of thermal excitation. The thermographic detection is made by the same
operating conditions of the component which experiences a generation or removal of heat.
Since thermal properties (such as specific heat, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity)
different from those that the material would have if it was perfect, it is possible to highlight the
discontinuities present in the object to be inspected by identifying areas that have anomalies in
the surface temperature distribution. Locally, in the presence of a defect, the heat will be
absorbed or released in different ways and speeds. This technique is used in preventive
maintenance when one wants to know or control the operating temperature of the system. This
approach can be applied as a standard quality control technique (Theodorakeas et al., 2015),
(Leicht et al., 2018), (Meola et al., 2002), (Usamentiaga et al., 2013), (Ibarra-Castanedo et al.,
2005), (Ruizhen et al., 2016), (Badghaish and Fleming, 2008), (Yunze et al., 2017).
With regards of testing setup and data processing, the most diffused thermographic
techniques for the non-destructive evaluation of composite materials are: Lock-in
Thermography (LT), Pulsed (PT) and Flying Spot Laser Thermography (FSLT) (Maldague,
2001), (Calle and Casanova, 2008), (Theodorakeas et al., 2015), (Leicht et al., 2018)
(Theodorakeas et al., 2015), (Leicht et al., 2018), (Meola et al., 2002), (Usamentiaga et al.,
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 435

2013), (Ibarra-Castanedo et al., 2005), (Ruizhen et al., 2016), (Badghaish and Fleming, 2008).
All of them uses a surface or volumetric (Yunze et al., 2017) heat source to stimulate with
thermal waves the material in order to induce a heat flux in the material and analyse the
temperature behaviour on the component surface. The main idea, common with all
thermographic techniques is that a defect inducing different thermophysical local properties in
the material, will also induce an anomaly in the thermal diffusion and then a different surface
temperature of the component. In fact, these techniques look for areas of different thermal
behaviour that can be correlated to a defect and that are typically dependent by different
thermal-physical properties involved in the heat transmission phenomena such as the thermal
conductivity, the specific heat at constant pressure and the density of material (Maldague,
2001).

4. OPTIMIZATION OF THE FSW PROCESS OF AA 5754-H111

The optimal configuration of the FSW process depends on a number of factors (Buffa et
al., 2006), (Hwang et al., 2008): the type of alloy, the thickness of the sheets, the sinking of the
tool, the tilt angle of the spindle head, the speed of rotation and welding progress, and the
geometry of the tool. Welding parameters were chosen by applying the Design of Experiments
(DOE) procedure. According to this procedure, three constant parameters (the tool depth of -
5.6 mm, the tilt angle of the pin set at 1.2 degrees, the penetration rate, equal to 0.2 mm/s) and
two variable parameters (the rotation speed (n)), varying from 400 rpm to 600 rpm and the feed
rate (v) set at 20 mm/min, were defined in advance.
The levels of the two parameters were selected to produce welding conditions with
different values of Specific Heat Energy (SHE) [J/cm], that is the energy per unit weld length
(Chiefa, 2016), (Schmidt et al., 2004), (Albanese, 2016), (Serio et al., 2016). Rotation Speed –
n [rpm/min] and Travel Speed – v [cm/min], and consequently their ratio, are related to the
SHE:

𝐻𝑃
𝑆𝐻𝐸 = 60 (4)
𝑣

where HP [W] is the Heat Power.

Many researches (Colegrove et al., 2003), (Colegrove et al., 2005), (Ulysse, 2002),
estimated that about the 80% of the heat power produced in a FSW process is the Friction Heat
Power (FHP) between the shoulder and the sheets. Therefore, HP may be approximated from
FHP.
The FHP produced by the shoulder can be deduced as (Chen et al., 2003):

𝑅 𝑛 4 𝑛
𝐻𝑃 ≅ 𝐹𝐻𝑃 = ∫𝑟 0 4 60 𝑟 2 𝜇𝑝𝜋 2 𝑑𝑟 = 3 60 𝜇𝑝𝜋 2 (𝑅02 − 𝑟02 ) (5)
0

where µ is the friction coefficient, R0 and r0 are respectively the shoulder and the probe radius,
and p is interface pressure (Hwang et al., 2008).
Consequently:
436 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

𝐻𝑃 ∝ 𝑛 (6)

Figure 7. Factorial plan: 22 experimental design (De Filippis et al., 2017).

Hence, in a given process design (for constant Ro, r0, µ and p) from equations (4) and (5)
it is possible to obtain:

𝑛
𝑆𝐻𝐸 =∝ 𝑣 = 𝐽 (7)

Eq. (6) means that welding characterized by very different values of SHE has also very
different values of the ratio between the spindle speed and the feed rate.
To evaluate the effect of the process parameters and to begin the research of the optimum
condition a preliminary factorial experimental plan was used, considering two levels for each
FSW parameter.
The considered values of the tool rotation speed and the travel speed were: 500, 700 RPM
and 20, 30 cm/ min respectively. The 22 full factorial experimental plan considers four
combinations of the two parameters and two replications for each combination. This screening
model involves linear effects and a single cross product factor, which represents the linear x
linear interaction component. The presented one (De Filippis et al., 2017), was the first
attempted plan, hereafter called (Figure 7).
In correspondence of each parameters combination, a characteristic parameter was
calculated, called “Weld pitch” (mm) that indicates the ratio between the travel speed (v) and
the tool rotation speed (n). This parameter is closely related to the specific heat input given to
the joint during the process, and it can represent an indication of the welding quality (Schmidt
et al., 2004).
Previous studies (Peel et al., 2003), (Serio et al., 2014), (Lombard et al., 2009), (Kwon et
al., 2009), (Palumbo et al., 2014), (Schlichting et al., 2012), (Cam et al., 2009) have identified
for the alloys of the 5xxx series, a welding optimal pitch of 0.35 mm. Therefore, this
information was taken into account to identify the optimal process parameters and to find the
best set-up to obtain high mechanical and structural characteristics of welded joints.
Based on the fitted first-order model obtained from the 22 full factorial screening plan (plan
1), another plan was assessed (Albanese, 2016) by using the steepest descent method (plan 2),
by considering as the origin points, the central point of the screening plan (v = 25 [cm/min] and
n = 600 [rpm]) and moving along the normal to the fitted surface. The steepest descent method
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 437

was applied by using a linear regression to the normalized variables, obtaining a first-order
model from which the direction in which the response decreases most rapidly was extrapolated.
This allowed to obtain new test parameters configuration in terms of the travel speed-tool
rotation speed: (21 [cm/min]-400 [RPM]; 22 [cm/min]-450 [RPM]; 23 [cm/min]-500 [RPM];
24 [cm/min]-550 [RPM]; 25 [cm/min]-600 [RPM]).
The new points of the test are represented in Figure 8.

Figure 8. Full factorial plane and steepest descent direction definition (De Filippis et al., 2017).

5. MATERIAL AND METHODS

5.1. Friction Stir Welding Material and Set-Up

The welding joints for the present study were prepared by FSW sheets of 5754 Al alloy in
the H111 condition (some work hardening imparted by shaping processes but less than required
for H11 temper).
The experiments were carried out under position control using ESAB LEGIO which was
equipped with the FSW welding head (Figures 9a-b). The tool position relative to the backing
plate was kept constant and the workpiece was fixed on a rigid backing-plate and clamped by
means of some clamps along the welding direction on both sides of the workpiece to avoid
lateral movement during welding. The terminal part of the workpiece has been positioned to
abut with the worktables as shown in Figure 9.
The FSW process consists of various stages in which the action of the tool is the most
important for the success of the welds (Thomas et al., 1991), (Mishra et al., 2005), (Von
Strombeck et al., 2000), (Su et al., 2003), (Salem et al., 2003), (Rhodes et al., 1997), (Thomas
et al., 2001), (Serio, 2014), (Colegrove et al., 2005), (Buffa et al., 2006). In the first phase, the
rotating welding tool is plunged into the workpiece until the shoulder of the welding tool
forcibly contacts the upper surface of the material. In the second phase, the tool rotates in the
position of input for a time called “dwell time.” This stage is important to preheat the material
and facilitate the third stage in which the tool begins to advance while maintaining the rotation,
438 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

along the junction line. In this stage, the mixing and plasticization occur making possible the
welding. In the final stage, the tool reaches the end of the weld and is retracted by the junction
line. It leaves a hole in the workpiece at the end of the weld, called “keyhole.”

(a) (b)

Figure 9. (a) FSW welding machine, (b) Positioning of the workpiece on the fixture table
(Serio et al., 2016).

The tool had the following characteristic dimensions (Albanese, 2016):

 Shoulder Diameter: 22 mm.

 Pin minimum diameter: 8 mm.
 Pin diameter: 9 mm.
 Pin Height: 5 mm.

The welding direction has been chosen parallel to the rolling direction and the dwell time
was always kept at 15 s, whereupon the tool is moving with constant travel speed according to
the parameters combinations that have been selected and which are described below. During
the penetration phase, the rotating tool pin penetrates into the workpiece until the tool shoulder
is in contact with the workpiece. The penetration speed is chosen to be 5 mm/min.
As shown in the Figure 9b the adopted tool has a shoulder with a diameter of 22 mm, on
which grooves were milled to improve the extrusion action on the surface material of the joints,
while the tool probe has a threaded truncated shape. The tool was tilted of 2° respect to the
normal of the workpiece to facilitate the mixing of the material (Serio et al., 2014).

5.2. Thermal Measurements

Besides to the FSW machine setup infrared thermal cameras were used to monitor the
process. Two setups have been used for test plan 1 and test plan 2, (Serio et al., 2014), (De
Filippis et al., 2017), (Serio et al., 2018), (De Filippis et al., 2016), (De Finis et al., 2018).
For the test plan 1, the thermal acquisitions were performed by using two IR detectors FLIR
X6540 SC and FLIR SC640. In particular, the first IR detector acquired the thermal data along
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 439

the weld tool direction, the second sensor was used to acquire the thermal data in perpendicular
direction respect to the first IR camera.
Both IR detectors recorded the maps of surface temperature, across the weld, for each
combination of process parameters. The IR detectors set-up is shown in Figure 10.
For the test plan 2, the thermal acquisitions were performed using two IR detectors FLIR
X6540 SC and FLIR A655 sc. In particular, the first IR detector acquired the thermal data along
the weld tool direction, the second detector was used to acquire the thermal data in
perpendicular direction respect to the first IR camera.

(a) (b)

Figure 10. Set-up used to thermographic data acquisition for the first tests of the 22 full factorial plan
(plan 1): (a) FLIR X6540 sc IR camera placed in parallel direction respect to the weld tool direction (b)
and the Flir sc 640 IR camera placed in perpendicular direction respect to the weld tool direction (De
Filippis et al., 2017).

(a) (b)

Figure 11. Set-up used to thermographic data acquisition for the tests of the optimized 22 full factorial
plan (plan 2): (a) FLIR X6540 sc IR camera placed in parallel direction respect to the weld tool
direction (b) and the Flir A655 sc IR camera placed in perpendicular direction respect to the weld
tool direction.
440 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

Figure 12. Thermal indexes extracted from acquired thermal sequences.

Both IR cameras recorded the maps of surface temperature, across the weld, for each
combination of process parameters. The IR detectors set-up is shown in Figure 11.
The considered parameters obtained by thermal sequence are the maximum temperature
(Tmax) and the maximum heating rate of material or maximum slope of the heating curve
(MSHC) and the R-square coefficient (R2) (Serio et al., 2014), (De Filippis et al., 2017), (Serio
et al., 2018), (De Filippis et al., 2016), (De Finis et al., 2018). While the Tmax and MSHC were
used for the process controlling (Serio et al., 2014), (De Filippis et al., 2017), in order to
evaluate the quality of the process and welded joints the R2 coefficient was adopted to assess
the structural integrity of the joints in terms of detecting the presence of defects (Serio et al.,
2018).
Figure 12 provides a detailed explanation of the physical meaning of such the parameters
and shows the algorithm used for the analysis of thermographic sequences: pixel by pixel of
each frame of the thermal sequence the temporal temperature plot can be assessed. It presents
a maximum, and by considering the rising/descending phase data series one can evaluate the
slope of the linear trend (MSHC) and the grade of linear data-fitting coefficient (R2). This latter
is fully insensitive to surface emissivity changes and can be used to detect the presence of
superficial defects.
Referring to Figure 12, the following steps were used for assessing the thermal indexes:

1. Acquisition of the thermal sequences. Each thermal sequence refers to a welding test
performed with fixed process parameters. Each thermal sequence is composed of N
frames that represent the thermal maps acquired over time. In this regard, the
temperature of each pixel is known over time, T=T(x,y,t).
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 441

2. The analysis of the temperature profile has been carried out extracting the temperature
over time for each pixel (Temperature vs. frame).
3. For each temperature profile the three indexes were assessed (Tmax, MSHC and R2).
4. For each index, the related map (2D maps) has been obtained (value of the index for
each pixel over time).

For more local analysis, the temperatures inside the workpiece were measured by twelve
N-type thermocouples with a sheath diameter of 1 mm, according to Figure 13. Three cross-
sections were chosen to be monitored:

 Section A in correspondence with the welding start point.

 Section B located in the central area of the weld (generally this section is over the
transient due to the penetration of the tool into the workpiece).
 Section C in correspondence with the end of the welding and the extraction of the tool.

For each section, four thermocouples were placed, respectively two on the advancing side
and two on the retreating side. On each side, the thermocouples were positioned at different
distances from the center of the welding line in order to obtain temperature information at
different distances from the weld central area (nugget).

(a) (b)

Figure 13. Thermocouples layout (a) and workpiece set-up (b).

5.3. Conventional Methods for FSW Joints Quality Evaluation

The quality of welded joints was assessed also by using destructive and non-destructive
tests in order to highlight the existence of defects like surface alteration, lack of penetration,
tunnels or any metallurgical alterations. The following non-destructive and destructive methods
were used:

 Visual testing.
 Destructive tests: Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) of welded joints.
442 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

5.3.1. Non-Destructive Tests: Visual and Thermographic Tests

Visual inspection of roots and crowns generally are performed in order to evaluate the
shoulder influence on the joint quality. The face examination was carried out according to the
criterion fixed by the Standard UNI EN ISO 25239: 2011 (2011).
Visual inspections and macrographic required a specific material preparation by using
standard metallographic methods for macroscopic examinations of the weld zones.
For metallographic analysis, after these treatments, the specimens were observed with a
high-resolution digital camera (Mod.: Canon EOS 40D, 10 MPixel) to detect large and very
small internal flaws.
Passive thermography was also used for process monitoring (plan 1 and plan 2) in order to
optimize the input parameters (rotation speed and travel speed), (Serio et al., 2014), (De Filippis
et al., 2017), (Serio et al., 2018), (De Filippis et al., 2016), (De Finis et al., 2018).

5.3.2. Destructive Tests: Tensile Tests

Tensile tests at room temperature were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties of
welded joints. All tests have been performed on an MTS servo-hydraulic machine (Model 370),
under displacement control with a constant crosshead speed displacement rate of 5 mm/min
according to Standard UNI EN ISO 6892-1:2009 (2009).
The specimens were obtained cutting the sheets orthogonally with respect to the welding
direction. The gauge section of specimens was located within the welded zone.

6. RESULTS
In present section, due to the complexity of the carried out experimental campaign and
analyses, the workflow of the activities is provided in Figure 14.
The first step consists of searching the optimum values of the process variables (FSWp) to
attain the best mechanical performances and quality in the welded joints.
The full factorial plan approach was adopted. In particular, it was built a first 22 factorial
plan that considers only linear effects between parameters and a second experimental plan
based on steepest descent method, based on a gradient algorithm that allows to consider the
maximum amount of decrease of the objective function and then the direction in which the
response decreases most rapidly is assessed.
After this preliminarily part, different types of analyses were performed on the obtained
FSW joints.
The first analysis was qualitative and involved both destructive and non-destructive tests.
Destructive testing involved micro-hardness testing, and micrographs by using optical
microscope while non-destructive ones, visual testing, and thermographic techniques. The
thermographic inspections allowed to extract the R2 parameter used for determining the quality
of the joints in terms of superficial defects present on the joints.
Quantitative analyses were focused on studying the hardness of welding while tensile tests
carried out on samples extracted from the FSW sheets, enabled the assessment of the UTS. A
phenomenological model was built relating this latter parameter with process parameters
(FSWp).
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 443

Figure 14. Workflow of the experimental campaign and analyses.

The thermal analysis allowed the assessment of MSHC parameter, representing the
maximum heating rate of the temperature and used to build an empirical model that related
MSHC with FSWp. A third model was assessed with the aim of relating directly UTS with
MSHC. So that, by simply acquiring the temperature during the process one can assess
information about mechanical characteristics of the specific material.
The latter kind of analyses are related to the prediction of mechanical properties by using
the artificial neural networks approach. Two models were built: the first used six input
parameters to obtain the hardness in the HAZ and the second with the same input parameters
was used to obtain the UTS of the material.

6.1. Visual Inspection and Micrography of the FSW Welded Joints

For each test condition of the first factorial plan (plan 1), all the sheets were visually
inspected after welding. Generally, a qualitative inspection of the welds was performed by
visual examination to detect surface defects, followed by metallographic analysis to detect inner
flaws.
Typically, the surface appearance of FSW is a regular series of partially circular ripples
(De Filippis et al., 2017), (Serio et al., 2018), (De Finis et al., 2017), (Figure 15), which point
towards the start of the weld. It is observed that these ripples are essentially cycloidal and are
produced by the final sweep of the trailing circumferential edge of the shoulder during traverse
(De Finis et al., 2018).
444 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

Figure 15. Surface appearance for the TEST with n = 500 RPM, v = 30 cm/min
(De Filippis et al., 2017).

The rotational speed of the tool and travel speed of workpiece have determined the pitch
between the ripples. It was observed that with the same rotation speed, by increasing the travel
speed, an increase of the roughness of the joints surface occurs, but at the same time it increases
the speed at which the weld is executed and therefore the productivity of the process. All the
performed observations on welded specimens along the cross sections (perpendicular to the
welding direction) and on surface, along the welding line, are shown in Figure 16a. In
particular, the letter R refers to the replication while the T one to the number of the test.
All the produced joints have shown a circle around the exit hole 100% complete, indicating
a correct plunge depth (Przydatek, 1999).

(a)

(b)

Figure 16. Visual examination of the section (a) and surface (b) of the joints of the plan 1.
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 445

Figure 17. Macrographs.

By observing Figure 16b, furthermore, it is possible to observe that some tests (R2T3,
R1T2, R2T2) are characterized by an excessive presence of lateral flash, resulting from the
outflow of the plasticized material from underneath of the shoulder due to the higher heat input
(that is proportional to SHE and J).
The other tests show continuous flash but with a marked ripple. This demonstrates the
significant ductility of the material, and as the plastic deformation suffered by the material,
changes periodically over time. Test 2 and 3, which are characterized by a tool rotation of 700
RPM, in the section are detectable macro voids denominated tunnel. In the test R2T3, the voids
also occurred on the surface of the weld, creating a groove along the length of the weld,
probably due to non-correct process parameters and then a wrong heat input per unit length.
Furthermore, macrographic analyses were carried out to detect internal flaws of the welds
and the results are listed below, Figure 17. All macrographs presented a nugget shape, not well
defined with a notably elongated form, while the typical “onion rings” that identified the mixing
zone characteristic of FSW process, were very visible (UNI EN ISO 17637, 2017), (Atallah et
al., 2007). Almost all analyses revealed a good mixing and a good penetration of the tool in the
joints, except for the joints section realized using the highest rotation speed
(n = 700 RPM - tests: R2T3, R1T2, and R2T2), where defects such as cavities, due to
inappropriate contribution of heat input and stirring rate have been observed.
The macrographic observations agreed with the ones observed in the visual inspection,
Figure 17.
For the optimized test configuration of the second plan (plan 2), interesting results can be
obtained by visual inspection, due to the possibility of verifying the presence of possible
macroscopic external defects, such as surface irregularities, excessive flash, and lack of
penetration or surface-open tunnels. No significant cracks, voids, wormholes or other surface
deformities were observed in any of the weld samples produced. All joints have little or no
446 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

flash on either side of the junction line. The penetration appears to be complete through the
thickness of the plates. The right and upside-down welds appearance surfaces are uniform and
clean, free of ripples, indicating a complete mixing of the material, which is possible to see in
Figure 18.
Figure 18 results in agreement with the global welds observation that confirms the good
surface finish; in fact, the flash production is minimal and no apparent surface defects are
detected on any joint-for all joints there is full penetration and the “Slitting of the welded
surface” and ripples on the surface are in the range of acceptability.

Figure 18. Visual tests (overall tests) and details.

6.2. Mechanical Properties Assessment

6.2.1. Experimental Plan 1

An ANOVA was carried out considering a 22 full factorial experimental plan (plan 1) in
order to study the effects of each considered parameter on UTS of welded joints, with a
significance level of 0.05. The considered factors were the rotation speed, the traverse speed
and the position of specimens along the welds. In the statistical analysis, two specimens were
considered from each welded joint. The samples were extracted from the plate according to the
following Figure 19.
The UTS values for the two samples, extracted from each test, used for ANOVA, are shown
in Table 3 (De Filippis et al., 2017).
The statistical analysis, performed with the software MINITAB (De Filippis et al., 2017),
including all data in Table 3, showed a significant influence of the factor’s rotation speed and
position on the UTS. The main results of this analysis are indicated and summarized in
Table 4.
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 447

Figure 19. Specimen a, placed at 120 mm from section A, and specimen b placed at 20 mm from
section A.

Table 3. Adopted values of UTS for all the samples in order to perform
statistical analysis

R1T1 R2T1 R1T4 R2T4

UTS 166.69 (MPa) UTS 132.43 UTS 80.05 (MPa) UTS 113.98 (MPa)
Position a: Position a: (MPa) Position a: Position a:
UTS 90.66 (MPa) UTS 99.06 UTS 71.99 (MPa) UTS 97.43 (MPa)
Position b: Position b: (MPa) Position b: Position b:
R1T2 R2T2 R1T3 R1T3
UTS 120.75 (MPa) UTS 51.86 UTS 70.25 (MPa) UTS 114.87 (MPa)
Position a: Position a: (MPa) Position a: Position a:
UTS 56.06 (MPa) UTS 46.55 UTS 44.29 (MPa) UTS 59.95 (MPa)
Position b: Position b: (MPa) Position b: Position b:
Source: (De Filippis et al., 2017).

Table 4. Results of statistical analysis performed by using Minitab®

Analysis of variance for UTS, using Adjusted SS for Tests (Significance Level: 0.05)
Source DF Adj SS Adj MS F P
Model 7 13,034.4 18,62.1 2.87 0.081
Linear 3 9,909.5 3,303.2 5.09 0.029
v 1 773.5 773.5 1.19 0.301
n 1 5,173.6 5,173.6 7.97 0.022
p 1 3,962.4 3,962.4 6.11 0.039
2-Way Interactions 3 2,088.5 696.2 1.07 0.414
v*n 1 1,216.8 1,216.8 1.88 0.208
v*p 1 715.7 715.7 1.10 0,324
n*p 1 156.1 156.1 0.24 0637
3-Way Interactions 1 1,036.4 1,036.4 1.60 0.242
v*n*p 1 1,036.4 1,036.4 1.60 0.242
Error 8 5,191.0 648.9 – –
Total 15 18,225.4 – – –
Source: (De Filippis et al., 2017).
448 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

Referring to Table 4, the statistical values are (http://support.minitab, 2021):

 The total degrees of freedom DF.

 Adjusted sums of squares Adj SS, measures of variation for different components of
the model.
 Adjusted means squares Adj MS, measure how much variation a term or a model
explains, assuming that all other terms are in the model, regardless of the order they
were entered.
 F (F-value) refers to the F-distribution and is used to determine whether to reject the
null hypothesis.
 P (P-value) is a probability that measures the evidence against the null hypothesis.
Lower probabilities provide stronger evidence against the null hypothesis. If the p-
value is less than or equal to the significance level (0.05 in this case), the null
hypothesis ca be rejected, and we can conclude that not all of population means are
equal.

The ANOVA confirmed the variations of the mechanical properties of joints along with
the welding due to the non-stationary nature of the FSW process (statistical significance of
position).
Moreover, there is no important significance of the rotation speed while the interactions
between factors are not statistically significant (see results in Table 4).
A second ANOVA (Table 5) was carried out without taking into account the traverse speed
influence in order to obtain four replications for each test (data in Table 3). The results
confirmed the statistical significance of the rotation speed and position while the interaction is
still insignificant.
Finally, for the test plan 1, an empirical model can be assessed in order to predict the UTS
values along the weld for a given rotation speed value and position (De Filippis et al., 2017):

𝑈𝑇𝑆 = 174 − 0.180𝑛 + 0.315𝑝 (8)

The coefficients of the model have been assessed by means of a regression analysis (with
Minitab® software) of data in Table 3 neglecting the traverse speed and the interaction between
the rotation speed and the specimen position.

Table 5. The second statistical analysis (ANOVA) neglecting the influence

of transverse speed

Two-way ANOVA: UTS versus rotation speed; position samples along the welding direction
(Significance Level: 0.05)
Source DF SS MS F P
Rotation Speed 1 5173.6 5173.57 6.95 0.022
Position 1 3962.4 3962.39 5.32 0.040
Interaction 1 156.1 156.06 0.21 0.655
Error 12 8933.4 744.45 – –
Total 15 18225.4 – – –
Source: (De Filippis et al., 2017).
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 449

6.2.2. Experimental Plan 2

The design of the samples used for the tensile tests, which have the typical dog bone shape,
was carried out in accordance with UNI EN ISO 4136:2012 (2012).
Five samples were extracted from the sheet metal, for ensuring good reliability of the
results. Figure 20 shows the coated welded sample.

Figure 20. Geometry dimensions of the adopted sample (matt black is for thermal acquisition during
tensile tests), (De Filippis, 2017).

From the analysis, it results that for all the tests a recovery of the mechanical characteristics
of the material occurred, which demonstrated the excellent quality of the joints that have been
made.
It has been verified that the recovery of mechanical properties was about 5% and has been
observed in all tests, except for the one performed with higher rotation speed, for which a
decrease of 2.63% has been recorded (De Filippis et al., 2017), (Albanese, 2016).
It has been observed that the highest recovery was obtained for the test at n = 500 rpm and
v = 230 mm/min.

Table 6. UTS and mechanical properties recovery for samples of the test plan 2
(De Filippis et al., 2017)

Std. Dev. UTS A %UTSBM % Recovery of

[MPa] Average Values Std. Dev./ Average Std. Std. Dev./ the Mechanical
[MPa] Average % Dev. Average Properties
Base material 210.07 ± 3.11 - - - - - -
400–21 220.09 ± 0.51 0.00 16% 0.00 0.02 104.77% +4.77%
UTSBM
450–22 220.05 ± 2.09 0.00 17% 0.01 0.04 104.77% +4.77%
UTSBM
500–23 221.91 ± 1.31 0.01 17% 0.01 0.07 105.64% +5.64%
UTSBM
550–24 221.21 ± 3.46 0.02 18% 0.01 0.05 105.30% +5.30%
UTSBM
600–24 204.55 ± 18.15 0.09 17% 0.02 0.09 97.37% −2.63%
UTSBM
450 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

Above, in Table 6 there are the data showing the increase in the UTS of FSW joints
compared to the mechanical properties of the base material.

6.3. Thermal Behavior of Joints: Analysis of Thermographic Data

6.3.1. Estimation of the Quality of Welding Process by Using Tmax and MSHC
In this section, the thermal results obtained by monitoring the FSW process with IRT
technique are shown. A detailed discussion about these results is present in the work of Serio
et al. (2016).
The temperatures measured during the FSW process of the tests of plan 1 by means of the
thermocouples in Sections A, B and C (Figure 21) show a non-uniform temperature trend along
the weld. For example, Figure 20 shows the thermal profiles registered by the thermocouples
placed on advancing and retreating side in correspondence with Sections A, B and C.
In Figure 22, three thermal profiles obtained by thermographic sequences in
correspondence to the thermocouples placed at 21 mm from the center of the weld (test n. 1,
n = 500 RPM; v = 20 cm/min) are shown.
The thermographic temperature data on the surface of the aluminium plates show similar
thermal trends compared with thermocouple data Figure 22.
As shown in the previous section, another parameter that can be extracted from the thermal
profiles is the maximum heating slope (MSHC) of thermal profiles evaluated on the surface of
joints that can be used for monitoring the process parameters. This parameter is more sensitive
than maximum temperature, as it is directly correlated with the energy and then the heat
supplied during the welding process (De Filippis et al., 2017). The MSHC was expressed for
each pixel in terms of angular measurement of the temperature heat rate (°C/s) relative to the
horizontal axis. This parameter is used compared with the maximum temperature achieved for
each frame Tmax.

Figure 21. Temperature profiles from thermocouples.

 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 451

Figure 22. Temperature profiles acquired in correspondence of the thermocouples.

Figure 23. MSHC profiles (upper figure) maximum temperature (lower figure) profiles along the
welding joint in two regions near and far away the welding joint.

Figure 24. Indexes profiles along the X-axis and at two different distances from the center of the
welding (A = 20 mm, B = 37 mm).
452 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

Figure 25. Three profiles at the beginning/middle/end of welding analyised for MSHC and maximum
temperature parameters.

In the maps of Figure 23, referred to the experimental plan 2, except for the thermal
transient zone at the beginning of the weld, a homogeneous distribution of the MSHC in the
weld direction can be observed. The same considerations can be made for Tmax. This is
confirmed by the graphs beside each map in Figure 24 where a stationary regime is present in
both MSHC and Tmax parameters of a test of plan 2. The identification of the stationary region,
more pronounced for MSHC, is very important, as it allows to understand what zones of the
sheets will be characterized by the same mechanical behaviour. In fact, the presence of thermal
steady-state conditions was due to non-significant variations in the energy supply during the
welding, ensuring, according to what has already been demonstrated in the literature, the
homogeneity of the mechanical characteristics of the material. The presence of a steady-state
region in MSHC and Tmax is confirmed by the stationarity of the downwards forging force in
the same region (Albanese, 2016).
Another interesting phenomenon is such that in all the tests of test plan 2, higher values of
the maximum temperatures were recorded along the advancing side, however, no significant
asymmetry was found in terms of MSHC while Tmax seems to be upper in the retreating side, as
represented in Figure 25.

6.3.2. Correlation between Mechanical Properties of the FSW Joints

and Thermal Indexes
The maximum heating slope (MSHC) of thermal profiles evaluated on the surface of joints
can be used for monitoring the process parameters. This parameter is more sensitive than
maximum temperature, as it is directly correlated with the energy and then the heat supplied
during the welding process.
A statistical analysis (ANOVA) has been carried out on the test results of the optimized
plan (plan 2) in order to verify the statistical significance of the effect reduced by the process
parameters on MSHC (Serio et al., 2016). In this case, such the analysis showed that the
parameters MSHC are influenced by both the tool rotation speed (n) and the transverse speed
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 453

(v). Moreover, the dependence on position p is due to the non-stationary condition of the
process. Then, an empirical model can be obtained in order to correlate all the significant
parameters:

𝑀𝑆𝐻𝐶 = 83.558 + 00722𝑣 + 0.002668𝑛 + 0.00688𝑝 (9)

Also, in this case, the model (and then each coefficient) has been obtained by means of the
linear regression of data and considering each parameter without interactions.
In literature (Rajakumar and Balasubramanian, 2012), it has been demonstrated as the UTS
is directly correlated to the frictional power input (FPI), In particular, higher values of UTS are
obtained in correspondence of lower values of FPI. It is interesting to notice as in Serio’s works
(2014, 2016) a similar correlation has been verified between MSHC data and UTS. In fact, the
heat generated during the FSW process is proportional to the FPI and in this regard, MSHC
data can be considered as an index of the frictional power input.
Figure 26 shows the model reported in the work of Serio et al. (2016). Although this latter
has been obtained for non-stationary conditions, it allows for predicting and estimating the UTS
of joints. In fact, by considering all the MSHC values of the experimental plan 2, MSHC <
85.35 deg provide UTS values above the base material ones (tests 1, 2, 3) while test 5 presents
the higher value of MSHC that provides the lower value of UTS, in agreement with the results
of tensile tests, that show the recovery of UTS. Only for the test 4 the expected UTS value is
lower than the experimental one. This error can be justified considering that the empirical
model proposed in (Serio et al., 2016), (De Filippis et al., 2017), (Rajakumar and
Balasubramanian, 2012), has been obtained with few points and with different plate
dimensions. However, the thermal index MSHC allows for detecting the optimum region of the
FSW process in terms of the strength of joints.

Figure 26. Relation between UTS and MSHC for all the tests of the second optimized plan (plan 2) (De
Filippis., 2017).

6.3.3. Structural Integrity Assessment by Using Thermal Index R2

The analysis of thermal sequences of the plan 1 can be used also for evaluating surface
defects in the welded area. By a specific algorithm based on the linearity of the cooling thermal
phase, one can evaluate the index R2. In the case of a simple linear regression, R2 equals the
square of the Pearson correlation coefficient between the observed and predicted data values of
454 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

the dependent variable (Palumbo and Galietti, 2016). It is important to highlight that as this
parameter is less influenced by the emissivity value of the surface (very low in the welded area)
since it is related to the shape of the cooling curve.
In Figure 27, for such a parameter the presence of defects is confirmed by visual tests for
the combinations 30 [cm/min]-700 [RPM] and 20 [cm/min]-700 [RPM] of the first 22 factorial
plan.
In the case of Figure 28, the thermal maps refer to the optimized welding with the second
plan (plan 2) by using the steepest descend method. In fact, the tests are free from defects and
in particular, the combination 23 [cm/min]-500 [RPM] presents a regular and uniform value of
R2. Moreover, it is interesting to highlight that as in correspondence of this combination the
highest mechanical properties are observed in terms of UTS (Serio et al., 2018).

Figure 27. R2 coefficient for the tests of test plan 1.

Figure 28. R2 coefficient for the tests of test plan 2.

6.4. Methodology of Artificial Neural Network Application

and Modeling Data

The ANN was adopted to predict the UTS values based on different input parameters
related to the welding process variables. As is known, the ANN combines a set of computational
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 455

procedures with a theoretical basis to predict the unknown output parameter in various
processes. In this case, the ANN was adopted, identifying a relationship between the factors of
the welding process (i.e., input parameters) and mechanical properties of the welded joint (i.e.,
output parameters); in Table 7, the input/output parameters for the work conducted, are listed.

Table 7. List of input/output parameters

INPUT OUTPUT
Tool Rotation speed (n) [RPM]
Tool travel speed (v) [cm/min]
Position of the sample along the welding direction (p) [mm] ̂ [MPa]
𝑈𝑇𝑆
MSHC on the retreating side (MSHCRS) [°]
MSHC on the and advancing side (MSHCAS) [°]

A sample of experimental data (i.e., actual data), composed of input and output parameters,
was collected for the ANN design. The sample included a set of 40 inputs-outputs pairs that the
network must “learn” to reproduce using a given analytically relationship, most notably the
back-propagation method for feed-forward neural networks is one of the most common training
algorithms (Bakr and Negm, 2012). The development of the ANN consists of three main steps:
dataset splitting and removing of the data points fall outside the control limits (i), design of
architecture (ii), and learning algorithm identification (iii). Consistently to step (i), the available
sample has been split into three sub-set to be adopted for the ANN’s training, validation, and
test. In this case, a subset of 25 input-output pairs, a subset of 6 input-output pairs, and a subset
of 6 input-output pairs have been allocated to the training-set, validation-set, and test-set,
respectively. Adopting Dixon’s Q test, three input-output pairs have been removed. The trial-
and-error approach has been used to identify ANN-architecture (ii). For this purpose, more than
1000 different network architectures were tested to identify the architecture with the best fitness
score, evaluated as the inverse of the mean absolute error regarding values included in the
testing set. The best fitness score was obtained by adopting an ANN with one hidden layer with
7 neurons. The learning algorithm based on quick propagation (QP) has been adopted for step
(iii). QP is a heuristic modification of the standard back propagation, the output of the mth
output node for the pth input pattern is given by opm (Equation 10).

𝑜𝑝𝑚 = 𝑓(∑𝐾
𝑘=1 𝜔
̅𝑘𝑚 𝑜𝑝𝑘 ) (10)

where f is the activation sigmoidal function, 𝜔

̅𝑘𝑚 is the weight between the m-th output neuron
and the k-th hidden neuron. The value of 𝑜𝑝𝑘 depends on two parameters, one (𝜔 ̅𝑛𝑘 ) is given
by the weight between k-th hidden neuron and the n-th input neuron. The second one (𝑥𝑝𝑛 ) is
given by p-th input pattern of n-th neuron.
ANN’s learning process was executed on a PC equipped with a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU
and 8 GB RAM. The average computational runtime was about 6 hours and 32 minutes. The
comparison between the predicted UTS (𝑈𝑇𝑆 ̂) evaluated by ANN and the actual UTS value,
referred to experimental plan, has provided a corresponding Mean Absolute Percentage Error
(MAPE) of 16.76%.
456 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

Table 8. List of input/output parameters for both ANNs

INPUT OUTPUT
ANN#1 Tool Rotation speed (n) [RPM] ̂ HAZ
𝐻𝑉
Tool travel speed (v) [cm/min]
Position of the sample along the welding direction (p) [mm]
MSHC on the retreating side (MSHCRS) [°]
MSHC on the and advancing side (MSHCAS) [°]
ANN#2 Tool Rotation speed (n) [RPM] ̂
𝑈𝑇𝑆 [MPa]
Tool travel speed (v) [cm/min]
Position of the sample along the welding direction (p) [mm]
MSHC on the retreating side (MSHCRS) [°]
MSHC on the and advancing side (MSHCAS) [°]
̂ HAZ
𝐻𝑉

Table 9. Design parameters of both ANNs for step of dataset splitting and removing
of the data points fall outside the control limits (i), design of architecture (ii), and
learning algorithm identification (iii)

(i) (ii)* (iii)

ANN#1 55% Training subset
30% validation subset 5-9-1 QP
15% testing subset
ANN#2 67% Training subset
20% validation subset
6-12-1 QP
10% testing subset
3% removed data
(*) Number of nodes in input, hidden, and output layer, respectively.

A second approach was adopted to reduce the MAPE and improve the reliability of the
ANN prediction. The method consists of experimental implementation of two or more ANNs
on the same system. In other words, the approach proposed identifies the output parameter/s
provided by the first ANN as input parameter/s of a second ANN. In this way, a new neural
network model, built as a sequence of more ANNs, has been developed. This approach is
generally adopted when one or more input parameter/s are not available when the ANN is
queried. Since they are tough to measure experimentally (e.g., destructive test, very expensive
test, etc.), required specific skill, or are based on the high time-consuming procedure.
According to the literature review, there are cases where the forecast provided by sequential
ANN can be less reliable than the prediction of one ANN; in other scientific cases, the
implementation of more ANN led to better results if compared to forecast provided by one
ANN (Siddiquee and Hossain, 2015), (Jang et al., 2017).
In this work, a sequence of two ANNs to predict the UTS, was tested. The first ANN,
trained with the same input parameters showed in Table 7, it was adopted to predict the HV
measured in the HAZ (𝐻𝑉 ̂ ̂
𝐻𝐴𝑍 ). In the second ANN, the 𝐻𝑉𝐻𝐴𝑍 was adopted as a sixth input to
identify the predict UTS-value. In Table 8, are summarized the input/output parameters for both
ANNs.
The same sample of experimental data adopted for the design of the previous ANN was
used for the training of the ANN#1, the actual values of HV were integrated for each of the 40
 Recent Advances in Controlling, Monitoring and Optimization ... 457

inputs-outputs pairs, and the actual values of UTS have been ignored. Similarly, the training of
ANN#2 was based on the same experimental data, considering the values of 𝐻𝑉 ̂ 𝐻𝐴𝑍 provided
by ANN#1, and the actual value of UTS for each case. The design of both ANNs followed the
same approach already adopted for the case of one ANN. In Table 9, are summarized the design
parameters accordingly to three main steps above defined.
Due to the learning process, the average computational runtime, adopting the same
machine above mentioned, was about 9 hours and 18 minutes, and 5 hours and 58 minutes for
ANN#1 and #2, respectively.
High reliability of ANN#1 to predict 𝐻𝑉 ̂ HAZ was achieved, indeed a MAPE of 0.29% was
calculated. Regarding the reliability of the ANN#2, a MAPE of 9.57% was calculated for the
̂. Therefore, the new approach allowed increasing the reliability of UTS
prediction of 𝑈𝑇𝑆
prediction, lead to reduction of the MAPE of 7.19%. Moreover, the joint adoption of both
ANNs allowed leaving unchanged the input information. In other words, the input parameters
to be adopted in the case of only one ANN or two ANNs are the same. Indeed, in the last case,
the user query ANN#1, and the output is provided by ANN#2, being the communication
between two ANNs fully transparent at the user. Finally, the time required for querying the
system with a sequence of two ANNs is more or less the same time required for querying only
one ANN. On the contrary, the computational learning time due to training of an ANNs
sequence significantly increases; in this case, it has more than doubled, and the design of the
ANNs required a major effort.

CONCLUSION
The present chapter illustrated the recent advances in controlling, monitoring and
optimization of the FSW process. The presented research focuses on the study of the thermal
behaviour of 5754-H111 plates joined by friction stir welding. The tests were designed
according to two plans: plan 1- 22 full factorial plan, plan 2- steepest descent method.
Moreover, it was presented the adoption of a simulation model based on neural networks
that can be very useful for the friction stir welding process. In the scientific literature, for this
kind of process and materials, there are no models able to predict the mechanical parameters
on the basis of weld process parameters. The suggested approach allows for identifying
unknown parameters by starting from the experimental data, and the reliability of the
forecasting model increases with increasing the amount of available data.
The main considerations could be summarised as follows:

 Thermographic techniques can be a powerful tool for monitoring of the FSW process
through the measurement of surface temperatures on welded joints. In particular,
through a very ease analysis, the symmetry and the stationarity of the FSW process
could be assessed in terms of the maximum temperatures reached during the process.
 The thermal indexes (MSHC, R2) extracted by thermal sequences can be used for
process quality assessment and for non-destructive evaluations of the welded joints. In
particular, in non-stationary conditions, the maximum heating slope of thermal profiles
evaluated on the surface of joints can be used for monitoring the process.
458 R. De Finis, F. Facchini, D. Palumbo et al.

 MSHC can be used for predicting mechanical behaviour of the welded joints by using
just a simple calibration of the material properties.
 The statistical analysis (ANOVA) showed that the mechanical strength of joints (UTS)
is influenced by the tool rotation speed. Moreover, different values of UTS were
obtained along the weld direction due to non-stationary conditions of the process.
 Referring to the optimized plan 2 by considering travel and rotational tool speeds as
process parameters in order to assess the optimum region of the process, defect-free
welds were observed from the visual inspection for all combinations of process
parameters while the macrograph and micrograph inspections revealed a good mixing
and a good penetration of the tool, and tensile tests have shown a recovery about 5%
of UTS with respect to the base material with a maximum value in correspondence of
n = 500 rpm and v = 23 cm/min;
 Referring to the ANN-approach, the results showed that the simulation model could
be used as an alternative way of predicting, controlling and monitoring the FSW
process. The MAPE obtained for the output micro hardness (𝐻𝑉𝐻𝐴𝑍 ) and ultimate
tensile strength (UTS) were, respectively, 0.29% and 9.57%. The investigated R2
values were high. Although the prediction of UTS was characterized by a higher level
of MAPE if compared to HAZ estimated value, it was, however, considered acceptable
under the technological point of view. To improve the reliability of the model, it is
necessary, therefore, increase the number of experimental data for training, validation,
and test phase.

Due to the thermographic technique, statistical analysis and ANN- approach, it is possible
to understand/evaluate/monitor the presence of weld defects and the quality of the process. A
reduction of weld defects translates into greater safety and in a decrease of the repairs, providing
to predict a drastic costs reduction related to additional testing that can be replaced thanks to
the estimation of the mechanical properties of the joints.

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Von Strombeck, A., Schillng, C., dos Santos, J. F. (2000). Robotic Friction Stir Welding – Tool
Technologu and Applications, Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium on Frction
Stir Welding, Gothenburg, Sweden, 26-28 June 2000. ISSN 0344-9629.
Walker, J., Halliday, D., Resnick, R. (2014) Fundamentals of Physics, Wiley, USA.
Yunze, H., Ruizhen, Y., Hong, Z., Deqiang, Z., Gang, W. (2017). Volume or inside heating
thermography using electromagnetic excitation for advanced composite materials.
International Journal of Thermal Sciences, Vol. 111, p. 41-49. https://https://doi.org.
org:10.1016/j.ijthermalsci.2016.08.007.
In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 16

QUALITY ASSURANCE OF WELDED CONSTRUCTION

OF INDUSTRIAL BOILERS

A. B. Pereira1,, J. C. F. Martinho1 and F. J. G. Silva2

1
TEMA—Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
2
ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

ABSTRACT
Quality assurance is an essential and indispensable requirement in metalworking. The
obligation of manufacturers to comply with this requirement depends on the framework
and scope applicable to the product. Thus, the manufacturer must not only know and
respect the current legislation and regulations, but also the extensive standardization
applicable to the products. Specially, manufacturers whose product is based on welded
construction and subject to CE marking, have the obligation to know and implement all the
necessary provisions for the conformity of the product from its conception to the
availability of the product on the market. In this case, the objective of this work is to
describe, specify and solve the various steps that allow a manufacturer of steam boilers to
guarantee the quality in the welded construction of their product, with all that this implies.
Nowadays the manufacturer’s problem is not the quantity and capacity of the physical
resources of manufacture, but rather the mastery of the technique and actuality of specific
knowledge required to ensure the product compliance. A methodology to approach
construction is proposed, assuming the manufacturer role, from the framing of the product
to inspection and final testing. It is intended to detail and technically fully document each
step, in accordance with the legislation and building codes applicable to the boiler under
study.

Keywords: under pressure equipment, boiler, welding, requirements, specification, procedure,

welder, CE marking, quality, control


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
466 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

1. INTRODUCTION
For several decades, the use of pressure equipment, in the biggest part of industrial
installations, and regardless of its goal or purpose, is an undeniable reality. It is difficult to find
modern or older industrial installations without energy production equipment, and therefore
without equipment to store, transform or transport that energy produced. instead of what
happened in the past, due to lack of knowledge, and the limitations of the pioneering spirit in
the development of this equipment, currently there are specific building codes and standards,
which have come, and will continue to be developed to universalize the best construction rules
and practices. This is valid for the different stages of the design of any equipment, that is, for
the design, manufacture, inspection, and assembly, as well as its related stages. The obligation
for manufacturers to follow certain guidelines contained in building codes and standards is
related to mandatory and, therefore, necessary presumption of conformity. And it is this same
presumption of conformity, required by current legislation, that induces the market of pressure
equipment, whether or not boilers, to be extremely regulated and legislated practically all over
the world. This is justified considering the possible consequences and potential damage in the
event of failure.
The strength of the current legislation constitutes several difficulties for the manufacturers
of the sector, who are no longer able to manufacture according to, at best, the random rules of
good engineering practices, and now have to respect objective specificities in the field of
knowledge about each kind of equipment or equipment typology.
In addition to the aforementioned, the fact that manufacturing companies do not always
have their own engineering office, increase the difficulty of overcoming the situation,
maintaining the necessary competitiveness required by the market.
It is common to find, with the manufacturers, the recognition of what they consider
Engineering, always linked only to calculation activities, relativizing the other knowledge
necessary needed to manufacture a pressure equipment as a whole.
If it is true that calculation is essential and mandatory, it is also true that it is just only one
part of the extensive work that needs to be done in the construction of pressure equipment.
It is necessary that there is also engineering capable of specifying the remaining needs
expressed in the other parts of an applicable building code, to objectively transform technical,
regulatory, legal and normative requirements into compliant products. And it is understandable
that even to conclude about the applicability of a certain requirement, to a given context,
product or work situation, it is essential to have a transversal engineering knowledge and the
degree of updating of that knowledge, given the frequency of changes and ambiguities that
generally abound at the regulatory level.
The importance of a steam boiler is necessarily about the extent of its use on the premises.
Boilers are used in the most diverse industries, as they guarantee the production of steam, which
is a fluid widely used in a wide range of industrial applications, with the purpose of allowing
the generation of other types of energy other than thermal, such as electrical energy, or serve
other processes in different industries, such as food, pharmaceutical, textile, wood, paper,
among others. Steam can act as an active element in the process itself (e.g., the food area), or
as an auxiliary means to achieve the desired result (e.g., production of electrical energy).
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 467

Pressure vessels are an integral part of numerous industrial installations. They are designed
to allow the safe storage of pressurized liquids and gases, which will serve different purposes
throughout the installation, depending on the purpose for which they were designed.
In a generic way, the vessels can contain any fluid under pressure, for later use, in industrial
tasks of the installation of which they are part, or others to which this energy is directed. From
piping systems, industrial boilers, tank trucks to static fuel storage tanks, there are innumerable
contexts in which we can find such elements. A common factor to all these contexts, and to the
vessels, is that they operate in a wide variety of potentially hazardous environments, but not
only because of being subjected to the pressure factor, which in itself represents risks. In
addition to the severity caused by the presence of pressure, the existence of an inappropriate
design, manufacture, inspection or operation, exponentially increase the risk.
The frequency and severity of boiler accidents recorded over time, have led several United
States state delegations to begin creating rules for the construction of pressure equipment, due
to the risk they pose to society. Due to the severity of what happened, during the year 1907, a
first version of a legal code for building pressure equipment was published, which on that date
also contained some guidelines on its inspection. In 1908, the state of Ohio drew up similar
legislation, although already considering some improvements in relation to what until now was
regulated. The activity of attempting to regulate, at a local scale, has taken on some dimension
since then, and a mix of orientations prevail for the same purpose. This measure brought to the
manufacturer’s greater difficulties in the manufacture and later in the commercialization of
their equipment regarding the monitoring and implementation of these same rules created.
Considering that the equipment was installed in several locations, manufacturers would have
to comply with the rules that affect the manufacturing itself, as well as the requirements
applicable at the place of installation of the equipment, with a view to complying with it, with
state guidelines at the time, and at that location (Pastor, 2012).
The diversity of possible interpretations of the rules and guidelines created, and the
expected lack of definition in certain rules to be followed by manufacturers, raised the need for
the existence of a transversal set of rules that was recognized and understood by all operators
in the same work scope and actuation areas. The attempt to meet the need for uniformity as
well as to disseminate safety aspects, gave rise in 1911 to ASME-BPVC, which was to be
officially launched in 1914, to become the common solid technical base for the construction of
such equipment.
During the growing industrial activity, and objectively the need for high pressure
containers in the chemical and petrochemical industries, triggered and leveraged the
manufacture of this equipment using the welding process, since construction based on riveted
connections was manifestly insufficient for the required pressures and temperatures. Attending
the objective need that was imposed in the 1920s and 1930s, ASME, the entity responsible for
the development of BPVC, included welding as an acceptable production process under the
code. It was clearly one of the most relevant developments, and even today welding is the main
means of joining materials in the context of these constructions. Of note, the year 1924, when
ASME developed Section VIII - “Unfired Pressure Vessels,” specifically dedicated to the
construction and inspection of pressure equipment not subject to direct flame action (Pastor,
2012). Section that, until today, remains, but divided into three parts, according to the following
structure:
468 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

• ASME BPVC Section VIII Div 1: Rules for construction of pressure vessels
• ASME BPVC Section VIII Div 2: Alternative rules for construction of pressure vessels
• ASME BPVC Section VIII Div 3: Alternative rules for construction of high pressure
vessels.

Many advances have existed since those decades until today. In addition to the natural
evolution of materials, and easy access to them, techniques and processes, several areas of
engineering necessary for the development of pressure equipment have undergone a remarkable
evolution in recent decades, in search of improvement in line with the necessary conformity.
We currently have, compared to the past, not only better means, techniques and materials,
but also knowledge and resources to develop them. An example of this, is the development of
software based on FEA - Finite Element Analysis, and on building codes, which, when placed
at the service of solving complex engineering problems, allow results to be achieved more
effectively and efficiently, and naturally translating into optimized solutions at technical and
economic level, in almost any application context. Building codes also continue to be developed
and improved. Industrial needs are dynamic, and if on the one hand the need to update building
codes is related to the evident development of the technique, it is also true that this is related to
the inclusion and definition of new accepted methodologies to include new relevant industrial
situations or contexts, that prove to be so useful that they motivate the dissemination of this
knowledge through those same building codes. Although the first attempts to specify and
compile knowledge and general rules for pressure equipment manufacturing refer to an
American industrial context, ASME BPVC is currently used in many other countries, as its
official code and is recognized legally and locally, as the basis of the construction of pressure
equipment, meaning its use the presumption of conformity required for free commercialization
in the destination market.
For a long time, everyone has recognized the potential risks inherent in pressure equipment,
as well as the need for transversal guidelines, that is, codes, which regulate their construction
and installation, regardless of the country. Although the ASME BPVC, being the oldest of all
documented codes (ASME, 2010), there are currently others that are commonly accepted and
were developed from the same need. In the same way that some codes were created and later
abandoned or falling into disuse, as we will see below, others have remained and are references
that keep strongly active and permanently updated in their various constituent parts, such as
EN 13445, EN 12952 or EN 12953. In construction of pressure equipment, whether or not they
are specifically boilers, the constant legal and normative update associated with them is
essential. For the manufacturers this aspect constitutes, as in the past, a natural difficulty to
remain current, since we often must compete, specific legal and regulatory guidelines for each
region or country, and the most current and formal requirements of their corresponding codes,
in a certain acceptable version. The main and most important aspect is not only which base to
use, but also which recognized version can or should be used.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Before the effective manufacturing stage of any equipment, it is essential that all
specifications related to the previous stages needed are developed.
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 469

Due to the reduced availability of technical resources, in terms of all the skills necessary
to build pressure equipment, the most common situation is that the manufacturer has himself
to resort to external services in other stages than only manufacturing, and apparentley there
aren’t any problem with that, if well defined.
The use of external skills tends to focus only on the “design” of the equipment, which in a
generalized way is reduced only to the calculation and dimensioning of the components
provided for in the building codes and product standards, which, as already mentioned, is only
one of the various parts necessary for the design of pressure equipment. These circumstances
compel the manufacturer to define the other necessary specifications, (they assume that he has
the necessary knowledge) and increase the gap in the articulation between the person
responsible for the calculation and the manufacturer, since they are often not the same entity.
The methodology below intends to describe all the steps, also necessary for the project (beyond
the calculation), that must be developed as well as what has to be observed, so that the
manufacturer can have all the elements to manufacture an industrial steam boiler. It should be
noted that it is just a possible and suggested methodology, properly articulated in order to
respect the hierarchical dependencies and interdependencies of information, as well as its
sources, from the perspective of an engineer and/or responsible for welding. This methodology
must be understood and assumed as the indispensable link between the designer, who is
dedicated to calculating and dimensioning the equipment, and the manufacturer whose purpose
is to produce on the basis of all perfectly developed specifications beyond the calculation, but
articulated with it.

2.1. Approach to Design, Interpretation, and Prior Checks

The approach to any construction must be mandatory based on knowledge of the legal and
regulatory requirements applicable to the product, its relalted standards, as well as other suitable
and recongnized requirements to support the right application of the technique in each type of
construcion. In addition to the knowledge itself, it is necessary and fundamental to guarantee
its timeliness and applicability to a given construction. Regarding to the application of
standards, they are essentially classified into three types. Harmonized standards whose
compliance is mandatory, and those that guarantee the presumption of conformity of the
product and that are referenced in the community directives. The product standards witch are
those that provide more objective guidance on the construction of equipments, and may also
arise and being grouped in construction and building codes, that they are groupings of
application standards for products, each part dealing with a specific theme (Ex: materials,
calculation, manufacture, inspection, etc.). In turn, transversal standards are those that support
conditions related to the product, which can be applied voluntarily, or mandatory if they appear
in directives, contracts, product standards or building codes
This exercise is valid on all construction steps, which are presented in more detail below,
using the calculation information provided and according to the calculation drawings. If there
is enough information, it is recommended that the conformity assessment procedure be
determined immediately in accordance with the applicable directive.
470 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

2.2. Characterization of the Steam Boiler

The specification exercise of a steam boiler, after performing the calculation process,
should start with an objective characterization and understanding of its constituent parts, as
well as information that must already be defined, such as materials, operation conditions of the
equipment, identification of parts and their dimensions. As a general rule, this information
appears in a drawing (generally called project drawing), which lacks objective specifications
regarding the itself construction, manufacturing methods or remarks in the field of requirements
that apply to the execution of welds, manufacturing control and inspection. Table 1 presents an
example of material characteristics, whose data are relevant for further calculations. Figures 1
to 3 and Tables 2 and 3 show the information provided by the designer.
In addition to the information given in Tables 1-3, to develop the remaining specification
of the welded construction, it is necessary to know at least the characteristics shown in Table
4.

Table 1. Specified chemical composition of the parent material - one case

Grade C Si Mn P S AlTotal N
P265GH 0.13 0.23 0.107 0.010 0.002 0.033 0.005
Cr Cu Mo Nb Ni Ti V
0.11 0.03 0.005 ≤0.014 ≤0.16 ≤0.05 ≤0.005

Table 2. Piping list

Item Description Material Diameter Thickness

(mm) (mm)
A Safety valve nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
B Safety valve nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
C Very Low Level safety nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 114.3 7.1
D Inspection Opening/Manhole EN 10216-2: P235GH 370x470 25
E Steam outlet nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 139.7 8
F Upper left level nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
G Upper right level nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
H Lower left level nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
I Lower right level nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
J Upper level regulator nozzle. EN 10216-2: P235GH 60.3 5.6
K Lower level regulator nozzle. EN 10216-2: P235GH 60.3 5.6
L Feed water nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 60.3 5.6
M Fuel heating nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 5.6
N Continuous surface purge nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 60.3 5.6
O Inspection Opening/Headhole EN 10216-2: P235GH 270x370 25
P Background purge nozzle EN 10216-2: P235GH 48.3 7.1
Q Girder stays EN 10028-2: P265GH 28 28
R Third pass smoke tubes EN 10216-2: P235GH 60.3 3.2
S Second pass smoke tubes EN 10216-2: P235GH 60.3 3.2
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 471

Table 3. Body material list

Ite Description Material Diameter Thickness

m (mm) (mm)
1 Front end plate/front tube plate EN 10028-2: P265GH 2172 20
2 Cylindrical Shell front side EN 10028-2: P265GH 2200 14
3 Cylindrical Shell rear side EN 10028-2: P265GH 2200 14
4 Rear end plate/Rear tube plate EN 10028-2: P265GH 2172 20
5 Fire tube/combustion chamber EN 10028-2: P265GH 928 18
front side
6 Fire tube/combustion chamber rear EN 10028-2: P265GH 928 18
side
7 Reversal chamber tube plate/ EN 10028-2: P265GH 1522 14
Reversal chamber front end plate
8 Reversal chamber wrapper plate EN 10028-2: P265GH 1550 14
9 Reversal chamber rear end plate EN 10028-2: P265GH 1522 14
10 Reversal chamber access tube EN 10028-2: P265GH 488 14
11 Gusset stays/Anchors EN 10028-2: P265GH - 14

Table 4. Equipment data

Features Value
Fluid Saturated Steam
Maximum allowable Temperature (TS) 195 ºC
Maximum allowable pressure (PS) 13 bar
Volume 10 m3
Corrosion allowance 0,75 mm
Weld Factor 0,85
Building Code EN 12953

Figure 1. Steam Boiler - Sectional View.

472 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

a)

b)

Figure 2. Steam Boiler - Front view (burner side) a) and rear view (reversal chamber side) b).

Figure 3. Steam boiler - Top view.

 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 473

2.3. Materials, Manufacturing and Inspection Criteria

Following the interpretation that was made previously, not only regarding the operational
properties of the equipment that were provided, but also of the materials selected by the
designer, it is necessary to carry out a rigorous harvest of all the relevant properties of these
materials, which will be the basis for further specification work. If not duly specified, the
properties shall be obtained from the corresponding product standards, according to the way of
obtaining the product, format and purpose for which it was developed. After collecting the
information mentioned in the previous points, it is necessary to carry out more detailed study
about the weldability of the materials and joints to be welded, considering the welding
processes that will be selected. Having analyzed the general provisions, the investigation of all
specific factors related to the manufacture and calculation of its field of application should be
continued. The manufacturer is always responsible for ensuring that all assumptions and
requirements are met in all the equipment produced. Inspection, in the operational sense of the
term, is one of the most important (but not enough) tasks that contributes to an effective quality
control of equipments.

2.4. Selection of the Conformity Assessment Module

The information provided (Tables 1 and 2) is clearly insufficient to proceed with the steps
after the calculation. For this reason, it must first be considered, starting with the information
underlying the application of the directive, that is, determining the risk class of the equipment
and the conformity assessment module that is intended and deemed relevant to the present case.
Given the characteristics of the equipment, that is, pressure equipment subject to flame action
with Maximum Allowable Pressure (PS) = 13 bar and Volume = 10,000 L, in accordance
withthe application of Directive 2014/68/EU (Figure 4) Risk Class IV is obtained.

Figure 4. Determination of the Risk Class. Reproduced from Directive 2014/68/EU (2014), with
permission from EUR-Lex.
474 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

The determination of the risk class depends on the characteristics of the equipment and
fluids, while the conformity assessment module must be selected by the manufacturer (when
not already previously defined). As a result of determining the risk class, the manufacturer must
proceed with the selection of the conformity assessment module. The boilers construction is
essentially based on custom projects, were the project is performed according to the needs of
each case. For this reason, the choice naturally falls on the conformity assessment module based
on unit verification, that is, module G, so it is responsability to:
To the manufacturer: Make available to the notified body selected by you, all technical
documentation, which allows the assessment of the equipment’s conformity with the applicable
essential safety requirements, as well as issue the EU Declaration of Conformity.
To the notified body: examine and supervise the manufacturer’s activities, against the
requirements of the directive, as well as at the end issue a certificate of conformity and affix its
identification number to the approved equipment together with the manufacturer.

2.5. Selection of Welding Processes and Filler Metals

The selection of welding processes typically meets the manufacturer’s internal productivity
and availability criteria, as there are filler materials available on the market for use in all
processes for welding carbon steels. Another determining aspect that we can’t forget is the
accessibility of the joints to be welded. Although, ideally, it should not be a limitation, the
internal technical competences installed like welders specific knowledge and skills should be
taken into account, considering their involvement in the process. In the present case, the
manufacturer has available processes 111, 138 and 141 in its facilities, so these will be
considered for the execution of the welding of all equipment.
The selection of the welding filler materials must be carried out regarding a very wide
range of conditions according to the purpose, and from a pratical point of view, its application
should be ensure and have to consider at least:

• The chemical composition is compatible with the base materials;

• The molten zone after welding does not raise any problems with subsequente processes
(e.g., Painting, Galvanization, …)
• The required mechanical and metallurgical properties after welding (in As Welded
condition;
• Contribute to controlling the undesirable and unpredictable effects (e.g., hot cracking,
cold cracking, …)
• Be suittable to the operating conditions in the required work conditions that are
necessary to comply (e.g., welding position, equipment to be used, size and shape,
suitable for the joint to be welded and welding process, type of current, …)
• Availability on the market, whenever possible, ensuring the best quality-cost ratio;
• The material complies with sufficient technical specifications, in order to be used
witout limitations in the construction;
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 475

Despite all the topics described, we can consider that the most important is to meet the
criteria related to the chemical composition, and metallurgical and mechanical properties after
deposited metal.
In this way, the first step is the comparative stage of these properties, according to the
classification of materials considering the specific needs of the project. Therefore, the filler
materials that could meet the requirements were selected, as specified below:

• Welding Process 111: EN ISO 2560-A: E 42 4 B 42 H5

• Welding Process 138: EN ISO 17632-A: T 42 2 M M 2 H5
• Welding Process 141: EN ISO 636-A: W 46 4 W4Si1

After verifying that the selected materials meet, the requirements of the project, it is
necessary to analyze each joint to be welded, so that it’s possible to distribute to each weld, the
respective welding processes to be used. The identification of the joints must make it possible
not only to group the welds by type and their geometries, but also attendig the minimum
necessary welding procedures required, as well as traceability, so the next step have to be
precisely to identify eah weld individually and unequivocally.
In order to understanding the references attributed to the welds, the identification is
proposed according to Table 5.

Table 5. Method of assigning references to welds

Reference Description
c Circumferential Weld
l Longitudinal Weld
n Nozzle Weld
f Tube-Flange Weld
a Other pipe or accessory welds
u Other welds

Figure 5. Steam Boiler - Sectional View (referenced).

476 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

a)

b)

Figure 6. Steam Boiler - Front view (burner side) a) and rear view (reversal chamber side) b) (Ref.).

Figure 7. Steam boiler - Top view (Referenced).

 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 477

The referencing shown in Figures 5 to 7, aims to become as suggestive as possible, based

on the assumption that in pressure equipment, and in particular steam and/or other boilers,
somehow there will always be welds as those indicated (longitudinal, circumferential, nozzles,
etc.). On the other hand, in the construction codes and standards about these equipments, the
adopted terminology is similar, so it favors the universality of the language.

2.6. Design of Welded Joints

The design of welded joints in pressure equipment must always comply with all
requirements specified in the applicable construction code, which in the case under study is EN
12953-4 (2018). However, in the construction of fire-tube steam boilers, the code just presents
general recommendations for details of the welds according to their location in the equipment,
but does not allow detailing enough all the necessary variables for the full definition of the
joints and weld beads. For that reason, the other necessary variables and required information
shall be searched and founded from the related transversal standards, according to the selected
welding processes and other operating conditions initially conceived. For the specification
required for this type of equipment additionally to EN 12953, the ISO 1708-1 (2010) standard
was used. So due to the obligation to follow the boiler construction code, Table 6 shows the
specification and the criteria for determining some typical equipment joints and welds.

Table 6. Criteria for sizing typical joints according to EN 12953-4 (2018)

Location Joint Type Applicable Requirement Description

1. Butt (Equal e1 = Wall thickness of the end (flat
Main boiler thicknesses) end or other type)
shell e2 = Shell wall thickness
(circumferential or longitudinal
welds)
2. T-Joint with full e1 = Wall thickness of the flat end
Flat ends penetration e2 = Shell wall thickness
(welding (circumferential welds)
predominantly
from the outside)

3. Butt (Equal Longitudinal welds

Fire-Tube thicknesses)
T-Jointwith full e1 = Wall thickness of the flat ends
penetration e2 = Fire Tube wall thickness
(welding (circumferential welds)
predominantly a) Cold Side
from the outside) b) Hot Side
4. Butt (Equal Same as 1. Longitudinal welds
Reversal thicknesses)
Chamber T-Joint with full e1 = Wall thickness of the flat end
penetration e2 = Chamber wrapper plate wall
thickness (internal anterior
circumferential weld - hot side)
Dimensions in millimeters.
 Table 7. Criteria for sizing typical joints according to EN ISO 9692-1 (2013)

Material Type of Joint Cross-Section Angle Root gap Root face Depth of joint Process
Thick-ness Preparation (b) (c) preparation
(t)
3 ≤ t ≤ 10 Butt with single-V, 40 ≤ α ≤ 60 ≤4 ≤2 - 111
with or without back 138
run 141

3 < t ≤ 40 Butt with single-V, 40 ≤ α ≤ 60 ≤3 ≤2 - 111

with or without back 138
run 141

3 < t ≤ 30 T-joint single-bevel 35 ≤ β ≤ 60 1≤b≤4 ≤2 As requested 111

with full penetration (if preparation 138
with or without back in ½ Y) 141
run

t > 16 Double bevel 35 ≤ β ≤ 60 1≤b≤4 ≤2 t/2

or,
t/3
 Material Type of Joint Cross-Section Angle Root gap Root face Depth of joint Process
Thick-ness Preparation (b) (c) preparation
(t)
t > 16 Single-J with partial 35 ≤ β ≤ 60 2≤b≤4 As requested - 111
penetration 138
141

t1> 4 Square - ≈0 = t1 - 111

t2 >4 = t2 138
141

Source: Reproduced from EN ISO 9692-1 (2013), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese Institute for Quality, 2021.
Dimensions in millimeters.
480 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

In order to characterize the edge preparation, and to find the remaining parameters for
dimentioning the joints, the ISO 9692-1 (2013) standard was used, which sets out general
recommendations for preparing welded joints depending on the welding process to be used (in
this case already selected). From the interpretation of this standard we can set out in Table 7,
all the other parameters needed for the welded construction project of the boiler under study.

3. RESULTS

3.1. Specification and Dimensioning of Joints

After the joint preparation conditions are defined, the next step is to allocate the joint details
to each welding reference created, dimensioning each one according to the previously identified
requirements. The results of this activity are exemplified in Table 8.

Table 8. Specification and dimensioning of joints A, B and C of the steam boiler -

some examples

Detail: A Welding Justification Process

c1, c3 T = e2 = 20 138
t = e1 = 14
amin = 5
bmin = 3
c6, c8 T = e2 = 16 138
t = e1 = 14
amin = 5
bmin = 3

Detail: B Welding Justification Process

c2 T = t = e1 = 14 138
c5 T = t = e2f= 18 138
l1, l2 T = t = e1 = 14 138
l3, l4 T = t = e2 = 18 138
l5 T = t = e1 = 14 138
l6 T = t = e2 = 14 138
a3 T = 7,1 141 + 111
t = 6,3
a6.2 T = 5,6 141 + 111
t = 4,0
a6.3 T = 5,0 141 + 111
t = 4,0
a6.1, a6.4, a12.1, a12.2, a12.3, a12.4, T = 5,6 141 + 111
a12.5, a12.6, a12.7, a12.8, a14.1, a14.2, t = 5,6
a14.4
a14.3 T = 5,6 141 + 111
t = 5,0
a16.1, a16.2 T = 7,1 141 + 111
t = 7,1
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 481

Detail: C Welding Justification Process

c7 t = ers = 16 138
T = erf = 18
R > erf /2 ≈ 10
amin = 3

Dimensions in millimeters.

3.2. Determination of Weldability Parameters

After the identification of the filler metals and welding processes, and considering the
assumptions already mentioned in this document, it is necessary to study the weldability
conditions of the joints to be welded. This step is always prior to the development of the welding
procedure specifications, given that this result of the weldability conditions can influence the
specifications (for example: preheating temperatures, accessibility, heat input limits, etc.). The
provisions described in the previous sections make all joints accessible, so in the next stage,
the preheating temperature is to be determined in order to obtain the hydrogen cracking
susceptibility indicator. These study starts with the most unfavorable condition regarding the
greatest combined thickness of the joint, since all consumables have very low diffusable
hydrogen content, that is, less than or equal to 5ml/100g of deposited metal (scale D - EN 1011-
2, 2001). In the boiler, the most unfavorable joint is the connection of the Manhole to the Main
shell, so that through the chemical composition of the parent material (Table 1) and the
equivalent carbon content (EN 1011-2, 2001) a value of 0.35 is obtained .
Considering the combined thickness of 64 mm in this equipment, it is possible to conclude
that there is no need for preheating by consulting the C.2 charts of EN 1011-2 (2001), provided
that a Heat Input above about 75 kJ/mm is guaranteed.
Although in the case under study there is no need for preheating, when this need exists,
this condition must be an integral part of the preliminary welding procedure specifications that
supports welding procedure quelification records, and then in the corresponding welding
procedure specifications (based in each approved welding procedure qualification records).

3.3. Determination of Manufacturing Criteria

To the conditions required for manufacture, all other requirements specified in the building
code must be added, regarding to individual parts or sets, regardless of the manufacturing
process that gave rise to it.
The tolerance of straightness of the body shell must not exceed 0.3% of its total length but
not exceeding maximum of five meters. The measurement must be carried out outside the weld
region. Profile irregularities of circularity, measured using a 20º peaking gauge as shown in
Figure 8, cannot exceed 2% of the total length of the standard gauge.
482 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

Figure 8. Standard gauge for profile irregularities: (a) cut out in gauge to clear weld reinforcement .
Reproduced from EN 12953-4 (2018), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese
Institute for Quality, 2021.

Two measurements must be made according to Figure 9, one on each side of the weld in
order to determine P1 and P2.

a)

b)

Figure 9. Peaking measurement method: to the left of the weld – reading P1 – a); and to the right of
weld – reading P2 – b). Reproduced from EN 12953-4 (2018), with permission from CEN-CENELEC
given by the Portuguese Institute for Quality, 2021.

The maximum peaking value to be considered is the lowest value between 0.25
(P1 + P2), or P3. The P3 value is obtained according to Figure 10.

Figure 10. Negative peaking (flat) measurement method. Reproduced from EN 12953-4 (2018), with
permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese Institute for Quality, 2021.

The out of roundness according to EN 12953-4 (2018) is calculated according to Equation

1

2∙(𝑑𝑚á𝑥 −𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛 )
𝑢= 𝑑𝑚á𝑥 −𝑑𝑚𝑖𝑛
∙ 100 (%) (1)

where
u Out of roundness
dmáx Maximum average diameter measured
dmin Minimum average diameter measured
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 483

Acceptance criteria according to EN 12953-4 (2018): u ≤ 1.5%.

In longitudinal welds, the maximum allowed misalignment from the plane of the half
thickness of the plates, follows that specified in Table 9 according to Figure 11.

Table 9. Maximum allowedmisalignment for longitudinal welds

Thinner plate thickness Maximum misalignment

e (mm) d1 (mm)
e>10 e/10
Source: Reproduced from EN 12953-4 (2018), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese
Institute for Quality, 2021.

Figure 11. Representation of possible misalignments to occur. Reproduced from EN 12953-4 (2018),
with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese Institute for Quality, 2021.

where

e Thinner plate thickness

d1 Maximum misalignment
d2 Maximum misalignment of the outer plane of the plate
d’2 Maximum misalignment of the inner plane of the plate

In turn, the maximum permitted misalignments regarding to the interior and exterior planes
of the plates are those shown in Table 10.
According to EN 12953-4 (2018), heat treatment needs are only required for thicknesses
above 35mm, so considering the equipment under study, heat treatments after welding are not
necessary to be performed.

Table 10. Maximum permitted misalignments of plates

Welding Thinner plate thickness Maximum misalignment

e (mm) d2 ou d’2 (mm)
Circumferentials e ≤20 e/4
e >20 5
Longitudinals e ≤12 e/4
e >12 3
Source: Reproduced from EN 12953-4 (2018), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese
Institute for Quality, 2021.
484 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

3.4. Determination of Inspection Requirements

Attending the weld factor provided by the designer (0.85), and the type and location of the
joints, the extent of the non-destructive testing additionally follows a framework that depends
on the hydrostatic test condition (EN 12953-5, 2018), as check one of the following conditions:

𝑃𝑡 ≥ 1.85 ∙ 𝑃𝑆 (2)

Or,

𝑃𝑡 < 1.85 ∙ 𝑃𝑆 (3)

where

Pt Hydrostatic test pressure (MPa)

PS Maximum Allowable Pressure (MPa)
On the other hand, Pt is the highest of the values through the application of equations 4 and
5 (EN 12953-4, 2018).

𝑅𝑝0.2 (20˚𝐶)
𝑃𝑡 = 1.25 ∙ 𝑃𝑆 (4)
𝑅𝑝0.2 (𝑇𝑐 )

𝑃𝑡 = 1.43 ∙ 𝑃𝑆 (5)

where

Rp0.2(20 ºC) Minimum specified value of 0,2% proof strength at room temperature (MPa)
Rp0.2(Tc)Minimum specified value of 0,2% proof strength at calculation temperature t when
this temperature is different than the room temperature (MPa)
Tc Calculation temperature (ºC)
Analysing and solving the equations with the data provided, comes:

Rp0.2(20 ºC) = 265 MPa

Rp0.2(Tc) = 206,8 MPa (Obtained by interpolating the tables of the standards EN 10028-2
(2017), EN 10216-2 (2013)/A1 (2019) and EN 1092-1 (2018))
Tc = 195 ºC
PS = 1,3 MPa

Applying equation 4 we obtain Pt = 2,08 MPa, and by equation 5 we obtain Pt = 1,86 MPa.
Therefore, as the highest of the previous values (Pt = 2,08 MPa) verifies the condition given in
equation 3 (Pt < 2,41 MPa), the extent of non-destructive tests is that shown in
Table 11 where,

a. The minimum test length is 200 mm and must include intersections of longitudinal and
circumferential welds. For each longitudinal ans curcinferential seam there shall be at
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 485

least one radiograph, or where ultrasonic testing is specified, there shall be also comply
with 200mm extension at minimum.
b. The section of the welds to be tested must be selected at random.
c. For equipment with ends and reversal chambers supported by stays or anchors, the
tests must be applied at least to 10% of the circumferential weld extension.
Intersections must be included in the test extension.
d. When it is not possible to apply the test due to physical limitations in the application
of the technique, the execution of welds must be visually inspected at least in the weld
preparation, tack welding, root pass. Visual inspection shall be complemented with
dye penetrant testing and/or magnetic particle testing.
e. The location of the inspected part must be physically marked on the equipment and
recorded properly.
f. Where it becomes impractical to apply tests by magnetic particles or dye penetrant
testing, an equally valid alternative technique should be applied.

In addition to the previously indicated, visual inspection according to EN5817-B have to

be performed to 100% of the welds. The quantity and location of test plates that must be
manufactured and tested within the scope of the construction, are also a function of the weld
factor defined previously, per Table 12.

Table 11. Extent of non-destructive tests

Component Type of Weld Weld Location Testing Obs Extent

Technique %
Pt (1) < 1.85·PS
Shell Longitudinal In shell Section RT or UT a, b 10
Circumferential Between Shell sections RT or UT a, b, 10
c
End Plates Circumferential Between shell and end plates UT b, d 10
(T-Butt)
Fire- Longitudinal In fire-tube sections RT or UT b 10
tube/Furnaces Circumferential Between fire-tube sections RT or UT a, b 10
Circumferential Between furnace and end UT b, d, 25
(T-Butt) plates e
Circumferential Between Fire-tube and RT ro UT b 10
(T-Butt) reversal chamber end plates
Reversal chamber Longitudinal In wrapper plate RT or UT b, d, 10
e
Circumferential Between wrapper plate and RT or UT b, d, 10
(T-Butt) flanged end plate e
Reversal chamber Longitudinal In access tube RT or UT b 10
access tube Circumferential Access tube to boiler and UT b, d, 10
(T-Butt) reversal end plate chamber e
end plates
Gusset and girder T-butt or other types Between Stay and plates PT or MT f 100
stays
Openings in shells Circumferential Branches, Tubes PT or MT - 10
(T-Butt)
Source: Reproduced from EN 12953-5 (2018), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese Institute for
Quality, 2021.
(1)
Pt = Hydrostatic test pressure; PS = Maximum Allowable Pressure.
486 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

Table 12. Number and location of test plates according to EN 12953-5 (2018)

Weld Factor Location Amount of specimens

0,85 Longitudinal Shell Joints 1 specimen for every 100 meters of welding

Table 13. Destructive tests applicable to test plates according to EN 12953-5 (2018)

Shell thickness (e) Applicable tests Quantity Specimens according to Test Procedure
12 < e ≤ 35 Impact 3 ISO 9616 ISO 148-1
Macroscopic 1 ISO 17639

Table 14. Levels of acceptance and limits for imperfections

Imperfection Imperfection Type Acceptance Limits for imperfections

No. Criteria
(ISO 6520-1)
100X Cracks (all) ISO 5817: B Not permitted
201X Gas cavity (all) ISO 12953-5 Superficial: Diameter ≤ 2 mm; Depth ≤ 1 mm
202X Shrinkage cavity (all) If: (a) It does not occur in regions of stops or
restarts; or (b) Does not occur systematically in
the same weld
301X Slag inclusions (all) ISO 12953-5 Not permitted when occurring at the surface
302X Flux inclusions (all) ISO 12953-5
303X Oxide inclusions (all) ISO 12953-5
304X Metallic inclusions (all) ISO 12953-5
401X Lack of fusion (all) ISO 5817: B Not permitted
402 Lack of penetration ISO 5817: B Not permitted (when full penetration is
required)
5011 Continuous undercut ISO 5817: B Depth ≤ 0.5mm
5012 Intermittent undercut
502 Excess weld metal ISO 5817: C h ≤ 1 + 0.15 · b, max. 7 mm
h: excess metal, in mm
b: width of the weld, in mm
504 Excessive penetration ISO 5817: C h≤1 + 0.6 · b, max. 4 mm
h: excess penetration, in mm
b: width of the weld, in mm
506 Overlap ISO 5817: B Not allowed
511 Incompletely filled ISO 5817: C Long imperfections (>25mm): Not allowed
groove Short imperfections (≤25mm):
h ≤ 0.1 · e, max. 1.0 mm
h: depth, in mm
e: thickness of the parent material, in mm
515 Root concavity ISO 5817: C h ≤ 0.1, in mm
h: depth, in mm
516 Root porosity ISO 12953-5 Not permitted
600 Imperfections not ISO 12953-5 Surface imperfections must be removed with
included in groups appropriate means
1XXX to 5XXX
606 Underflushing ISO 12953-5 Not permitted
Source: Reproduced from EN 12953-5 (2018), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the Portuguese Institute for
Quality, 2021.
For imperfections not listed, acceptance is usually carried out, in accordance with ISO 5817 (2014) level B. The referred
criteria are equally valid for visual inspection, to be applied to all equipment.
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 487

If the welding process selected for longitudinal welds was different from the
circumferential ones, it is necessary also to perform a specimen for circunferential welds (EN
12953-5, 2018). The dimensions of the specimens should allow the tests provided for in Table
13 to be carried out, preceded by visual inspection at 100% of the joint and all other non-
destructive tests that apply to that joint.
The assembly of the test plates must be done in the extension of the longitudinal welds so
that the execution conditions are the same as those used in the remaining weld joint. The
acceptance condition for the impact tests for the case under study, is the guarantee of energy
absorption, at least equal to the value of the parent material, that is, 27J at -20ºC. As for visual
inspection and macroscopic, they must meet the requirements of Table 14.

3.5. Specification of Preliminary Welding Procedures

As already mentioned, until obtaining the specifications of qualified welding procedures,

it is necessary to develop the Prelimiminary Welding Procedure Specifications that support the
welding procedure qualification exams. Thus, after the exercise of identifying all joints and
their characterization i, the survey of qualification needs should be made, grouping the
miminum required variables. As a demonstration, Table 15 shows the survey carried out on the
main longitudinal welds of the equipment.
Given the previous data collection, the objective is to determine the minimum number of
qualification tests for welding procedures and welders, which must be carried out, in order to
comply the right ranges os each welding variable that will result from the application of the
ISO 15614 and ISO qualification standards 9606, respectively. Thus, and as a prior point to the
elaboration of the preliminary welding procedure specifications, next it is listed the minimum
number of qualification tests for welding procedures (Table 16).

Table 15. Survey of qualification needs

488 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

Table 16. Specification of tests for welding procedures by preliminary welding

procedure specification

The conditions of the welding procedure qualification test (s) were fully detailed in the
Preliminary Welding Specifications pWPS, and tested in the field, in order to gather the
remaining essential variables that determine the boundary of each qualification to be performed.
The record of the test conditions, which are the result of extensive training with the welders,
are presented below, in conjunction with each test number and respective pWPS in Table 16.
As a demonstration it is shown in Table 17 pWPS No. 01.

3.6. Qualification of Welding Procedures

The selection of tests to be carried out meets mainly technical and financial aspects. In this
case, we sought to obtain the most comprehensive range of qualifications compared to the
materials available at the time of the need to carry out qualifications. From the outset, care must
be taken to obtain, within all essential variables, the greatest expected validity domain (see two
examples in Table 18). The selection made at the material grouping level is highlighted.
According to ISO 15614-1, execution of welding procedures in materials of group 1.2
(ISO/TR 15608) qualifies materials of the group itself and of group 1.1, as well as the
connections between both. In this way and whenever possible, the most demanding exame
condition was used (althougt with a increaded risk and implications for the level of execution
control) regarding to the essential variables, always ensuring that the technical requirements
were consistent with specificities of the product standard and legislation applicable to the
construction of boilers.
 Table 17. pWPS No. 01

IDENTIFICATION
EQUIPMENT / WORK pWPS/WPS No. STANDARD WPQR REMARKS
Qualification according to:
Steam Boiler pWPS Nº. 01 15609-1 To be defined
EN ISO15614-1
PARENT MATERIAL
PRODUCT PRODUCT
MATERIAL GROUP(S) THICKNESS (ES) DIÂMETER(S)
STANDARD(S) FORM/GRADE
EN 10025-2 P: S355J2+N 1.2 20 -

JOINT DETAILS
JOINT SCHEME WELDING SEQUENCE
TYPE Butt - BW WELDING ID(S) -

Root gap/Root opening Throat Thickness

Groove Angle 60º ± 2 Root face (mm) 2±1 2±1 -
(mm) (mm)

JOINT PREPARATION
METHOD OF PREPARING THE
INTERPASS CLEANING BACK GOUGING COMMENTS
JOINT
Mechanical / Grinding Mechanical / Grinding Mechanical Method -

PREHEATING
PREHEATING TEMP. (ºC) HEATING METHOD CONTROL METHOD PROCEDURE
N/A if, T> 10 ºC FLAME (Oxy-Propane) Thermal Crayon N/A

HEAT TREATMENT
TYPE PROCESS HEATING SPEED (ºC/h) HOLDING TEMP. (ºC) HOLDING TIME (h) COOLING SPEED (ºC/h)
- - - - - -
 Table 17. (Continued)

TYPE PROCESS HEATING SPEED (ºC/h) HOLDING TEMP. (ºC) HOLDING TIME (h) COOLING SPEED (ºC/h)
- - - - - -
CONDITIONS OF EXECUTION
RUN 1 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 (Filling run) 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12
(Penetration or root run) (Capping run)
PROCESS/TRANSFER MODE 138 - S 138 - S 138 - S
FILLER MATERIAL EN ISO 17632-A: EN ISO 17632-A: EN ISO 17632-A:
T 42 2 M M 2 H5 T 42 2 M M 2 H5 T 42 2 M M 2 H5
TRADE MARK ESAB OK 14.13 ESAB OK 14.13 ESAB OK 14.13
DIAMETER 1,2 1,2 1,2
DESIGNATION OF SHIELDING GAS ISO 14175-M20 ISO 14175-M20 ISO 14175-M20
SHIELDING GAS FLOW RATE (L/min) 16 - 18 16 - 18 16 - 18
DESIGNATION OF BACKING GAS - - -
BACKING GAS FLOW RATE(L/min) - - -
WELDING POSITION PC PC PC
TECHNIQUE/PROGRESSION ushing/Horizontal ushing/Horizontal ushing/Horizontal
CURRENT (A) 190 – 231 214 – 260 220 -269
VOLTAGE (V) 23,8 – 29,2 24,0 – 29,4 24,3 – 29,7
WELDING SPEED (mm/min) 200 – 245 315 – 385 498 – 608
HEAT INPUT (kJ/mm) 1,08 – 1,32 0,78 – 0,96 0,52 – 0,63
TYPE OF CURRENT/POLARITY DC EP DC EP DC EP
WIRE FEED SPEED (m/min) 8,0 – 9,5 8,0 – 9,5 8,0 – 9,5
NOZZLE DIAMETER (mm) 15,9 15,9 15,9
STICK-OUT (mm) Max. 25 Max. 25 Max. 25
WEAVING/OSCILLATION (mm) Continuous/<1,5·Øwire Continuous/<1,5·Øwire Continuous/<1,5·Øwire
 Table 18. Predictable validity range for qualification of welding procedures - two examples from the total of 6 specimens

Product Form P, T Filler Material EN ISO 17632-A: T 42 2 M M 2 H5

Welding Process 138 Transfer mode Globular and Spray
Joint Type BW, FW Flux or Gas ISO 14175-M20
Parent Material σY ≤ 355 MPa Current Type DC EP
Parent Material Group 1.1-1.1; 1.2-1.1; Welding Positions All except, PG, PJ e H-L045
1.2-1.1; 1.2-1.2

No. 1
Material thickness, t (mm) BW: 10 ≤ t ≤ 40 Preheating Not applicable
FW: 3,0 ≤ t ≤ 40
a: without restrictions

TEST PIECE (CP)

Weld metal thickness, s (mm) - Heat treatment Not applicable
Outer Diameter (mm) >500, fixed Heat input
>150, rotating PA, PC, PF

Product Type P, T Filler Material EN ISO 2560-A: E 42 4 B 42 H5

Welding Process 111 Transfer Mode -
Joint Type BW, FW Flux or Gas Not applicable
Parent Material σY ≤ 355 MPa Current Type DC EP
Parent Material Group 1.1-1.1; 1.2-1.1; Welding Positions All except, PG, PJ e H-L045
1.2-1.1; 1.2-1.2

No. 6
Material thickness, t (mm) BW: 3,0 ≤ t ≤ 20 Preheating
FW: 3,0 ≤ t ≤ 20
a: without restrictions

TEST PIECE (CP)

Weld metal thickness, s (mm) - Heat treatment Not applicable
Outer Diameter (mm) >500, fixo Heat input
>150, a rodar PA, PC, PF
492 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

In this way we can prove that, if the test results are acceptable, all the needs for qualification
of welding procedures are solved.
Test nº.6 previously designated, in fact, was not developed and performed in order to
satisfy an objective need for a range of approval related to the welding procedures for the
construction of the boiler. As the branches in the boiler have angles less than 60º, it was not
possible to use a butt weld qualification to ensure all mechanical properties, so it was necessary
to choose specifically a branch specimen to carry out welding procedures.
Weldments with test pieces representative of the branch with reinforcing pad (plate and
tube - see Figure 12) are not directly explained in ISO 15614-1. Thus, the procedure involves
using ISO 15613 to define the test conditions, and later ISO15614-1 to find the ranges of the
essential variables of the welding procedure and also the test to be performed. hat is understood
as branch by ISO 15614-1 is the connection between two tubes, and not with plates and tubes.
What is not of this configuration, follows the provisions for level two of ISO15614-1 to find
the ranges, but referring to ISO 15613 regarding to the dimensions of the test pieces.
This joint configuration makes it impossible to carry out tests that allow to find and ensure
the mechanical properties in the application of the welding processes, and the consumables
used. In order to determine these properties, it is proposed to carry out a qualification whose
configuration allows to carry out tests and prove all the necessary mechanical properties, using
process 111 and selected filler material. Considering that the branches are manufactured using
a multi-process procedure (141 + 111), it would not be enough to obtain mechanical properties
from process 111, but also in addition to process 141.
However, in this case this is not necessary because selected specimen nº.5 allows us to
obtain and verify all required properties after welding with the same process and materials
(Specimen nº. 5 was previously developed also in order to solve this particular point/limitation).

Figure 12. Example of opening with reinforcing pad and full penetration branch (set through welded
branch). Reproduced from EN 12953-3 (2016), with permission from CEN-CENELEC given by the
Portuguese Institute for Quality, 2021.
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 493

Table 19. Definition of the tests to be performed – Test pieces 1 and 6

Test Identification pWPS Destructive Testing Non-destructive Testing

C.P. 1 pWPS 01 Hardness Visual Examination (VT)
Macroscopic Dye Penetrant (PT)
pWPS 02 Tensile Ultrasonic (UT)
Bend
Impact
C.P. 6 pWPS 07 Hardness Visual Examination (VT)
Macroscopic Dye Penetrant (PT)
pWPS 08 Tensile Radiography (UT)
Bend
Impact

In the construction of pressure equipment and in specifically in boilers, the level of testing
of applicable welding procedures is level two, as already mentioned above. Thus, for the
qualifications to be carried out, the type and extent of tests in accordance with ISO 15614-1
(2019) is applied. Thus, six exams were defined, based on related pWPS, two of which are
identified in Table 19.
After determining the set of applicable tests, non-destructive tests are performed and the
following results were obtained, for each test performed (Table 20).

Table 20. Results of non-destructive tests - example of two tests 1 and 6

Test Non-destructive Testing Test Standard Acceptance Standard Result

Identification
C.P. 1 Visual Examination (VT) ISO17637 ISO5817-B Acceptable
Dye Penetrant (PT) ISO3452-1 ISO23277-2X Acceptable
Ultrasonic (UT) ISO17640 ISO11666-2X Acceptable
C.P. 6 Visual Examination (VT) ISO17637 ISO5817-B Acceptable
Dye Penetrant (PT) ISO3452-1 ISO23277-2X Acceptable
Radiography (UT) ISO17636-1 ISO10675-1 Acceptable

As for the destructive tests, the results obtained are exemplified in Tables 21 to 25.

Table 21. Results of the pWPS 02 Tensile Tests

Test specimen ReH Rm A Z Fracture

(MPa) (MPa) (%) (%) Location
Required
Ref. Type Dimensions Temperature - 470- - -
(mm) (ºC) 630
T1 Prismatic/Crosswise 19,4 x 25,1 21 - 548 - - Parent
material
T2 Prismatic/Crosswise 19,3 x 25,0 21 - 559 - - Parent
material

Result Nothing to remark/Acceptable

Test Procedure ISO 6892-1:2019
Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017
494 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

Table 22. Results of pWPS 02 Bending tests

Test specimen Punch Bending Test Bending

Diameter direction/Dimensions Temperature angle (º)
(mm) (mm) (ºC)
Ref. Type Face Root Side
DL1 Prismatic/Crosswise 40 - - 10,0 x 22,1 180
20,2
DL2 Prismatic/Crosswise 40 - - 10,0 x 22,1 180
20,2
DL3 Prismatic/Crosswise 40 - - 10,0 x 22,1 180
20,3
Test Procedure ISO 5713:2009
Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017
Result Nothing to remark/Acceptable

Table 23. Results of pWPS 02 impact tests

Test specimen Absorbed energy (J) Test

Ref Notch Location Dimensions Obtained Average Minimum Temperature
value value Required (ºC)
value
CH1 ISO V HAZ 10 x 55,1 x 10 56 63 27 -20
CH2 ISO V HAZ 10 x 55,1 x 10 68
CH3 ISO V HAZ 10 x 55,1 x 10 64
CH4 ISO V Weld metal 10 x 55,1 x 10 78 69
CH5 ISO V Weld metal 10 x 55,1 x 10 63
CH6 ISO V Weld metal 10 x 55,1 x 10 65
Test Procedure ISO 148-1:2010
Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017 + Diretiva 2014/68/EU
Result Nothing to remark/Acceptable

Table 24. Results of pWPS 01 hardness tests - Cross Section 1

Test specimen
Ref. ST1
Type HV10
Maximum 380 HV10
Allowable
Value
Test 21
Temperature
(ºC)
Load (kgf) 10

Location Indentation 1st row 2nd row 3rd row

Parent metal - PM1 1 162 156 168
2 162 164 168
3 164 172 170
HAZ1 4 352 238 260
5 238 212 224
6 233 241 252
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 495

Location Indentation 1st row 2nd row 3rd row

Weld metal 7 225 233 234
8 217 231 242
9 233 226 236
HAZ2 10 214 236 290
11 247 217 227
12 212 206 230
Parent metal - PM2 13 168 161 170
14 165 172 169
15 161 167 169
Test Procedure ISO 9015-1:2001
Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017
Result Nothing to remark/Acceptable

Table 25. Results of the macroscopic test pWPS 01 - Cross Section 2

Test specimen
Ref. ST2
Orientation Cross
section
Etchant Nital 2%
Test 21
Temperature (ºC)
Imperfection 2011
reference
Dimension h=0,1 mm

Test Procedure ISO 17639:2003

Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017 + EN 12953-5
Result Imperfection below the acceptance criterion/Acceptable

3.7. Qualified Welding Procedure Specifications

Attending that the results of the qualification of the welding procedures are acceptable
according to the qualification standard ISO 15614-1 and the product standard EN 12953, the
next step is the development of the qualified welding procedure specifications. In contrast to
the preliminary specifications whose objective is to define the test conditions regarding the
qualification of the welding procedure, the qualified WPS are a technical working document
with all the variables and the related qualification ranges. At the scope of the boiler
construction, all the qualified WPS necessary for its construction were developed, as shown
below. Table 26 shows the example of WPS number 1. It was considered to make the maximum
qualification range profitable, for each defined test, focusing on the nature and boundaries of
the work to be carried out, although the range can always be in each one of them, which was
mentioned in Table 18. It should also be noted that, regarding welding sequences, due to the
unpredictability of the concrete number of welding passes, a comprehensive detail is presented
where the layers are subdivided into the three main parts, that is: penetration, filling and cap
passes.
 Table 26. WPS 01

IDENTIFICATION
EQUIPMENT/WORK pWPS/WPS No. STANDARD WPQR REMARKS
Steam Boiler WPS Nº. 01 15609-1 0037 -
PARENT MATERIAL
PRODUCT PRODUCT FORM/GRADE MATERIAL GROUP(S) THICKNESS (ES) DIÂMETER(S)
STANDARD(S)
P: σced≤ 355 MPa 1.1-1.1; 1.1-1.2; 1.2-1.2 10 ≤ t ≤40 > 500
T: σced≤ 355 MPa > 150 (PC, PF rotating, PA
rotating)
JOINT DETAILS
JOINT SCHEME WELDING SEQUENCE
TYPE BW, T-BW WELDING ID(S) l1,l2,l3,l4,l5,l6,l7,l8,l9,l10,c1,c2,c3,c5,c6,c7,
c8,c9,c10,n4,n15

Groove Angle 60º ± 2 Root face (mm) 2±1 Root gap/Root opening (mm) 2±1 Throat Thickness (mm) -
JOINT PREPARATION
METHOD OF PREPARING THE INTERPASS CLEANING BACK GOUGING COMMENTS
JOINT
Mechanical/Grinding Mechanical/Grinding Mechanical Method -
PRE-HEATING
PREHEATING TEMP. (ºC) HEATING METHOD CONTROL METHOD PROCEDURE
N/A if, T> 10 ºC FLAME (Oxy-Propane) Thermal Crayon N/A
HEAT TREATMENT
TYPE PROCESS HEATING SPEED (ºC/h) HOLDING TEMP. (ºC) HOLDING TIME COOLING SPEED (ºC/h)
(h)
- - - - - -
CONDITIONS OF EXECUTION
RUN 1 2, 3, 7, 8, 9 (Filling run) 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12
(Penetration or root run) (Capping run)
PROCESS/TRANSFER MODE 138 - S 138 - S 138 - S
FILLER MATERIAL EN ISO 17632-A: EN ISO 17632-A: EN ISO 17632-A:
T 42 2 M M 2 H5 T 42 2 M M 2 H5 T 42 2 M M 2 H5
TRADE MARK ESAB OK 14.13 ESAB OK 14.13 ESAB OK 14.13
DIAMETER 1,2 1,2 1,2
DESIGNATION OF SHIELDING GAS ISO 14175-M20 ISO 14175-M20 ISO 14175-M20
SHIELDING GAS FLOW RATE (L/min) 16 - 18 16 - 18 16 - 18
DESIGNATION OF BACKING GAS - - -
BACKING GAS FLOW RATE(L/min) - - -
WELDING POSITION All except All except All except
PG, PJ, H-L045 PG, PJ, H-L045 PG, PJ, H-L045
TECHNIQUE/PROGRESSION ushing/Horizontal ushing/Horizontal ushing/Horizontal
CURRENT (A) 190 – 231 214 – 260 220 -269
VOLTAGE (V) 23,8 – 29,2 24,0 – 29,4 24,3 – 29,7
WELDING SPEED (mm/min) 200 – 245 315 – 385 498 – 608
HEAT INPUT (kJ/mm) 1,08 – 1,32 0,78 – 0,96 0,52 – 0,63
TYPE OF CURRENT/POLARITY DC EP DC EP DC EP
WIRE FEED SPEED (m/min) 8,0 – 9,5 8,0 – 9,5 8,0 – 9,5
NOZZLE DIAMETER (mm) 15,9 15,9 15,9
STICK-OUT (mm) Max. 25 Max. 25 Max. 25
WEAVING/OSCILLATION (mm) Continuous/<1,5·Øwire Continuous/<1,5·Øwire Continuous/<1,5·Øwire
498 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

3.8. Qualification of Welders

Only qualified welders can perform welds on the equipment under study. The qualification
of welders must consider the availability and allocation of welders to a given job, regarding the
production needs (people and equipment), assembly sequence, as well as respect the effective
skills of each welder. Although the specimen used for qualifying welding procedures also
serves the purpose of qualifying the welder who performed it, it is inevitably necessary to look
the qualification standard for welders. As already described, the qualification ranges are
different and they may not possibly complete all the needs. Table 27 identifies the valid range
for the qualification of welders, based on the qualification tests for welding procedures for the
examples of specimens 1 and 6.
As it is possible to prove, the results of the qualification of welders, using specimens equal
to those used for qualification of welding procedures, are enough to comply full range of the
welds to be performed. However, it is understandable that not all welders are properly trained
in all processes, because it can be unfeasible and/or unnecessary. The manufacturer must ensure
that it allocates a properly qualified welder for the execution of a specific welding joint.
In the present work, there was an intentional selection of specimens of welding procedures
that constituted a necessary and also sufficient condition for the qualification of welders.
However, in cases where this is not possible, this need for qualification must be provided.
When, and whenever it is intended to qualify a welder other than the one who performed the
test procedure, the test piece must meet, at least, the dimensions provided for in ISO 9606.

Table 27. Validrangefor qualification of welders according

to ISO 9606 - specimens 1 and 6

Welding process 135,138 Material thickness -

TEST PIECE (CP)

Product form P, T Weld metal thickness ≥3

≥ 75, rotating
No. 1

Joint type BW Outer diameter (mm)

≥ 500, stationary
Filler material group FM1, FM2 Welding positions PA, PC, PF
Filler material type S, M Welding details ss mb; bs
Welding process 111 Material thickness -
TEST PIECE (CP)

Product form P, T Weld metal thickness 3,0 – 20,0

Joint type BW, Picagem a≥60º Outer diameter (mm) ≥ 75, a rodar
No. 6

≥ 500, fixo
Filler material group FM1, FM2 Welding positions PA, PC, PF
Filler material type A, RA, RB, RC, Welding details ss nb, ss mb, bs, ss gb, ss fb
RR, R, B

3.9. Manufacturing of Test Plates

The execution of the test plates, proceeded as mentioned before, and the results of Table
28 were obtained for the applicable non-destructive tests.
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 499

Table 28. Results of non-destructive tests on the test plate

Test Identification Non-destructive Testing Test Standard Acceptance Standard Result

Test plate Visual Examination (VT) ISO17637 ISO5817-B Acceptable
Ultrasonic (UT) ISO17640 ISO11666-2X Acceptable

Table 29. Result of the macroscopic test to the test plate

Test specimen
Ref. ST1
Orientation Cross section
Etchant Nital 2%
Test Temperature (ºC) 21
Imperfection ref. -
Dimension -

Test Procedure ISO 17639:2003

Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017 + EN 12953-5
Result Acceptable

Table 30. Results of the impact test to the test plate

Test specimen Absorbed energy (J) Test

Ref Notch Location Dimensions Obtained Average Required Temperature
value value value (ºC)
CH1 ISO V HAZ 10 x 55 x 10 152 136 27 -20
CH2 ISO V HAZ 10 x 55 x 10 115
CH3 ISO V HAZ 10 x 55 x 10 140
CH4 ISO V Weld metal 10 x 55 x 10 141 139
CH5 ISO V Weld metal 10 x 55 x 10 137
CH6 ISO V Weld metal 10 x 55 x 10 140
Test Procedure ISO 148-1:2010
Acceptance Criteria ISO 15614-1:2017 + Directive 2014/68/EU
Result Nothing to remark/Acceptable

The results of the mechanical tests required by EN 12953-5 are shown in Table 29 and
Table 30.

3.10. Inspection and Testing Plan

The existence of an inspection and testing plan in any welded construction to carry out, is
always a requirement. The challenge is to know and systematically group all the requirements
involved in each kind of welded contruction, like boilers constuction. There is no single way
to develop an inspection and testing plan. The most important thing is that what we call the
500 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

inspection and testing plan, regarding the minimum information required for a given for each
type of construction scenario.
In under study case, and based on the standard EN 12953-5, a single document was created
that was able to define and stablish the boundaries of all the mandatory required activities in
the boiler construction. This methodology makes it possible to grouped all the relevant
information, in technical specifications that must be placed for the approval and validation of
the various stakeholders and/or responsible parties. The proposed inspection and testing plan
includes several stages prior to manufacturing, such as technical and document review, which
should immediately include steps to verify the conformity of what was specified in the project.
Therefore, requirements related to base and filler materials, and their traceability, must be
clearly specified, as well as the case of all other manufacturing processes. It should be noted
that, relatedto welding, the inspection and testing plan must include, in addition to the
considerations regarding non-destructive tests, specifications that guarantee conformity before,
during and after the execution of the welding.
It is quite importat that there is clarity in the qualification and acceptance levels required
for all technicians involved, with executtion functions (such as welders, operators, etc.) or
inspection or supervision functions (non-destructive control technicians, inspectors, etc.). The
requirements applicable to the manufacturing of the test plates, whether in the form of test
plates or other methods, must be mentioned. The final checks to be carried out on the equipment
must also be included.
As in the case of non-destructive or destructive tests, for each of the aforementioned phases
related to the construction, its extension, typology and scope, kind of documented information
and/or required qualification, as well as holding points, review or surveillance points and each
of one envolved. The Inspection and Testing Plan proposed for the construction of the steam
boiler under study, and in accordance with EN12953 is shown in Table 31.

Table 31. Inspection and testing Plan for meeting the steam boiler
construction requirements
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 501

where
DOC -Documentary verification/control, with or without registration, as determined by the
parties involved
V/D -Visual and Dimensional Control, registered in the manufacturer’s model
IT -Specific work instruction
Mod -Model of registration of the manufacturer, and/or other party involved in the process
N.B. - Notified Body
Manufacturer - Entity that manufactures the equipment, as specified in the applicable
directive
PO - Purchase order
PS -Product Standard
HP -Holding Point (Mandatory Stopping Point)
SP -Surveillance Point
ITP -Inspection and test plan
N/A -Not applicable
502 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

CONCLUSION
The present work specify in detail all the requirements for the welded construction of a
saturated steam boiler, based on the summary information from the calculation. Since ignorance
can’t be invoked, on the part of the manufacturers for the non-fulfillment of any construction
requirement, it is extremely important to guarantee that each manufacturer have the necessary
knowledge as well as to systematize it, in order to create cappable methodologies that allows
to incorporate the quality throughout the process. With this work it is possible to conclude that,
without a correct legal and normative framework, it’s not possible to carry out the technical
project of any equipment, and in particular of equipment subject to CE marking whose welding
is the predominant manufacturing process.
It is possible to understand that the designation project does not refer only to the
calculation/dimensioning part, but to a very large situation that must comply with all legal,
regulatory and normative requirements. This necessarily require the existence of a welded
construction detail project, based on the different parts of the building code applicable to the
product, as well as the justified other related and transversal standardization, that is also an
applicable requirement. It is imperative that all the provisions relating to the welding process
and the mandatory and required qualifications are considered upstream of the project, under
penalty of non-compliance with mandatory requirements, and consequently impeding the free
availability of the product on the market. The using of directives and recognized building codes,
as well as their effective application, are the possible way to reach product conformity, and for
that reason the manufacturers shall adopt methodologies that allow to incorporate the
requirements mentioned throughout the construction, in an economical way and that jeopardize
technical rigor. This is necessarily related to a correct assessment of needs, a task often
neglected.
Each point of this work describes a mandatory stage in the construction of a steam boiler,
so it can be considered a guide for the construction of this type of equipment when considered
as a whole. Each step mentioned has its resolution explained throughout the document for the
case of the steam boiler regarding the data provided by the designer, and suggest a work
methodology/approach proposed here for each of them, from the needs assessment till the full
specification required for the construction, providing the bases for the framing of other similar
equipment.

FUNDING
This work was supported by the projects UIDB/00481/2020 and UIDP/00481/2020 - FCT
- Fundação para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia; and CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-022083 - Centro
Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Centro2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020
Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund.
 Quality Assurance of Welded Construction of Industrial Boilers 503

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Portuguese Institute for Quality for the authorization copyright
of the standards. These standards can be consulted in its entirety through the Portuguese
Institute for Quality.

REFERENCES
ASME (2010). The History of ASME’s Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.
https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/the-history-of-asmes-boiler-and-pressure.
Directive 2014/68/EU of the European Parliament and Council, Brussels, Belgium: Official
Journal of the European Union, 2014.
EN ISO 636:2017 - Welding consumables. Rods, wires and deposits for tungsten inert gas
welding of non-alloy and fine-grain steels. Classification. Brussels: European Committee
for Standardization, 2017.
EN 1011-2:2001 - Welding Recommendations for welding of metallic materials. Part 2: Arc
welding of ferritic steels. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization, 2001.
EN 1092-1:2018 - Flanges and their joints. Circular flanges for pipes, valves, fittings and
accessories, PN designated. Part 1: Steel flanges. Brussels: European Committee for
Standardization, 2018.
EN ISO 1708-1:2010 - Welding. Basic welded joint details in steel. Part 1: Pressurized
components. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization, 2010.
EN ISO 2560:2005 - Welding consumables. Covered electrodes for manual metal arc welding
of non-alloy and fine grain steels. Classification. Brussels: European Committee for
Standardization, 2005.
ISO 5817:2014 - Welding — Fusion-welded joints in steel, nickel, titanium and their alloys
(beam welding excluded) — Quality levels for imperfections, Geneva, Switzerland:
International Organization for Standardization, 2014.
EN ISO 9692-1:2013 - Welding and allied processes. Types of joint preparation. Part 1:
Manual metal arc welding, gas-shielded metal arc welding, gas welding, TIG welding and
beam welding of steels. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization, 2013.
EN 10028-2:2017 - Flat products made of steels for pressure purposes. Part 2: Non-alloy and
alloy steels with specified elevated temperature properties, Brussels: European Committee
for Standardization, 2017.
EN 10216-2: 2013/A1:2019 - Seamless steel tubes for pressure purposes. Part 2: Technical
delivery conditions. Non-alloy and alloy steel tubes with specified elevated temperature,
Brussels: European Committee for Standardization, 2019.
EN 12953-3:2016 - Shell Boillers - Part 3: Design and Calculation for Pressure Parts,
Brussels: European Committee for Standardization, 2016.
EN 12953-4:2018 - Shell Boilers. Part 4: Workmanship and construction of pressure parts of
the boiler. Brussels: European Committee for Standardization, 2018.
EN 12953-5:2018. Shell Boilers. Part 5: Inspection during construction, documentation and
marking of pressure parts of the boiler. Brussels: European Committe for Standardization,
2018.
504 A. B. Pereira, J. C. F. Martinho and F. J. G. Silva

EN ISO 15614-1:2017/A1:2019 - Specification and qualification of welding procedures for

metallic materials. Welding procedure test. Part 1: Arc and gas welding of steels and arc
welding of nickel and nickel alloys, Brussels: European Committee for Standardization,
2019.
EN ISO 17632:2015 - Welding Consumables. Tubular cored electrodes for gas shielded and
non-gas shielded metal arc welding of non-alloy and fine grain steels. Classification.
Brussles: European Committee for Standardization, 2015.
Pastor, Thomas P. Section VIII - Division 1: Rules for Construction of Pressure Vessels. 4th.
New York: ASME Press, 2012.
In: Handbook of Welding: Processes, Control and Simulation ISBN: 978-1-53619-685-6
Editors: A. M. de Bastos Pereira and F. J. Gomes da Silva © 2021 Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Chapter 17

QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE

OF A PRESSURE PIPING BY WELDING

A. B. Pereira1,, J. P. Cardoso1 and F. J. G. Silva2

1TEMA—Centre for Mechanical Technology and Automation,
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
2ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the necessary requirements for the CE marking of a pressure
piping assembled in welded construction. The Quality Management of a welded
construction involves well-regulated procedures which, however, are so vast that they
acquire great complexity. In fact, there are hundreds of rules to apply to each specific case.
In the European Union, the CE marking shows the presumption that the products comply
with all the provisions of the applicable directives. This marking is a way to improve the
safety of consumers, as well as the guarantee of having a competitive and regulated market,
therefore good for the economy itself. Pressure equipment is, as a rule, considered
dangerous, and therefore subject to strict and careful regulation. The CE marking is not
established as a technical barrier, which prevents countries from exporting their products
to the European market. It is just one way of harmonizing and unifying procedures,
standards and legislation that has the purpose of completing the European internal market.
This paper presents an analysis of how to obtain CE marking of an execution and assembly
of steel piping in a formaldehyde plant and which normative ramifications apply.

Keywords: welding, welding quality, welding management, welding standards, CE marking

in welded piping, formaldehyde plant


Corresponding Author’s Email: [email protected].
506 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

1. INTRODUCTION
In the European Single Market, the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital,
as if it were one country, is one of the European Union’s (EU) greatest achievements. It is a
market where products from different European countries, or from outside Europe, must obey
well-defined standards, without which it is impossible to make comparisons between products
of the same type.
Accordingly, Member States must assume that CE marked products comply with all the
provisions of the applicable directives, which determine their affixing. This marking appears
as an instrument to solve this type of problems that could significantly affect the safety of
consumers, as well as the economy itself. For example, in the case of metal structures, a badly
tightened screw or defective welding can endanger the physical integrity of consumers.
In summary, the CE marking is the visible way for the manufacturer (or whoever introduces
a certain product/equipment to the market) to show that the product/equipment has been
designed and manufactured in accordance with applicable Community directives.
The origin of the use of containers that work under internal pressure, higher than
atmospheric pressure, can be attributed to the period of the industrial revolution, in the 18th
century. The need for this use is related to the discovery of the possibility of storing energy,
accumulated in the form of pressurized steam. In the course of the 18th century, the only process
available and that made possible the storage of energy by the referred effect was using a
cylinder, built in cast iron, with a flat lid fixed at the top by rivets. Due to the high and,
eventually, uncontrolled growth of the use of water vapor as an energy source, on March 10,
1905 in Brockton (state of Massachusetts, United States of America), a tragic accident
occurred, caused by the bursting of a boiler in a shoe factory. In this accident 58 people died
and 117 were injured. Additionally, the resulting loss was about a quarter of a million dollars.
Boiler accidents (particularly explosions) were understood, until years later, as a necessary evil
or even as an act of God (ASME, 1999).
Years later, the population of the state of Massachusetts came to the conclusion that
something should be done to legislate and control the construction of boilers and other pressure
tanks, in an attempt to solve the problems that caused the accidents. After extensive debate and
discussion, in 1907, the first version of a legal code for the construction of Pressure Equipment
(ESP) was developed and published. This document also served to regulate its inspection. In
1908 the state of Ohio drafted similar legislation, albeit with minor changes/improvements to
the Massachusetts state code. Subsequently, many other American states (or even cities), where
explosions frequently occurred, realized that accidents could be avoided by appropriately
altering design, construction and inspection practices, which also began to formulate rules for
the different phases of the project and development of Pressure Equipment (ASME, 1999).
The safety of people and goods is based on the correct installation and maintenance of the
operational conditions of installations and equipment that, by their nature, can cause damage to
installations, people, and the neighborhood. ESP has been understood for many years to be a
risk in view of its operating conditions and the fluids it contains. The risk is proportional to the
order of magnitude of the pressures used and the hazardous characteristics of the fluids in
service. In this way, it was understood that the Pressure Equipment that, due to its degree of
danger, would put people’s health and safety at risk and, for this reason, require from the State
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 507

and the legislator special vigilance and care in its installation and functioning, must obey a set
of rules.
The Pressure Equipment has its own legislation, which refers to the processes and
procedures to have in its correct start-up, as well as the subsequent need for repair or alteration
of the equipment. The manufacturer is obliged to analyze the risks in order to determine which
ones apply to his equipment due to pressure. Pressure Equipment must be designed,
manufactured, tested and, if applicable, equipped and installed in order to ensure its safety,
being put into service according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Since 2002, the construction of Pressure Equipment has required the «CE» marking within
the European Union, and Directive 97/23/EC (1997) was created for that purpose. This was
later replaced by Directive 2014/68/EU (2014), which defines the applicable requirements
according to the characteristics of the equipment and fluids contained therein, with any
equipment with a maximum service pressure greater than 0.5 bar (relative pressure) is framed
and covering the following types:

 Pressure Equipment and new sets produced by a manufacturer based in the Union.
 Pressure Equipment or sets, whether new or second-hand, imported from a third
country.

Pressure Equipment is containers, pipes, safety accessories and other accessories that are
under pressure. When necessary, the equipment will cover components connected to the parts
under pressure, such as flanges, pipes, couplings, supports and lifting eyes.
Pereira and Melo (2020) made an exhaustive analysis of the intricacies of quality
management in welded construction. They showed the way for the implementation of a quality
management system in the construction of metal structures, namely what are the standards to
be applied, both for the welder and for the welding coordinator, but also in the processes and
products. They also present an analysis aimed at obtaining the CE marking and which
regulations and standards are to be applied.
Ushakov and Davydov (2013) made a review of ISO and EN standards for the ultrasonic
testing of welded Joints. Specially about the EN 1712, EN 1713, and EN 1714 European
standards compared with the Russian GOST (State Standard) 14782 they conclude that no
substantial differences between these documents were revealed.
Toivanen et al. (2015) examined the manufacturing and conformity of welded products and
the significance of co-operation of different functions to welding quality. Their study focused
on costs arising from nonconformity from the manufacturing perspective. They discussed
unnecessary costs, claim costs and warranty costs in the production chain. These authors
furthermore token an overview of challenges in welding manufacturing in the engineering field
with empirical research in the industry and showed that failures and defects are identifiable and
known in companies but very rarely the root cause of imperfections were investigated.
Habitually, requirements from manufacturing go unrecognized at the many levels of
organization. One of the main obstacles to improving welding functions is the lack of
cooperation and knowledge of the demands on welding. This can cause continuous
nonconformity in products and in welding manufacturing. Toivanen et al. (2015) conclude that
coordinating welding functions gives an advantage for profitable and quality manufacturing.
For example, the ISO 3834 standard ensures welding quality requirements and gives guidelines
to good welding production. It emphasizes continuous improvement, controlling of welding
508 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

operations and the importance of a welding coordinator. By using standards, the tool of whole
production to improve welding operations, the benefits are wider than the mere focus on
welding action. It is important that the company itself can answer the different quality
requirements with the standards or use the standards to determine its own quality level and
guidelines clarifying production to increase productivity and profitability.
Cichoński and Stania (2019) present a comprehensive overview of standards requirements
for welding plans for energy pipeline repairs. Examples of welding plans for pipeline repair are
presented. The usefulness of various forms of presenting welding plans was compared and it
was shown that regardless of the form of the welding plan, it facilitates control of both the
course of the manufacturing process and the requirements set by the product standard.

2. CE MARKING OF PRESSURE EQUIPMENT

The European Union is an economic and political union that has the largest Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) of all economies in the world with approximately 22 million Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs), 450 million consumers and 20% of the world export volume and imports.
Thus, it was essential to create a single European market, known as the internal market, which
allowed the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital, as if it were a single country.
Initially, the regulation of the free movement of goods focused on national authorities who were
creating their own technical legislation. However, there were numerous differences in the
regulations of the different countries, where they required that the export of products had to be
approved by a specialized body. This approach created many technical barriers to the free
movement of goods within the member states of the European Union. As it is essential to solve
this problem, in 1983, Directive 83/189/EEC (1983) of 28 March 1983 was adopted.
Subsequently, in May 1985, a Resolution was adopted that configured a “new approach”
regarding standardization it concerns. Thus, a new European standardization system was
created with the creation of legislation, with the objective of creating a single market, with the
contribution of different European standardization organizations.
The CE marking is represented by the symbol containing the letters «CE», the affixing of
which must follow certain rules and has a determined graphic design. The CE marking indicates
the conformity of a product with the harmonized European Union legislation that applies to that
product.
The CE marking is the evidence given by the manufacturer that the products comply with
the requirements set out in directives or regulations, based on the legislative technique of the
“new approach”, allowing them to move freely within the European Economic Area (EEA).
The procedures for assessing the conformity of products with the essential requirements
established in the directives and regulations, through the use of harmonized standards or other
technical specifications, aim to ensure that the products placed on the market are in accordance
with the requirements expressed in the directives and regulations, namely with regard to the
health and safety of users and consumers, and environmental protection (European Comission,
2016).
The conformity assessment of the product must be carried out during the design and
production phases. Within the scope of European Union harmonization legislation, conformity
assessment can be carried out based on modules relating to the product design phase and the
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 509

production phase according to the provisions of Decision No. 768/2008/EC (2008). As a

general rule, in order for a product to be placed on the market, it must be subjected to evaluation
in both phases and have positive results.

2.1. Historical Perspective

The objectives of the first harmonization directives focused on removing barriers and free
movement of goods in the single market. Currently, these objectives are complemented by a
comprehensive policy designed to ensure that only safe and compliant products enter the
market, so that honest economic operators can benefit from identical competitive conditions,
while promoting effective protection for consumers and users. the EU.
Legislative policies and techniques have evolved over the past 40 years of European
integration, especially in the field of free movement of goods, thus contributing to the success
of the current single market, whose evolution in the field of goods has been characterized by
four main phases (European Comission, 2016):

 the traditional approach or “old approach”, characterized by detailed texts that contain
all the necessary technical and administrative requirements.
 the “new approach”, defined in 1985, which limited the content of the legislation to
“essential requirements”, leaving the technical details to European harmonized
standards. This evolution has, in turn, led to the development of a European
standardization policy to support such legislation.
 the design of the conformity assessment tools made necessary by the application of the
various Union harmonization acts, be they new or old approaches.
 the “New Legislative Framework” adopted in July 2008, which was based on the new
approach and completed the overall legislative framework with all the elements
necessary for an effective conformity assessment, accreditation and market
surveillance, including the control of products from the outside the Union.

2.2. The New Legislative Framework

Regulation (EC) No. 765/2008 (2008) established, in the New Legislative Framework
(NLF), the legal basis for accreditation and market surveillance and reinforced the meaning of
the CE marking, thus filling existing gaps. Decision 768/2008/EC (2008) updated, harmonized
and consolidated the different technical instruments already used in existing Union
harmonization legislation: the definitions, the criteria for the designation and notification of
conformity assessment bodies, the rules for the notification process, conformity assessment
procedures (modules) and rules for their use, safeguard mechanisms, responsibilities of
economic operators and traceability requirements.
The NLF considers the existence of all economic operators in the supply chain -
manufacturers, agents, distributors and importers - and their respective functions in relation to
the product. Currently, the importer has clear obligations regarding the conformity of products
and, whenever a distributor or importer modifies a product or markets a product in his own
510 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

name, he becomes equivalent to the manufacturer, and must assume the latter’s responsibilities
in relation to the product.
The most important change introduced by the NLF in the EU legislative environment was
the introduction of a comprehensive policy on market surveillance. This evolution has
considerably altered the balance of EU legislative provisions that, previously, were
fundamentally oriented towards the respect of the requirements related to the products when
they were placed on the market and, today, give equal importance to the aspects related to the
execution during the cycle of product life.
NLF is currently a complete system that brings together all the different elements that need
to be addressed within the scope of product safety legislation in a coherent and comprehensive
legislative instrument that can be used in a general way in all industrial sectors and even
beyond. (environment and health policies also make use of several of these elements), whenever
use of EU legislation is necessary.
In this system, the legislation must define the levels of the public protection objectives of
the products in question, as well as the fundamental characteristics in terms of safety, define
the obligations and requirements for economic operators, fix, whenever necessary, the level of
competence third-party conformity assessment bodies that assess quality management products
or systems, as well as the control mechanisms for those bodies (notification and accreditation),
determine which conformity assessment processes are appropriate (the modules, which also
include the manufacturer’s declaration of conformity) to be applied and, finally, to impose the
appropriate market surveillance mechanisms (internal and external), in order to ensure the
effective and continuous functioning of the legislative instrument in its entirety.
A key feature of a large part of Union harmonization legislation is the limitation of
legislative harmonization to essential requirements that are in the public interest. These
requirements concern the protection of the safety and health of users and sometimes also cover
other fundamental requirements (e.g., protection of property, scarce resources, or the
environment). Although these requirements do not include any detailed manufacturing
specifications, the degree of detail of the wording differs between the various Union
harmonization acts. The wording seeks to be sufficiently precise to create, in the transposition
into national legislation, legally binding obligations that can be applied and facilitate the
definition of the Commission’s standardization requests to European standardization
organizations, with a view to producing harmonized standards (European Commission, 2016).
These standards are called harmonized because they give a “presumption of conformity”
with the directive for which they were drafted and will be described in the next section.

2.3. Harmonized Standards

The definition of “harmonized standard”, in the context of Regulation (EU) No. 1025/2012
(2012), is not limited to harmonized standards in support of harmonized product legislation, as
the regulation integrates the use of harmonized standards in harmonization legislation on
services in the same way as in Union harmonization legislation on products. Harmonized
standards are developed and published like other European standards, in accordance with the
internal rules of European standardization organizations. According to these rules, all European
standards are to be adopted at national level by national standardization bodies. This adoption
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 511

means that the European standards in question must be made available in the same way as
national standards and that all conflicting national standards must be withdrawn within a given
period (European Commission, 2016).
The CE marking for a given family of products covered by a harmonized European
Standard is only possible after the publication of the reference of the standard in question in the
Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU). At the time of publication, the European
Commission stipulates, for each standard, the start and end dates of the coexistence period, i.e.,
respectively, the date from which the CE Marking is already possible, but on which products
can still circulate. unmarked and the date on which all products covered by it must be marked.
It is concluded that the standards are documented and voluntary agreements that define
important criteria for products, services and processes, in a consensual way between the
interested parties, that guarantee that they are suitable for the purposes for which they are
intended and that they are comparable and compatible, ensuring their interoperability. In
drafting the rules, consensus, not unanimity, is required between the interested parties. These
standards are approved by a recognized standardization body and establish rules, guides or
characteristics of products or services, based on consolidated scientific, technical, or
experimental results. As a general rule, the standards define the required characteristics of a
product or service, such as quality standards or ownership properties, safety, dimensions,
integrating the requirements applicable to the product with regard to the sales denomination,
terminology, symbols, tests and test methods, packaging, marking and labeling, as well as
conformity assessment procedures.
Standards play a useful role in the context of Community legislation in supporting the “new
approach directives” that define the main requirements that products have to meet in order to
be placed on the market across the European Union. However, a clear distinction must be made
between “compliance with a standard” and “presumption of conformity”. “Compliance with a
standard” generally refers to a situation where a standard is “fully applied” (European
Commission, 2016). To the “presumption of conformity”, it is sufficient to apply only those
provisions related to the essential requirements or other legal requirements that the standard is
intended to cover.
Harmonized standards give a presumption of conformity with the essential requirements
that they are intended to cover, provided that their references have been published in the OJEU
(European Commission, 2016). However, it is not necessary to verify transposition in all
Member States for the presumption of conformity to become effective. Since European
standards must be transposed uniformly, the manufacturer will be able to select any of the
corresponding national standards.
The purpose of publishing the reference in the Official Journal is to set the date from which
the presumption of conformity takes effect. Before the Commission publishes the reference, it
is necessary to verify compliance with the terms of the mandate. When it considers that a
standard does not meet the terms of the mandate, it will not publish the reference, or limit the
publication of the reference to parts of the standard. In these situations, the presumption of
conformity condition of a harmonized standard is not fulfilled or is only fulfilled as regards the
part covered by the published references. The application of harmonized standards that give a
presumption of conformity remains voluntary. The manufacturer can choose to follow
harmonized standards or not. If the manufacturer chooses not to follow a harmonized standard,
he is obliged to prove that his products comply with the essential requirements, using other
means of his choice (e.g., through any existing technical specifications).
512 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

It is important to note that, generally, Union harmonization legislation on products does

not require the use of harmonized standards. Only essential requirements are legally binding,
and manufacturers can apply any technical standards and specifications; however, only
harmonized standards give a presumption of conformity. In addition, even if the manufacturer
does not use harmonized standards, a change in an applicable harmonized standard may imply
a change in the state of the art, and the manufacturer’s product may no longer be in conformity
(European Commission, 2016).
All these different elements are interconnected, work together and are complementary,
constituting a quality chain at EU level. The quality of the product depends on the quality of
the manufacture, which, in many cases, is influenced by the quality of the tests carried out by
internal or external bodies, which depends on the quality of the conformity assessment
processes, which depends on the quality of the bodies which, in turn, instead, it depends on the
quality of the controls performed by them, which varies according to the quality of the
notification or accreditation; the whole system depends on the quality of market surveillance
and controls on products from third countries. All these elements must be covered, in one way
or another, by any EU legislative act related to product safety. If an element disappears or is
insufficient, the strength and effectiveness of the entire ‘quality chain’ can be compromised.

2.4. Conformity Assessment

The CE Marking is the only physical reference that indicates the conformity of the products
with the directives and regulations that apply to it and that require it when destined to be placed
on the European Union market. Member States will refrain from introducing any other
conformity marking in the national regulations other than the CE marking.
A product is subject to a conformity assessment both during the design phase and during
the production phase. Conformity assessment is the responsibility of the manufacturer. Even if
a manufacturer subcontracts design or production, it remains responsible for conformity
assessment.
Conformity assessment should not be confused with market surveillance, which consists
of controls carried out by national market surveillance authorities after the product has been
placed on the market. These authorities must assume that a product with the CE marking
complies with the provisions of a given directive, however, they can find facts that indicate its
non-compliance. However, both techniques are complementary and equally necessary to ensure
the protection of the public interests concerned and the smooth functioning of the internal
market.
The essential objective of a conformity assessment procedure is to demonstrate that
products placed on the market comply with the requirements set out in the relevant legislation.
Conformity assessment is the responsibility of the manufacturer. However, if required by
the relevant legislation, a third party must intervene in the conformity assessment procedure.
In total, there are three possibilities:

 there is no third-party intervention. This may be the case when, according to the
legislator, a declaration (accompanied by the relevant documentation and technical
examinations) from the manufacturer is sufficient to guarantee the conformity of the
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 513

product (s) concerned with the relevant legislative requirements. In this case, the
manufacturer himself carries out all the required checks and checks, draws up the
technical documentation and guarantees the conformity of the production process.
 conformity assessment is carried out with the intervention of an accredited internal
conformity assessment body that is part of the manufacturer’s organization. However,
this internal body must not carry out any activity other than conformity assessment and
must be independent from any entity associated with marketing, design, or production.
Through accreditation, this body must demonstrate the same technical competence and
impartiality as demonstrated by external conformity assessment bodies. Whenever
appropriate for a specific sector, the legislator can recognize the fact that
manufacturers operate very well-equipped testing laboratories or facilities and that
their competence is sometimes greater than the capabilities of certain external bodies.
This may be the case when it comes to complex new innovative products for which
testing know-how is still held by manufacturers.
 however, in other cases, the legislator may consider the intervention of a third party,
that is, an external conformity assessment body, to be necessary. That body must be
impartial and totally independent with regard to the organization or the product under
evaluation, it cannot carry out any activity that could jeopardize its independence and,
therefore, it cannot have any interests, as a user or in any other quality, in the product
to be evaluated.

The exact position of the conformity assessment in the supply chain is described in the
flowchart represented in Figure 1.
There are eight modules (designated by the letters A to H). These modules determine the
responsibilities of the manufacturer (and his authorized representative) and the degree of
involvement of the Notified Body (ON) or the accredited internal unit. They are the components
of the conformity assessment procedures defined in accordance with Decision No.
768/2008/EC (2008), that is, the “horizontal menu”. Several modules have variants. The
variants are intended (and this applies to all variants of all modules established under Decision
No. 768/2008/EC) to ensure the level of protection required for products that present a higher
level of risk while avoiding the imposition of a heavier module. It is a question of minimizing
as much as possible the burden on manufacturers. These are shown below and represented by
the flowchart in Figure 2:

 A - Internal production control

 A1 - Internal production control and supervised product testing
 A2 - Internal production control and supervised product controls at random intervals
 B + C - EU type (B) examination followed by EU type compliance based on internal
production control (C)
 B + C1 - EU type examination (B) followed by EU type compliance based on internal
production control and supervised product testing (C1)
 B + C2 - EU type examination (B) followed by EU type compliance based on internal
production control and supervised product controls at random intervals (C2)
 B + D - EU type examination (B) followed by EU type compliance based on quality
assurance of the production process (D)
514 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

 D1 - Quality assurance of the production process

 B + E - EU type examination (B) followed by EU type compliance based on product
quality assurance (E)
 E1 - Quality assurance of inspection and testing of the final product
 B + F - EU type examination (B) followed by EU type compliance based on product
verification (F)
 F1 - Compliance based on product verification
 G - Compliance based on unit verification
 H - Compliance based on total quality assurance
 H1 - Compliance based on total quality assurance and design control

Before a product is placed on the European market, the manufacturer, or his authorized
representative established in the Community, must prepare the technical documentation to
enable the conformity assessment of the product with the requirements of the directives that
apply to it. This documentation must be organized by the manufacturer and must cover, as
necessary, what concerns the design, manufacture, and operation of the product. Thus, the
technical file demonstrates the product’s compliance with the requirements of the directives
that apply to it, and may include the following elements (European Comission, 2016):

 General description and drawings of the product.

 Standards, directives, and technical specifications used.
 Protection measures implemented to eliminate/reduce the identified hazards.
 Instruction/User manual.
 Test results.
 EC declaration of conformity.

Before placing the product on the market, the manufacturer must ensure that the technical
process is completed. To future inspection, all information contained in the technical file must
be preserved for a period of 10 years from the last production date.
With the affixing of the CE marking, an EC declaration of conformity must be issued by
the manufacturer or his authorized representative established in the European Community. This
statement certifies the product’s compliance with all relevant essential requirements. There may
be more than one declaration of conformity per product, although only one is signed by the
manufacturer. The rest may be statements from the manufacturer of product components. In
the case of the directive(s) that apply to it provide for the intervention of a Notified Body,
namely Certification Bodies, Inspection Bodies and Testing Laboratories, these bodies are
responsible for issuing an EC Certificate of Conformity, which shows that the product complies
with the requirements of the directive (s) associated with it. This should contain all relevant
information like (European Commission, 2016):
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 515

Figure 1. Flowchart of the conformity assessment. Reproduced from European Comission (2016), with
permission from EUR-Lex.
516 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Figure 2. Modular Representation of Conformity Assessment. Reproduced from European Comission

(2016), with permission from EUR-Lex.

 Product identification number.

 The name and address of the manufacturer or his representative.
 Product designation.
 Directives that apply.
 Applicable harmonized standards.
 Date and signature of one or more officials.

As in the technical file, the manufacturer, or his representative, must maintain the EC
declaration of conformity for a period of at least 10 years, counting from the date on which the
product was last manufactured.
The CE marking must be affixed before the product is placed on the market and followed
by the identification number of the Notified Body; in case it intervenes in the production control
phase.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 517

2.5. Conformity Assessment Bodies and Notified Bodies

A conformity assessment body is a body that performs one or more elements of the
conformity assessment, including one or more of the following activities: calibration, testing,
certification, and inspection. Notified Bodies are conformity assessment bodies officially
designated by their national authority to carry out conformity assessment procedures within the
meaning of applicable Union harmonization legislation whenever third-party intervention is
required.
Although the Notified Body must be established in the territory of the notifying Member
State, it can engage in activities or employ staff outside the Member State, or even outside the
Union. Notified Bodies are free to offer their conformity assessment services in the within the
scope of the respective notification, to any economic operator established inside or outside the
Union. They must provide relevant information to the respective notifying authority, market
surveillance authorities and other Notified Bodies. Notified Bodies must employ the necessary
staff, with sufficient and relevant knowledge and experience to carry out conformity assessment
under the relevant Union harmonization legislation, and shall take appropriate measures to
ensure the confidentiality of information obtained during the assessment of the conformity.
Notified Bodies can demonstrate their competence through accreditation, which is the best way
to assess their technical competence, however, they are not responsible for providing the EC
declaration of conformity or technical documentation.
Notified Bodies are and should remain third party bodies independent of their customers
and other interested parties. To guarantee impartiality, they and their staff must be free from
any commercial, financial, or other pressure that may influence their judgment. The body must
also apply procedures designed to ensure that its work cannot be influenced from the outside.
The body’s structure must safeguard its impartiality, especially if the body has other activities
in addition to those under its responsibility as a Notified Body.
When a conformity assessment body delivers a test report, it does so as a conformity
assessment body; only as a Notified Body can it issue EU examination certificates of the type
a certificate which contains, inter alia, the name and identification number of the Notified Body.
Under no circumstances should the Notified Body issue a test report containing its Notified
Body number for tests not specified in the legislation, whether such tests have been carried out
by the body itself or by another body. In addition, a Notified Body may only use its number in
the context of conformity assessment activities carried out within the framework of the specific
conformity assessment module that requires the intervention of a Notified Body and for which
it has been notified. A Notified Body must require the manufacturer to take appropriate
corrective measures and, if necessary, suspend or withdraw a certificate that it has issued if,
during conformity checks following the issue of the certificate, it finds that the product is no
longer in conformity.
A Notified Body may not be the manufacturer, its authorized representative, a supplier or
a commercial competitor, nor offer or provide (or have already offered or provided)
consultancy or advisory services to any of these parties with regard to the design, construction,
marketing or maintenance of the products in question. However, this does not exclude the
possibility of exchanging information and technical guidance between the manufacturer, his
authorized representative, suppliers, and the Notified Body.
518 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Since May 2002, only Pressure Equipment and assemblies (simply referred to below as
Pressure Equipment) can be placed on the market across the European Union that meet the
requirements of the Pressure Equipment Directive (PED), that is, they must comply with
Directive 2014/68/EU (2014) on the harmonization of the laws of the Member States.

2.6. Pressure Equipment

As described in the previous point, Directive 2014/68/EU (2014) of the European

Parliament and of the Council, aims to establish the requirements applicable to Pressure
Equipment produced by a manufacturer based in the Union and imported from a third country.
Under Pressure Equipment, all those designed to contain a fluid (liquid, gas or steam) at a
maximum permissible relative pressure greater than 0.5 bar. Included in the list of Pressure
Equipment are: containers, piping, safety accessories, pressure accessories and, when
necessary, the equipment will cover components connected to parts under pressure, such as
flanges, pipes, couplings, supports and lifting eyes. . The term assemblies, in the sense of PED,
refers to several pieces of Pressure Equipment assembled in an integrated and functional unit
that is placed on the market in its state assembled by a manufacturer. The assemblies must
undergo a general conformity assessment, considering safety devices. The sets can be intended
for direct use by an end user or for installation as a subset integrated into a larger set.
Assemblies can range from simple assemblies (e.g., fire extinguishers) to complex assemblies
in the chemical and energy industry (e.g., water pipe boilers, refrigeration facilities).

2.6.1. Scope of Application

This diploma replaced Directive No. 97/23/EC (1997) and came into force and application
as of July 19, 2016. This is applicable to the design, manufacture, and conformity assessment
of Pressure Equipment (ESP) and respective accessories. All equipment covered by the
directive must comply with essential safety requirements and meet the equivalent legislation of
all EU Member States. Its basis is the transposition of PED requirements into the national
legislation of all EU Member States. This new version became necessary due to the
implementation of the CRE regulation (Classification, Labeling and Packaging) and the
alignment with the New European Legislative Framework. The obligations of so-called
economic operators - in addition to the manufacturer, also include the authorized representative,
importers, and distributors - are now clearly described in the PED. If importers or distributors
wish to place Pressure Equipment on the market under their own name or trademark, they must
meet the same requirements as a manufacturer. Finally, it is worth noting that all certificates
issued by Notified Bodies in accordance with Directive 97/23/EC (1997) before 19.07.2016
will continue to be valid.

2.6.2. PED Conformity Assessment

To ensure that products destined for the European market satisfy the PED, it is necessary
to determine their respective classification. The directive specifies the essential safety
requirements for Pressure Equipment in Annex I (Directive 2014/68/EU, 2014) and describes
the procedure for assessing compliance with the requirements of PED, the so-called conformity
assessment procedure. Other test specifications may be harmonized standards or other
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 519

appropriate technical regulations, such as AD 2000 (2016), in which detailed specifications are
provided on the practical implementation of the requirements of the Directive.
Regardless of design parameters and the potential risk associated with Pressure Equipment,
PED provides different procedures for assessing conformity. These procedures can only be
performed by Notified Bodies (except for module A). The following provides information on
the conformity assessment procedure consisting of product tests or system audits, as specified
in Annex III to the Directive 2014/68/EU (2014). Essential safety requirements include
specifications related to the design and production of Pressure Equipment, such as:

 procedures used for permanent joints (as a rule, welding procedure); here approval is
granted by the Notified Body.
 qualifications of welding operators and Non-Destructive Testing - NDT (or Non-
Destructive Examination - NDE) personnel; here approval is granted by the Notified
Body.
 in relation to the materials used; here, the Notified Body - as applicable - reviews
specific material assessments.
 regarding the specific assessment of the quality management system of material
manufacturers by the Notified Body.
 regarding the final assessment of Pressure Equipment by the Notified Body; this also
includes design verification, final assessment, and pressure testing.

Under PED, Pressure Equipment can be classified into one of the following risk class
categories, according to Annex II of Directive 2014/68/EU (2014):

 SEP (Sound Engineering Practice)

 Category I
 Category II
 Category III
 Category IV

The SEP classification is applicable to Pressure Equipment, which is not subject to

Category I, II, III and IV conformity assessment, but which must be designed and manufactured
according to «Sound Engineering Practice», as defined by PED. Products classified as SEP
should not and cannot be CE marked (Emerson, 2016).
For classification purposes, fluids are divided into two groups: (1) hazardous fluids; and
(2) all other fluids that are not included in Group 1.

2.6.3. Evaluation Procedure

The manufacturer of the Pressure Equipment must submit each item of equipment to the
conformity assessment procedure described in Annex III of the Directive 2014/68/EU (2014)
before being placed on the market. This procedure is determined by the category in which the
equipment is classified (Annex II to the Directive 2014/68/EU, 2014). Figure 3 presents the
selection table.
520 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Modules A and A2. Internal production control: With module A, the manufacturer himself
is responsible for continuous internal production control. In the case of module A2, random
checks of pressure equipment must be carried out in addition to internal production control.
Module B (production type). EU type examination - type of production: The purpose of
this type examination is for the Notified Body to determine whether PED requirements are met
based on an inspection of the technical documentation and the type of production.
Module B (design type). EU type examination - project type: Unlike the type of production
(P), the type examination of the project is carried out only on the basis of technical
documentation, without any inspection of the type of production or any product testing being
carried out.
Module C2. Conformity to type: By which the manufacturer declares that the Pressure
Equipment conforms to the type described in the EU type examination certificate (production).
The Notified Body monitors production and testing randomly at the manufacturer’s premises.
Modules F and G. Unit verification: In addition to type examinations and quality control
modules, PED also specifies unit verification to assess whether the Pressure Equipment is in
compliance with the directive. This guarantees the highest possible degree of product safety, as
each product is inspected by an independent body, and the greatest possible flexibility. This is
the procedure with which the Notified Body inspects the technical documentation and performs
the final assessment of the Pressure Equipment. Upon completion of the inspection, the Notified
Body issues the certificate of compliance. This is the basis for issuing the declaration of
conformity and the CE marking by the manufacturer.

Figure 3. Selection of modules by the manufacturer within the applicable category. Adapted from
Directive 2014/68/EU (2014) with permission from EUR-Lex.

Modules D, D1, E, E1, H and H1. Quality control systems - In addition to conventional
product tests, PED also stipulates the introduction of a quality control system and its evaluation
by a Notified Body. PED’s quality control system requirements are based, in terms of content,
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 521

on the applicable certification requirements according to EN ISO 9001 (2015), complemented

by specific product requirements resulting from the provisions of annexes I and III of PED. The
directive provides for a quality control system in which responsibilities and procedures are
specified and effective, ensuring, for example, that

 quality objectives are established and monitoring of compliance with them.

 information and data are controlled.
 construction specifications are defined, and construction results are verified and
validated.
 the highest possible safety of the process is guaranteed.
 objective and reliable procedures for the inspection of goods received are followed
during and after production.
 clear product quality records are compiled, and the effectiveness of the quality control
system implemented is monitored and, as applicable, corrective, and preventive
measures are taken.

The simplest way to certify a pressure device that meets the requirements of the PED
directive is to apply the harmonized product standard. With regard to industrial piping, the most
common harmonized standard is EN 13480-1 (2017). This document comprehensively
considers issues related to the production of metallic industrial piping, that is, materials,
strength calculations, production and assembly, control, etc. It is worth paying attention to the
unofficial seventh part of the standard, published as Technical Report CEN/TR 13480-7 (2017),
that is a practical guide for the conformity assessment process.

3. WELDED CONSTRUCTION PIPING MANUFACTURE

This case study describes the methodology applied by a company in the context of a project
for the execution and assembly of pipes submitted to conformity assessment according to the
requirements of Directive 2014/68/EU (2014), with the objective of obtaining the CE Marking
in applicable cases.

3.1. Formaldehyde Plant Project

3.1.1. Scope
The project, designated as «Formaldehyde Plant», and which served as a base as a case
study, aimed at the execution and assembly of piping and supports in a factory. Its design was
elaborated using the harmonized standard EN 13480-1 (2017) which specifies the requirements
for industrial piping systems and supports, including safety systems, made of metallic materials
with the objective of guaranteeing safe operation. It is applicable to pipes above ground,
channeled or buried, regardless of pressure.
Figure 4 shows the 3D plan of the entire unit in which the company participated in the
execution and assembly of the piping, as mentioned above, as well as the monitoring and
assembly of some of the equipment.
522 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

As a result of the dimensioning of this new factory unit transmitted by the customer, a set
of 232 lines to be built by the company, grouped by the respective fluids to be transported, such
as Formaldehyde, Caustic (e.g., NaOH) Solution, Heat Transfer Fluid, Methanol, Urea, Process
Condensate, among others.
Due to the type of fluids to be transported inside the pipes, in addition to the physical
operating conditions (physical state, pressure and temperature), all lines were classified by risk
class, according to the requirements of the European directive 2014/68/EU (2014), for the
customer to be able to integrate with the unit set shown in Figure 4 and obtain their license with
the respective production authorization. Based on the PED directive assumptions, described
earlier, the following selection of modules resulted from the conformity assessment procedure
(Figure 5).

3.1.2. Basic Documentation

For the realization of this project and compilation of the respective construction dossier, a
set of documentation was provided by the client, namely:

 Piping distribution (example in Figure 6).

 List of lines with the respective service and project conditions (example in Table 1).
 Connections to the existing unit (Tie-ins).
 Isometric drawings.
 Drawings of the supports (primary and secondary).
 Other drawings and various details.

Figure 4. 3D Formaldehyde Project Plan.

 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 523

Figure 5. Module selection.

Figure 6. An example of pipe distribution.

This last point includes various information such as, for example, coding used in the
drawings, indications for the preparation of welding joints, indications for the application of
reinforcement in chipping, for the Non-Destructive Tests to be carried out, for the torque to be
applied screw, among others.
524 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Table 1. Line list: example of mechanical line designation

3.1.3. Service and Design Conditions

Given the high number of lines that make up this project, the following table shows the
ranges of the main characteristics of the pipes (Table 2).
All the characteristics of the respective pipes are identified as shown in Figure 6 where it
is possible to check the classification of each one of them based on the assumptions of the PED
directive and validated by a Notified Body.

3.1.4. Documentation
A construction dossier was prepared according to the standard EN 13480-5 (2017) which
includes drawings, traceability of the material with dimensions, final drawings (as-built),
material certificates, welding documentation, reports of the Non-Destructive Tests, reports of
pressure tests and declarations of conformity of the manufacture and assembly of the pipes.
Part of the welding documentation delivered is the welding plan that identifies all the welds
made and where the registration sheets filled out by the production are reported.

Table 2. Range of piping characteristics

Category Number Diameter range Operating pressure Operating

(2014/68/UE) of lines (nominal diameter) range temperature range
SEP/4.3 193 DN15 - DN500 Atmospheric - 28 bar Room temp. – 500°C
I 15 DN40 - DN800 Atmospheric - 28 bar Room temp. - 370°C
II 10 DN150 - DN350 Atmospheric - 28 bar 88°C - 310°C
III 14 DN150 - DN1000 0,5 bar - 24 bar 34°C - 300°C

3.2. Construction File

In addition to gathering all the necessary documentation to comply with the requirements
established in Directive 2014/68/EU (2014), the construction dossier prepared by the company
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 525

also aims to portray the production schedule. Its index, shown in Figure 7, indicates the
guidelines for the management of the work in the following sequence.
The dossier starts with the summary table where all the documents contained in it are
identified, that is, the list of construction documents is prepared.
Due to the considerable number of lines involved in this case study, line 50104-PG was
selected, classified according to the PED directive as being of risk class III, to present the
following points of the index in order to condense the information and to which the properties
identified in Table 3 are associated.

3.2.1. Drawings
All drawings were prepared by the client, except for the pipes that underwent changes and
for which the company carried out the final traces, called as-built drawings and inserted
together with the welding plan.

Figure 7. Construction dossier index.

Table 3. Properties of the 50104-PG line: SP – Service Pressure;

ST – Service Temperature

Test
SP Min./ ST Min./
Line DN Fluid Group Pressure Drawing
Max. (bar) Max. (ºC)
(bar)
50104-PG 1000 PG6 1 -0,08/1,5 0/100 2,5 50104-PG rev 6

The range of drawings for this project followed the philosophy previously described and
exemplified in the sequence of following images, for line 50104-PG (Figure 8).
526 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Figure 8. Piping plan with location of the 50104-PG line.

In addition to the plant with the location of all pipelines, the project office created a 3D
perspective for all fluid groups. In this concrete example, Figure 9 shows the set of lines
belonging to the PG group.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 527

Figure 9. PG system assembly with line identification 50104-PG.

528 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

All the pipes of the project presented in this case study comply with the principle presented
here in order to support both in their execution, as well as a basis for their assembly and were
an important instrument for the quality control of the works.

3.2.2. Inspection and Test Plan

The company’s Welding Quality Department carried out an Inspection and Test Plan with
the identification of the activities that will be carried out during the project, in accordance with
the standards identified by the customer. A test report/protocol was issued for each trial /test.
Test reports are used to monitor plan compliance and track results. As a general quality control
requirement, all inspections and test reports at least include the following:

 Date and revision of the document.

 Date of inspection or test.
 Project name and number.
 Identification of the Third-Party Entity and/or Notified Body that participated in the
project.
 Inspector’s name, date and signature and his stamp.
 Client’s name, date, and signature.
 Product identification and applicable specification section.
 Designation of the type of test/test.
 Results related to requirements.

Figure 10 presents the company’s model for the preparation of this vital document for the
monitoring of the work by all those involved, both the work management and the company’s
welding quality department, as well as for the Notified Body and the customer itself.

3.2.3. Traceability
Traceability is defined as the identity card of the work, where the company can demonstrate
the ability to ensure control throughout the production process and when the work is completed
at the customer. It started in the receipt of the materials, according to the Inspection and Test
Plan (ITP), where confirmation, validation and separation of certificates was made, listing the
materials received, the constituent products and the components through physical and/or
documentary evidence. After acceptance, the material was identified with the following
information, using handwritten marking, with a marker, according to the following
methodology:

 Order number/work number.

 Leakage number or heat number.
 Dimension (when possible).

The material was properly separated by quality, as well as by typology, to simplify the
process of preparing and executing the isometrics by the production teams (Figure 11).
Figure 10. Model of the company’s Inspection and Test Plan (ITP).
 530 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Figure 11.
Figure 11 - Traceability Traceability schedule.
schedule
To streamline the process, two log files were created, thus separating the material by its
quality, where MT-19.0073-SS identifies stainless steels and MT-19.0073-CS carbon steels.
An example is available in Table 4.
The choice of materials was defined in a dimensioning project, under the responsibility of
the customer. All materials for manufacture were of first quality, new, free from defects and of
the type and degree corresponding to the stipulated in the specification of the drawings,
complying with the requirements of standard EN 13480-2 (2017). The material certificates are
in accordance with standard EN 10204 (2004), type 3.1, to satisfy traceability according to the
requirements of the PED directive.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 531

Table 4. Material traceability

With Table 5, it is intended to summarize the materials involved in the present work.

Table 5. Materials applied

Type Material designation

Carbon steel S275JR
Carbon steel P235GH
Carbon steel P250GH
Carbon steel P265GH
Carbon steel P280GH
Carbon steel P355QH1
Carbon steel A234 WPB
Carbon steel 16Mo3
Carbon steel A105
Carbon steel A106
Stainless steel 1.4307 (SS304)
Stainless steel 1.4401 (SS316)
Stainless steel 1.4541 (SS321)

Once the 50104-PG line has been highlighted, it follows the list of the material, both parent
and filler, used in its construction, taken from document MT-19.0073-SS (Table 6), in which
the positions 164, 166 and 170 represent the applied filler material.
532 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Table 6. Traceability of the material used in line 50104-PG

No. Description Dimensions Material Standard Certificate No. Casting No.

33 Curve 90º 1016x5 1.4307 EN 10253-4 964-130287 138106
38 Flange Type DN25 1.4307 EN 10222-5 18-55494 J7256/1
11 PN40
79 Flange Type DN1000 1.4541 EN 10222-5 NF20181026039 18BM629
11 PN10
123 T Equal 1016 x 8.0 1.4307 EN 10253-4 964-130711 137970
137 Stainless 33.7 x 2.0 1.4307 EN 10217-7 180417P0175 VBK034606
Steel pipe
160 Stainless 1016 x 4.0 1.4307 EN 10217-7 Z0000710-2019 A2804214
Steel pipe
164 Solid Wire Ø1.0 G 19 9 LSi ISO14343-A 1019063305 8602777
166 Rod Ø2.0 W 19 12 3 LSi ISO14343-A 00678576 30268744
170 Rod Ø2.4 W 19 12 3 LSi ISO14343-A 00500751 8012253

3.2.4. Certificates of Materials and Specific Assessment

The standard EN 10204 (2004) defines the different types of inspection documents to be
made available to the buyer, according to a set of detailed technical requirements, relevant to
the order, declared in a type 3.1 certificate containing a declaration of conformity with the
order, including test results. As an example, the document referring to the Ø1016x4 [mm] tube
that was applied in line 50104-PG is shown in Figure 12.
Due to the market conditions for the purchase of materials, with the main decision factors
being the price and delivery time, their certificates did not always comply with harmonized
standards, so it was necessary to proceed with the preparation of a specific assessment of
materials with in order to guarantee the required specifications. It happened with TP316
stainless steel threaded couplings of ؽ in dimension, called nipples, applied in another line
of this same project, line 21105-PG.

3.2.5. Welding Procedure Specifications

The joints were prepared according to the requirements of standard EN 13480-4 (2017), as
previously described.
In accordance with the standard EN 13480-4 (2017), Welding Procedure Specifications
(WPS) were prepared according to ISO 15609-1 (2019).
The company carried out a quality control inspection, thus guaranteeing acceptable welds,
during the phases before, during and after its execution, implying the following tasks:

 Inspection before welding:

 Check the application of the correct materials.
 Check that the dimensions are within the tolerances, including position, alignment
and orientation of the cuts and accessories.
 Check the cleanliness and free from imperfections that may cause defects in the
joint.
 Check the correct adjustment of the bites to the curvature of the tube.
 Check that the weld drops are free from cracks or other defects.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 533

Figure 12. Example of material certificate type 3.1 according to EN 10204. Reproduced from
Cardoso (2020).

 Inspection during welding:

 Correct preheating.
534 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

 Correct welding process.

 Correct consumables.
 Correct electrical parameters.
 Other WPS requirements.
 Inspection after welding:
 Check compliance with the drawings.
 Check that the welds are correctly identified and associated with the welder who
performed them.
 Check that the temporary accessories have been properly removed.
 The oxides on the external surfaces in the welding area must be immediately
cleaned and any residue, splashes or splashes, etc. are removed.

The welding processes used in this work were, manual metal arc welding, MAG welding
with solid wire electrode, and TIG welding with solid filler material, namely, with the
designation according to ISO 4063 (2009), processes 111, 135 and 141, respectively .
In order to achieve and maintain repeatable quality standards in a welding process, it is
necessary to create a guideline, called the Welding Procedure Specification, which contains
certain variables that affect, directly or indirectly, the quality of the welding (French et al.,
2018). The important variables for a welding procedure and which must be included in the WPS
include, for example, the composition, class and thickness of the base material (s), welding
process (s), types of consumables and their characteristics, type of joint, welding position,
preheating temperature and between passes, current, voltage and welding speed, thermal
delivery, approximate number of passes, among others. In Figure 13 an extract from a document
used on site is presented.
The preparation of these documents took into account the materials involved, including
diameters and thicknesses, but it was also based on the qualification records of welding
procedures that the company has in order to avoid unnecessary costs for the work. Right after
the project was awarded, this set of documents, together with the Inspection and Test Plan
described above, was prepared by the Quality and Welding Department in order for the
company to ensure that the client complies with all the requirements required during the work,
namely welding and inspection activities. For risk class III piping, this documentation was
necessary to carry out the project type examination based on the technical documentation,
within the scope of module B (Design).
The specifications used for the construction of the 50104-PG line were the documents WPS
02-2018 Pic R1, WPS 06/18 R1, WPS 05-2019 and WPS 07-2019 R1.

3.2.6. Qualifications of Welding Procedures

A welding procedure is a specific path of actions to follow to perform the welding, which
indicates the welding process (s), basic materials, consumables, preparation, preheating (if
necessary), method and control of welding, heat treatment (if necessary) and the equipment to
be used for welding (Pereira and Melo, 2020). The adequacy of the welding processes must be
verified based on the approval of a welding procedure in accordance with Table 9.3.1-1 of the
standard EN 13480-4 (2017), which requires the registration of the welding procedure
qualification (WPQR - Welding Procedure Qualification Record) is in accordance with ISO
15614-1 (2017) and approved by a Notified Body.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 535

Figure 13. Welding procedure specification extract.

Figure 14. WPQR for the combined 141 + 111 process.

536 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

The results of the tests carried out on the test pieces must be placed in the WPQR, which
is referred to in the WPS. In this way, it is guaranteed that the WPS used in production are
qualified and comply with the established requirements.
Figure 14 highlights the range of approval of a procedure used in the present case study,
for the combined process 141 + 111, which, in practical terms, is the most relevant information
for selecting the appropriate procedures for the work.

3.2.7. Qualifications of Welders

The qualification of welders and welding operators is carried out observing all the
parameters and conditions established in the qualified WPS, followed by tests and examinations
of the test specimen. These comply with the requirements established by the standard EN 9606-
1 (2012). In practical terms, it is desirable that a weld is carried out efficiently, reflecting the
experience of the welder in the task (Pereira and Melo, 2020).
The qualification of welders aims to ensure that it dominates the welding process and the
materials involved, being able to produce quality welds. As with welding procedures, the range
of approval of welders’ qualifications must cover all applied materials as well as their
dimensions. These parameters and the document’s expiration date become the most relevant
information to consider, as highlighted in Figure 15.
The workforce involved in specific tasks is qualified and experienced. The qualifications
of welders are in strict accordance with the use of qualified procedures. The company made the
welders’ certificates available to the customer and guaranteed their biannual revalidation.
The main criterion for selecting welders for this project was the availability of manpower,
thus totaling eleven qualified men during the period of work.

Figure 15. Welder qualification for the combined process 141 + 111.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 537

3.2.8. NDT Operator Certificates

All inspections and tests specified in standard EN 13480-5 (2017) must be performed by
technicians experienced in the various methods used and have at least level 1, according to
standard ISO 9712 (2012), with supervision of personnel certified in level 2 or level 3, which
is responsible for interpreting the results.
For this purpose, the company has, on its staff, qualified technicians to perform the Visual
Inspection Tests (VT) and Penetrating Liquids (DP), interpret the results obtained and issue the
respective test protocols. For the remaining tests, subcontracting third-party entities were used,
qualified for this purpose, namely for Radiographic Tests (RT).

3.2.9. Non-Destructive Test Reports

The following non-destructive tests were carried out throughout the work:

 Visual inspection test in accordance with ISO 17637 (2016).

 Radiographic test in accordance with ISO 17636-1 (2013).
 Testing by Penetrating Liquids according to ISO 3452-1 (2013).
 All pipes were subjected to pressure testing.

The extent of the Non-Destructive Tests performed can be contemplated in the Inspection
and Test Plan, prepared by the company. About imperfections at the level of Visual Inspection,
the requirements of ISO 5817-C in general, and ISO 5817-B (ISO 5817, 2014) for high
temperature and applications subject to fatigue apply.
The specifications indicated that the selection of the welds to be tested was made by the
developer, however, the client left much of this choice to the company. Final welds (those that
could not be hydrostatically tested) should be subjected to 100% VT, as well as 100% RT or
100% DP. This situation was verified in the rupture discs, but as there are only corner welds,
the Radiographic Test was not performed, with the agreement of the client. All tests were
performed by technicians accredited in accordance with the PED directive.
For this selected line, the extension of the Non-Destructive Tests, defined and approved in
the ITP, encompassed the realization of the following methods:

 Visual Inspection Test at 100% of all welds.

 Testing by Penetrating Liquids at 100% of the final welds to the corner joints.
 Radiographic test at 5% of butt weld joints.
 Radiographic test at 100% of butt weld joints that could not be subjected to pressure
testing.

3.2.10. Welding Plan

This document Gathers all the information associated with each welding performed in the
project, namely the associated WPS, the qualified welder who performed it, the materials
involved, both parent and filler, and the inspections and tests carried out on it. It aims to validate
all requirements established in the ITP.
This mapping was created individually for each line, identifying all welds through
sequential numbering. The combination of this document with the traceability of materials,
538 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

mentioned above, allows to achieve the total traceability of the work, a requirement required
under the PED.
To exemplify the instructions for completing this welding plan, a schedule with the
activities developed is presented, having selected line 50104-PG for this purpose:

1. Identification of welds in the drawing (Figure 16): This activity started in the budgeting
phase, allowing to obtain an overview of the work to be carried out, as well as the
definition of manpower and means (cranes, scaffolding, etc.) necessary to comply with
the established deadlines. After the award, the preparation of the isometrics for the
production followed with the identification of the welds in the drawings. The definition
of the spools served to define the configurations of the sections to be manufactured,
considering what can be built in a workshop in order to be transported to the shipyard
and taking into account the possible constraints for its assembly.
2. Selection of qualified welders and WPS for construction: Through the diameters and
thicknesses of the materials involved in the line, the support WPS for the execution of
the welding, associated with a qualified procedure, as well as the qualified welders for
the purpose, were determined. This activity is defined by the Welding Quality
Department in conjunction with production. Figure 17 represents WPS and the welder
qualified for the welding identified as W3.
3. Identification and traceability of the parent and filler materials used: This step consists
of transposing the references contained in the traceability tables previously elaborated
to the welding plan. In this way and for each weld, it is identified what was welded
and which filler material used, respecting the indications of the Welding Procedure
Specifications.
4. Inspection and tests: This point establishes a relationship between the welds submitted
to Non-Destructive Tests and the respective reports that result from them. In this way,
the extension defined in the Inspection and Test Plan is ensured and, in case of repair,
the person performing the welding is immediately identified.

3.2.11. Pressure Test

Each pipeline built in accordance with EN 13480-4 (2017) must be subjected to a pressure
test to demonstrate the integrity of the construction. This must always be carried out under
controlled conditions, with the appropriate safety measures and equipment and in such a way
that the technicians responsible for the test can carry out adequate inspections of all parts under
pressure. The test must be a hydrostatic pressure test, except when it is harmful or
impracticable. In these situations, the procedure to be followed must be agreed at the design
stage with the proposal of alternatives such as the pneumatic test or a 100% Radiographic Test,
among others.
The entire piping system is tested after completion of assembly and when all inspections
are carried out. All joints must be without insulation, exempt from surface treatment and
accessible for inspections during the pressure test, except for pipes that, under this standard,
can be insulated or treated. The structures, not supplied by the construction company, must be
able to withstand the loads created by the pressure test. In general, this must be carried out with
water, the quality of which must prevent corrosion and any residual impurities.
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 539

Figure 16. Welding identification.

1016x4 pipe
1016x4 curve
1.4307 Material

WPS 07-2019 R1

Qualified Welder

Figure 17. WPS and qualified welder for W3 welding.

The piping system must be maintained at the test pressure for at least 30 minutes. A
thorough Visual Inspection Test must be carried out on all welds and the piping must not show
signs of deformation or leakage for it to be validated.
All the essential data of the pressure test must be included and approved in a test protocol,
in which it is possible to verify that the test has grouped several lines in order to save time and
540 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

thus allow the cost reduction with the inspection body. Figure 18 highlights the most relevant
information in the report.

3.2.12. Nameplate
All class I to III pipes must have a unique identification on the pipe itself or on a nameplate
that establishes the connection with a document containing information necessary for operation,
maintenance, and periodic inspections.

Figure 18. 50104-PG pressure test report.

Figure 19. 50104-PG line nameplate. Reproduced from Cardoso (2020).

 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 541

In the present case study, the documentation presented here fits into the global certification
of the entire unit, so the nameplates present only the parameters related to the piping and the
customer has given up on its application. However, for the purposes of validating the process
by the Notified Body, these have been prepared and introduced in the respective construction
dossier. Figure 19 represents the rating plate for risk class III piping, which includes the 50104-
PG line.

3.2.13. Declaration of Conformity

The EU declaration of conformity indicates that compliance with the essential safety
requirements has been demonstrated. In writing it, the company assumes responsibility for the
pipeline’s compliance with the requirements of Directive 2014/68/EU (2014). In accordance
with CEN/TR 13480-7 (2017), a declaration of conformity was issued for risk classes I to III
where, below the CE Marking, the Notified Body involved is identified. In the present case, for
modules under the company’s responsibility (module A2 in risk class II, module F in risk class
III), after satisfactory completion of the final assessment, the Notified Body issues an EC
certificate of conformity. It is recalled that module B (Design) was issued under the
responsibility of the customer.
Next are the CE certificate of conformity for line 50104-PG, risk class III and module F
(Figure 20), as well as the declaration of conformity where it is inserted (Figure 21).

Figure 20. CE certificate of conformity of module F for line 50104-PG. Cardoso (2020).
542 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

Figure 21. Declaration of CE conformity for risk class III pipes. Cardoso (2020).

CONCLUSION
To regulate markets that favor free movement, the European Union has created a legislative
framework based on the “new approach” of directives that defines the mandatory essential
requirements to ensure the health, safety and consumer protection, as well as the protection of
the consumer. environment, which each product must comply with before being made available
on the market.
The objective proposed for this work intended to present a methodology to be followed for
the manufacture and assembly of a pipe that complies with the requirements established in the
European directive 2014/68/EU for the provision of Pressure Equipment. It can be said that this
was accomplished once the company ensured the affixing of the CE marking. In this way, the
customer has in their possession all the documentation necessary to proceed with the licensing
and thus obtain authorization to produce for this new unit.
Despite the case study approached having specificities that are unique to it, the
methodology used can be adapted for another piping project, as well as for the construction of
a Pressure Equipment, such as a reservoir or a heat exchanger. To this end, all documentation
must be in line with the building code in force.
The key to the success of this project is essentially due to the creation of a multidisciplinary
team and its involvement in the preparation phase, thus allowing to ensure better management
of resources. The identification of the welds in each isometric, called rounded, allowed to obtain
an overview of the work to be developed as well as a projection of the manpower required to
meet the established deadlines. After ordering all the material, the period until its delivery
 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 543

allowed for several visits to the site in order to establish the necessary means for carrying out
the work, such as support container, type and volume of tools, cranes, scaffolding, among
others.
To ensure the design requirements, it was necessary, at this stage, to verify if the company
had the qualifications of procedures that would allow welding all the ranges of thicknesses and
diameters involved. It was also necessary to submit the Inspection and Test Plan, validated by
the Notified Body that accompanied the construction, to the client’s project office, and as such
establish the schedule of inspection activities to be followed both in the workshop and on the
construction site. Welding specifications were also prepared to be validated and which
supported the welders. It was ensured that all welders involved were certified before entering
the work if they did not have adequate qualifications.
Due to this great focus and commitment during the preparation, it was possible for the
person in charge of production and the Welding Quality Department to monitor the progress of
the works with greater rigor and allow better documentary reporting. For example, the
traceability of the material was carried out shortly after receipt, as well as the identification and
separation by type.
However, some adversities arose during the preparation of the construction dossier, mainly
with regard to the filling of the production sheets by the employees, thus making it difficult to
correctly identify the welders in relation to the built-in spools and consequent filling of the
welding notebook. Another less positive situation was related to the duration of the work over
several months, being sometimes subject to some movements of employees due to the exchange
for vacation reasons, reinforcement of work teams due to adverse weather conditions that led
to the suspension of activity, among others. This fact required the qualification of more welders,
which leads to an increase in cost. Finally, difficulties arose due to the conciliation of the Non-
Destructive Tests to be carried out, which sometimes forced the interruption of the work in
order to ensure safety conditions, such as, for example, in performing radiographic tests and
pressure tests.

FUNDING
This work was supported by the projects UIDB/00481/2020 and UIDP/00481/2020 - FCT
- Fundação para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia; and CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-022083 - Centro
Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Centro2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020
Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank Portuguese Institute for Quality for the authorization copyright
of the standards. These standards can be consulted in its entirety through the Portuguese
Institute for Quality.
544 A. B. Pereira, J. P. Cardoso and F. J. G. Silva

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 Quality Assessment in the Manufacture of a Pressure Piping by Welding 545

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Toivanen, J; Kah, P; Martikainen, J. “Quality Requirements and Conformity of Welded
Products in the Manufacturing Chain in Welding Network” Int. J. Mech. Eng. Appl., vol.
3, pp. 109-119, 2015. https://doi:10.11648/j.ijmea.20150306.12.
Ushakov, VM; Davydov, DM. “A review of international (ISO) and European (EN) standards
for the ultrasonic testing of welded joints” Russ. J. Nondestruct. Test., vol. 49, pp. 61-66,
2013. https://doi.org/10.1134/S1061830913020083.
Wojciech Cichoński; Jacek Słania, “Analysis of welding plans for the energy pipeline” Welding
Technology review, vol. 91, nº 2, 2019. https://doi.org/10.26628/wtr.v91i2.1022.
 ABOUT THE EDITORS

António Manuel de Bastos Pereira is PhD and BSc in Mechanical Engineering by

University of Aveiro (Portugal). Founding shareholder and Director of Martifer Group (ca.
3500 employees) (1990-1999) - was responsible for the planning and production of about 500
steel structures and industrial equipment with a total amount exceeding 100 million euros. Since
2000 he has been a professor and researcher at the University of Aveiro, where he held
management positions in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, as a member of the
Executive Committee. He is currently Director and Researcher at the Centre for Mechanical
Technology and Automation (TEMA), where he coordinates more than 200 researchers.
Recently, under its responsibility, TEMA received the highest rating and is included in the
National Roadmap of Research Infrastructures of Strategic Relevance (Category 1 - those that
have demonstrated high scientific potential and are considered to have high strategic regional
and / or national relevance). TEMA was also selected, under his coordination, to appear on the
European network of institutions considered to be relevant within the scope of KETs (Key
Enabling Technologies), being one of the 7 KET entities in Portugal. This network aims to help
small and medium-sized companies to accelerate the process of commercializing their most
innovative ideas, identifying partners of excellence in terms of research and technology transfer
to society. Key Enabling Technologies (advanced manufacturing technologies; advanced
materials, industrial biotechnology, nanotechnology, etc.) are those considered to be innovative
and with the potential to promote change in a variety of products and processes in traditional
and emerging industries. His main research areas focus on the study of materials and processes,
from mechanics of composite materials to welding, collaborating in 26 research projects, and
having been Principal Investigator for 15 of them. António Pereira has more than 70 papers
published in SCI journals and more than 40 papers presented in international conferences. His
h-index at Scopus is 22 with more than 1300 citations.
Email: [email protected]

Francisco José Gomes da Silva is PhD in Mechanical Engineering by Faculty of

Engineering, University of Porto, MSc in Mechanical Engineering – Materials and
Manufacturing Processes by Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, BSc in Mechanical
Engineering – Industrial Management by School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto. He has
also a Post-Graduation in Materials and Manufacturing Processes by Faculty of Engineering,
University of Porto. He is currently Head of the Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at
548 About the Editors

School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto, position occupied since 2014. He also was Head
of the Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Superior School of Industrial Studies
and Management, Polytechnic of Porto, from 2003 to 2006. He has supervised some PhD
students at Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, as well as more than 150 students at
School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto. Moreover, he co-supervised more than 60 MSc
students at School of Engineering, Polytechnic of Porto and Faculty of Engineering, University
of Porto. He has more than 200 papers published in peer-reviewed SCOPUS journals and more
than 125 presentations in International Conferences. He is member of the Editorial Board of
the scientific journals as Journal of Advanced Joining Processes (ELSEVIER) Coatings
(MDPI), SOLIDS (MDPI) and ENCYCLOPEDIA (MDPI). He has reviewed more than 400
papers for reputed journals with high impact factor, such as Journal of Cleaner Production,
Composites Part A, Wear, Surface and Coatings Technology, Metals, Materials, Coatings,
Journal of Materials – Design and Applications, amongst many others. He is usually member
of the Scientific Committee of some International Conferences, such as FAIM – Flexible
Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing, MESIC – Manufacturing Engineering Society
International Conference, among others. He has conducted some Special Issues in MDPI
journals, such as Coatings and Metals. Moreover, he has conducted some national and
international research projects involving other academic institutions and companies. He has a
strong linkage to the Industry, due to his past linked to Industrial Sector, having been founder,
owner and manager of a company in the electric sector for 18 years. His h-index at Scopus is
24 with more than 1900 citations.
Email: [email protected]
 INDEX

Al-steel interface, 266, 267, 268, 269, 280, 283, 284

# aluminium, vi, 4, 6, 53, 54, 70, 91, 108, 110, 111,
112, 122, 124, 129, 130, 131, 133, 135, 138, 140,
15% rule, 221
146, 147, 148, 153, 165, 166, 168, 170, 173, 174,
175, 219, 222, 232, 235, 237, 239, 241, 242, 245,
A 247, 253, 255, 256, 257, 259, 260, 262, 263, 264,
265, 267, 268, 269, 270, 272, 273, 274, 276, 280,
abnormal grain growth (AGG), 205, 206 286, 287, 288, 289, 290, 291, 293, 294, 295, 296,
abutment, 244, 245, 247, 250, 252, 254, 256, 257, 298, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 312,
258 313, 314, 358, 359, 361, 367, 426, 427, 430, 431,
accumulated strain, 265 450, 459, 460, 461, 462, 463, 464
activation energy, 27, 31 aluminium alloy(s), vi, 70, 138, 140, 146, 147, 166,
additive manufacturing, 44, 214, 224, 237, 239, 284, 168, 170, 173, 175, 232, 235, 237, 247, 259, 269,
285, 287, 288, 289, 349 287, 290, 291, 293, 294, 295, 296, 301, 302, 303,
adhesive bonding, 121, 138, 159, 160, 161, 169, 173, 304, 305, 306, 307, 312, 313, 314, 361, 426, 431,
228, 294 459, 460, 461, 462, 463
advanced high strength steels (AHSS), v, 71, 72, 73, aluminum, v, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55,
74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 64, 65, 69, 75, 78, 80, 87, 99, 101, 102, 103, 106,
87, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 95, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 115, 118, 121, 122, 123,
103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112, 113 124, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137,
advancing side (AS), 145, 146, 148, 151, 158, 164, 138, 140, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 154, 155, 157,
165, 166, 181, 187, 188, 189, 192, 196, 200, 207, 158, 160,161, 168, 169, 170, 172, 173, 175, 179,
232, 237, 239, 260, 261, 265, 267, 271, 281, 289, 180, 181, 183, 191, 192, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202,
299, 300, 428, 441, 452, 455, 456 203, 208, 209, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218,
Alclad, 161, 293, 295, 298, 299, 301, 306, 308, 309, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224, 228, 229, 232, 233, 234,
312 235, 312, 313, 314, 458, 459
alloy, 4, 6, 7, 10, 15, 16, 20, 22, 32, 33, 34, 41, 43, aluminum alloys, v, 41, 42, 46, 53, 69, 99, 101, 121,
45, 46, 47, 50, 52, 53, 54, 69, 70, 72, 79, 80, 81, 137, 138, 140, 147, 148, 161, 168, 172, 179, 180,
102, 103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 117, 181, 183, 192, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 208, 209,
119, 121, 123, 124, 128, 129, 131, 133, 134, 136, 212, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 232, 234
137, 148, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 158, 160, 161, analytical modelling, 315
168, 169, 170, 172, 174, 175, 177, 183, 188, 191, applications, v, 1, 4, 5, 44, 46, 47, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57,
192, 193, 194, 198, 199, 200, 201, 203, 208, 209, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 78, 79, 80, 81, 92, 93,
211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 217, 218, 232, 233, 234, 95, 98, 99, 102, 105, 107, 109, 111, 115, 116,
235, 289, 293, 295, 301, 304, 305, 308, 312, 313, 118, 121, 131, 132, 133, 142, 147, 149, 152, 155,
314, 347, 354, 359, 363, 364, 366, 367, 422, 426, 165, 167, 168, 179, 180, 209, 210, 211, 216,
431, 435, 437, 458, 459, 460, 462, 503, 504 218,220, 234, 237, 242, 250, 251, 275, 287, 288,
550 Index

290, 294, 313, 347, 353, 359, 370, 372, 377, 389, chromium-equivalent, 9
390, 391, 393, 395, 426, 431, 432, 460, 463, 464, cold metal transfer (CMT), 79, 94, 97, 98, 102, 106,
466, 537, 548 112
arc welding, 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 35, 38, 76, 79, 93, 99, 115, cold pressure welding, 237, 239, 240, 287
129, 134, 233, 240, 252, 349, 353, 369, 390, 422, cold roll bonding, 239, 262
503, 504 complex phase (CP), 71, 72, 74, 325, 491, 498
artificial neural networks (ANN), 359, 425, 427, 443, contact pressure, 238, 262
454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 460 continuous extrusion, 237, 238, 241, 245, 287, 290
as-deposited structure, 285 continuous rotary extrusion, 243, 244, 246, 254, 259
austenite, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, contour plots, 272
31, 38, 63, 73, 76, 85, 90, 327, 328, 329, 330, control, 1, iii, vi, 2, 42, 45, 46, 58, 61, 63, 66, 68, 76,
331, 332, 333, 334, 341, 342, 346 95, 101, 113, 129, 140, 141, 151, 152, 157, 177,
austenitic stainless steel, 4, 15, 16, 18, 33, 35, 36, 37, 210, 216, 224, 242, 248, 252, 253, 313, 318, 367,
38, 39, 72, 120, 134, 136, 171, 355, 359, 366, 462 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 378, 381, 382, 385, 389,
automotive industry, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 80, 87, 101, 390, 401, 402, 429, 434, 437, 442, 455, 456, 461,
105, 108, 113, 180, 181, 209, 395 463,465, 470, 473, 488, 500, 501, 506, 508, 509,
510, 513, 514, 516, 520, 521, 528, 532, 534
cooling rate, 2, 7, 15, 21, 22, 63, 73, 76, 82, 88, 125,
B 149, 151, 152, 154, 329, 330, 352, 353, 354, 359,
362, 368, 369, 427
backing plate, 181, 184, 216, 260, 261, 264, 265, copper, 4, 10, 54, 63, 65, 67, 97, 112, 126, 130, 133,
266, 272, 274, 437 135, 140, 157, 177, 216, 287, 290, 431, 463
bobbin-tool friction stir welding (BTFSW), 181 corrosion strength, 2
boiler, 465, 466, 467, 469, 470, 471, 472, 475, 476, current, v, 3, 7, 42, 45, 47, 57, 58, 62, 63, 65, 67, 68,
477, 480, 481, 485, 489, 492, 495, 496, 500, 502, 78, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86, 106, 109, 112, 116, 129,
503, 506 130, 211, 219, 220, 224, 225, 226, 231, 245, 246,
bond strength, 262, 264, 267, 268, 269, 285, 290 247, 248, 274, 276, 288, 330, 360, 396, 432, 465,
bonding, v, 2, 42, 103, 108, 112, 120, 121, 123, 124, 466, 468, 474, 491, 509, 534
131, 132, 135, 158, 159, 160, 161, 167, 174, 228, cut welding, 263, 290
230, 231, 232, 234, 235, 237, 240, 242, 248, 260,
262, 263, 264, 265, 267, 268, 269, 279, 280, 281,
289, 290, 291, 293, 295, 303, 306, 308, 309 D
bonding ligament, 293, 295, 303, 306, 308, 309
butt joint, 55, 88, 91, 93, 110, 158, 168, 181, 218, Darken-Gurry map, 222
224, 261, 275, 280, 287, 289, 363, 422, 460 DeLong, William Thomas, 4, 9, 10, 35
dendrite, 13, 63, 359
deposition, 6, 117, 138, 165, 175, 217, 279, 284,
C 285, 349, 393, 395, 399, 401, 402, 417, 420
diagram, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 25,
carbon, 3, 4, 6, 10, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 32, 70, 72, 32, 34, 36, 39, 43, 94, 97, 104, 118, 123, 222,
73, 78, 79, 83, 93, 120, 149, 150, 151, 157, 161, 223, 288, 324, 328, 330, 334, 353, 371
168, 169, 170, 171, 176, 177, 291, 328, 345, 346, diffusion model, 238, 269
353, 354, 358, 421, 464, 474, 481, 530, 531 diffusivity, 18, 46, 63, 126, 221, 274, 317, 434
CE marking, 465, 502, 505, 506, 507, 508, 509, 511, direct extrusion, 243
512, 514, 516, 520, 521, 541, 542, 545 discontinuities, 83, 164, 188, 189, 191, 302, 308,
CE marking in welded piping, 505 309, 434
CFD-based heat transfer and fluid flow modeling, dissimilar alloys, 107, 183, 188, 200, 215, 234, 237,
358 289, 294
Charpy-V Notch, 277 dissimilar materials, v, vii, 1, 32, 33, 58, 63, 64, 67,
chemical composition, 2, 7, 32, 34, 77, 79, 241, 296, 71, 80, 106, 112, 113, 122, 138, 141, 156, 159,
377, 470, 474, 475, 481 172, 179, 180, 213, 233, 295, 425, 431
chromium, 2, 4, 7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, dissimilar metals, 70, 106, 234, 237, 240, 270, 273,
22, 23, 24, 25, 38, 146, 149, 181 280, 461
chromium nitride, 22, 23, 24, 38 dissimilar metals joining, 240, 273, 280
 Index 551

dissimilar welds/welding, v, 64, 65, 67, 109, 138, 218, 277, 278, 291, 295, 302, 308, 313, 314, 352,
148, 179, 211, 219, 220, 223, 232, 234, 235, 280, 353, 370,371, 391, 430, 431, 458, 460, 461, 537
281 fatigue crack propagation (FCP), 174, 203
dissolution, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 35, 36, 44, 52, 97, fatigue properties, 79, 92, 107, 113, 154, 201, 213,
104, 124, 125, 134, 149, 193, 194, 198, 199, 205, 215, 217, 277, 278, 279, 461
208, 308 fatigue strength, 90, 92, 95, 126, 154, 158, 159, 160,
distortion control, 370, 385, 386 161, 201, 203, 278, 371, 431, 460
divergent extrusion, 239, 262 fatigue testing, 45, 277
double pulse, 85, 86, 107, 109 features, 47, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 67, 68, 86, 128,
down-flow, 261, 265, 267 144, 150, 151, 164, 167, 182, 191, 220, 237, 241,
dual phase (DP), 71, 72, 74, 76, 77, 78, 79, 87, 88, 267, 287, 295, 353, 371, 461, 471
91, 92, 99, 102, 107, 108, 110, 111, 113, 537 ferrite, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21,
ductile-to-brittle transition temperature, 18 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 31, 32, 34, 36, 63, 73, 77, 89,
duplex stainless steel, 5, 7, 21, 23, 26, 33, 34, 35, 36, 91, 101, 151, 327, 329, 330, 332, 334, 342, 368
37, 38, 39 ferritic, 1, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 25, 33,
34, 35, 37, 38, 77, 355, 365, 459, 503
ferritic stainless steel, 35, 37, 38, 459
E filler metal, 2, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 20, 21, 22, 32, 33,
34, 44, 80, 81, 93, 95, 96, 98, 99, 109, 112, 118,
electro slag welding, 4, 7 119, 120, 121, 130, 226, 227, 229, 237, 239, 240,
electrode, 3, 6, 59, 67, 79, 81, 86, 87, 129, 130, 134, 241, 256, 287, 474, 481
423, 534 filler metal additions, 237
electromagnetic pulse welding, 4, 37
electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), 89, 187,
191, 192, 195, 196, 216, 289 fi
electron beam welding, v, 4, 6, 45, 57, 58, 59, 61, 65,
66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 353, 361, 362, 363, 364, 366, filler wire, 245
367
electronegativity, 222
embrittlement, 16, 17, 19, 20, 153 F
energy efficiency, 81, 211, 252, 272, 287, 426
enthalphy, 229 fillet welding, 280, 393
equilibrium, 9, 25, 26, 27, 29, 222, 223, 246, 348 finite element, 91, 132, 134, 239, 256, 346, 347, 348,
extrudate, 238, 241, 254, 285 351, 353, 360, 362, 363, 364, 369, 370, 372, 374,
extruder design, 246, 250 376, 389, 390, 391, 393, 394, 395, 397, 398, 401,
extruder head, 237, 241, 245, 250, 287 402, 408, 414, 415, 416, 417, 420, 421, 422, 423,
extruder temperature, 249 468
extrusion chamber, 238, 245, 246, 247, 248, 253, finite element analysis, 347, 348, 351, 362, 363, 364,
256, 257, 258, 259 370, 374, 391, 393, 421, 423, 468
extrusion pressure, 238, 244, 247, 248, 257 finite element modeling (FEM) techniques, 319, 322,
extrusion pressure build-up zone, 247, 248 352, 353, 354, 357, 359, 362, 367, 421, 423, 459
extrusion tool, 268 flash formation, 165, 254, 255
extrusion zone, 239, 261 flow stress, 84, 92, 138, 188, 232, 239, 244, 247,
259, 305
fluid flow, 315, 323, 324, 326, 351, 355, 358, 359,
F 363, 365, 366, 372
flux cored arc welding, 6
face centered cubic, 221 force, 25, 81, 127, 130, 132, 139, 143, 145, 148, 155,
failure mode(s), 82, 83, 84, 85, 98, 101, 112, 113, 156, 157, 158, 160, 164, 175, 176, 177, 181, 182,
119, 126, 130, 160, 280, 300, 390 183, 184, 211, 228, 229, 238, 244, 245, 246, 247,
fatigue, 45, 54, 79, 81, 85, 90, 91, 92, 95, 97, 105, 257, 260, 262, 429, 452, 518, 542
106, 107, 111, 112, 113, 126, 135, 136, 138, 154, formaldehyde plant, 505, 521
158, 159, 160, 161, 166, 169, 170, 171, 173, 174, formation, 3, 7, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23,
181, 201, 202, 203, 204, 206, 213, 214, 215, 217, 25, 31, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 47, 54, 64, 78, 79, 80,
552 Index

83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 91, 94, 97, 99, 101, 102, 103, grip length, 246, 247
104, 105, 109, 110, 112, 123, 126, 143, 152, 154, groove, 38, 129, 165, 166, 237, 238, 241, 242, 245,
163, 164, 168, 175, 187, 189, 191, 199, 211, 213, 248, 252, 253, 254, 255, 259, 260, 261, 262, 264,
216, 219, 223, 229, 230, 233, 240, 252, 255, 261, 265, 266, 268, 269, 275, 287, 358, 360, 394, 445,
262, 267, 268, 269, 280, 282, 287, 290, 291, 305, 486, 489, 496
312, 330, 355, 363, 364, 367, 368, 421, 459 groove fill factor, 238, 255
fracture, 5, 13, 18, 73, 80, 82, 84, 89, 91, 92, 94, 95, groove filling, 238, 248, 252, 253, 254, 255
96, 98, 100, 102, 103, 106, 107, 110, 111, 118, groove filling ratio, 248
120, 121, 123, 124, 126, 130, 131, 138, 147, 148, gross heat input, 238, 252, 282
169, 170, 171, 173, 182, 190, 191, 199, 200, 201, gross power input, 238, 252, 253
203, 206, 215, 217, 223, 276, 280, 295, 299, 300,
301, 302,313, 314, 362, 430, 493
fracture location, 84, 91, 199, 200, 276, 493 H
fracture toughness, 18, 82, 84, 111, 147, 182, 203
friction coefficient, 184, 244, 435 hardened zone (HZ), 88
Friction Spot Welding (FSpW), 104, 175, 312 hardness, 41, 47, 50, 52, 58, 63, 71, 77, 82, 84, 85,
friction stir additive manufacturing (FSAM), 211 86, 88, 89, 90, 92, 95, 99, 109, 111, 125, 127,
friction stir channelling, 138, 162, 163, 164, 167, 177 128, 129, 140, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 154, 158,
friction stir lap welding (FSLW), 104, 105, 140, 172, 192, 194, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 204, 206,
173, 180 223, 229, 275, 276, 296, 348, 354, 425, 426, 427,
friction stir processing, v, 137, 138, 165, 166, 167, 442, 443, 458, 493, 494
168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 178, 181, heat affected zone (HAZ), 4, 6, 7, 9, 16, 17, 18, 20,
217 22, 23, 24, 33, 34, 35, 38, 42, 46, 50, 63, 64, 68,
friction stir scribe welding, 239, 268 76, 77, 79, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95,
friction stir spot welding (FSSW), 80, 81, 99, 100, 96, 97, 99, 101, 107, 110, 125, 127, 128, 147,
102, 103, 104, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113, 154, 155, 148, 149, 150, 153, 187, 192, 194, 195, 196, 197,
160, 161, 167, 169, 180, 181, 239, 268, 293, 294, 198, 199, 200, 203, 208, 216, 240, 252, 271, 275,
308, 309, 313, 314 276, 277, 280, 299, 301, 302, 304, 306, 308, 309,
frictional drag force, 253 349, 353, 354, 359, 361, 364, 367, 370, 373, 395,
fusion welding, 1, 5, 16, 26, 45, 57, 59, 70, 76, 102, 409, 427, 428, 429, 443, 456, 457, 458, 494, 499
138, 140, 141, 153, 160, 179, 180, 207, 210, 240, heat conduction, 15, 272, 315, 317, 320, 324, 354,
253, 279, 287, 295, 309, 323, 366, 422, 426, 545 430
fusion zone, 2, 7, 12, 15, 16, 17, 20, 22, 26, 34, 36, heat flow model, 238, 270, 271, 272, 316
47, 50, 58, 63, 76, 82, 84, 88, 89, 93, 97, 113, heat generation, 79, 152, 155, 156, 157, 179, 181,
228, 235, 240, 328, 354, 369, 373, 380 184, 185, 192, 217, 252, 290, 348, 356, 394, 461,
future scope, v, 57, 58, 68, 360 462
heat input, 7, 8, 16, 18, 22, 39, 41, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51,
52, 53, 58, 68, 76, 79, 83, 86, 88, 89, 91, 93, 94,
G 95, 96, 97, 104, 137, 139, 141, 150, 161, 164,
166, 185, 186, 190, 194, 196, 197, 199, 200, 203,
gas metal arc welding (GMAW), 5, 6, 71, 76, 77, 78, 206, 207, 212, 218, 224, 229, 253, 265, 279, 307,
79, 80, 81, 88, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 101, 102, 359, 369,373, 386, 390, 400, 429, 436, 445, 461,
106, 107, 109, 110, 113, 237, 240, 241, 247, 279, 481
287, 288, 345, 346, 353, 354, 358, 361, 367, 368 heat source(s), 6, 75, 76, 124, 156, 157, 224, 270,
gas tungsten arc welding, 4, 5, 45, 347, 359, 544 272, 315, 316, 317, 318, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324,
Gibbs energy of compound, 229 344, 345, 346, 351, 352, 354, 356, 357, 358, 360,
Gibbs-Thompson (effect), 27 362, 363, 364, 365, 373, 374, 435
GMAW-Brazing (GMAW-B), 71, 80, 81, 95, 96, 97, heat treatable alloys, 180, 193, 194, 199, 201, 204,
98, 101, 102, 110 208
grain boundary (diffusion), 31 heat-affected zone, 2, 5, 37, 42, 44, 45, 52, 88, 89,
grain growth, 7, 17, 34, 44, 76, 150, 192, 205, 206, 90, 97, 112, 125, 240, 354, 370, 373, 395, 427,
213, 359 428, 431
grain size, 19, 77, 85, 166, 177, 191, 192, 203, 206, heating, 2, 7, 18, 22, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 42, 43,
308, 358, 359, 367, 431 44, 76, 77, 80, 131, 146, 147, 149, 154, 155, 156,
 Index 553

167, 204, 211, 245, 252, 256, 284, 294, 308, 315,
321, 327, 329, 331, 333, 334, 348, 355, 370, 394, J
425, 427, 428, 430, 432, 440, 443, 450, 452, 457,
Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (equation), 22,
458, 464, 470
26, 36, 85
hexagonal closed packed, 221
joining processes, 58, 99, 115, 132, 137, 153, 262,
high power density welding, 1, 6
290, 548
hook, 103, 104, 109, 110, 145, 146, 154, 158, 160,
joint efficiency, 89, 96, 99, 158, 160, 161, 199, 276
172, 295, 299, 302, 305, 312, 343
hot cracking, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 45, 91, 101,
474 K
housing temperature, 249, 256
Hume-Rothery rules of solubility, 221, 222 keyhole, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 53, 54, 55, 104, 113,
hybrid, v, 45, 53, 57, 66, 67, 69, 102, 106, 138, 156, 142, 144, 209, 309, 313, 346, 349, 357, 360, 365,
157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 163, 164, 167, 168, 169, 366, 368, 372, 391, 428, 438
170, 173, 174, 177, 211, 219, 224, 228, 233, 234, kissing bond, 149, 190, 277, 299, 305
235, 237, 241, 287, 289, 290, 291, 347, 349, 354,
358, 366, 368, 390, 391, 395, 397, 401, 417
hybrid friction stir welding, 138, 173, 233 L
hybrid metal extrusion & bonding, 237, 241, 287,
289, 290, 291 lap joint, 44, 80, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 110, 112,
hybrid welding, 45, 159, 219, 224, 233, 235, 347, 125, 127, 128, 138, 145, 146, 160, 161, 168, 170,
354, 358, 366, 368, 391 171, 173, 175, 181, 224, 228, 234, 235, 268, 390,
hydrogen, 17, 19, 20, 38, 76, 153, 294, 353, 365, 481 391, 461
laser beam welding, v, 4, 6, 41, 42, 44, 45, 49, 52,
127, 240, 279, 354, 358
I laser brazing welding (LBW), 4, 5, 6, 7, 42, 45, 46,
58, 59, 80, 98, 101, 102, 240, 279, 355, 358, 368
IMC layer, 160, 229, 239, 267, 268, 269, 270, 280, laser heat treatment (LHT), 90, 110
282, 283 laser weld bonding, 224, 228, 234, 235
impact toughness, 20, 173, 277 laser welding (LW), vi, 16, 35, 37, 38, 41, 46, 53, 54,
incompatibility, 219, 220, 221, 232 55, 71, 77, 78, 79, 80, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93,
indirect extrusion, 243 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 125, 128, 133,
industrialization, 180 219, 220, 224, 225, 226, 228, 229, 232, 233, 234,
interface, 2, 17, 44, 52, 78, 79, 80, 96, 97, 99, 101, 235, 283, 289, 318, 364, 365, 366, 369, 370, 371,
102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 113, 119, 120, 124, 130, 372, 373, 374, 375, 377, 378, 379, 381, 388, 389,
131, 145, 148, 160, 173, 184, 185, 223, 230, 231, 390, 391
232, 239, 261, 262, 267, 268, 269, 270, 274, 282, Laves, 16, 222, 234
283, 285, 291, 300, 301, 306, 309, 319, 326, 347, layer thickness, 160, 268, 269, 270
371, 426, 435, 461 liquid metal embrittlement (LME), 86, 87, 108, 109,
interfacial cracking, 240, 280 111
interlayers, 87, 224, 229
intermetallic, 7, 22, 23, 28, 36, 39, 78, 80, 96, 97,
103, 104, 106, 112, 120, 121, 122, 123, 130, 149, M
160, 219, 222, 223, 235, 240, 267, 289, 290, 291
intermetallic compound (IMC), 78, 80, 96, 97, 99, machine learning, 213, 351, 359, 360, 364, 367
101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 120, 121, 122, 123, 130, machine learning algorithm (MLA)-based modeling,
160, 222, 223, 229, 232, 235, 239, 240, 267, 268, 359
269, 270, 280, 282, 283, 287, 290, 291 magnesium, v, 54, 75, 78, 80, 101, 121, 126, 140,
intermetallic precipitates, 7 153, 160, 169, 170, 180, 188, 192, 219, 220, 221,
interpass temperature, 8, 18, 22, 25 222, 224, 229, 232, 233, 234, 235, 312, 314, 364,
IR detectors, 438, 439, 440 426, 431, 459, 460, 461
isokinetic, 269, 270 manual metal arc welding, 5, 503, 534
isokinetic diffusion model, 270 manufacturing, vii, 37, 38, 39, 44, 45, 46, 53, 54, 57,
isotherms, 16, 270, 272, 273, 274, 316, 379 60, 64, 66, 69, 70, 74, 76, 79, 83, 88, 92, 93, 95,
554 Index

98, 106, 108, 109, 111, 112, 115, 116, 117, 122, 447, 448, 453, 456, 457, 458, 459, 462, 501, 528,
124, 132, 133, 134, 135, 138, 157, 162, 165, 166, 529
167, 168, 169, 170, 173, 174, 176, 177, 206, 209, modelling, vi, 1, 26, 31, 34, 36, 37, 39, 53, 84, 85,
213, 214, 217, 219, 234, 235, 274, 288, 289, 291, 91, 93, 108, 116, 131, 170, 180, 212, 213, 214,
293, 312, 313, 351, 352, 360, 361, 362, 363, 367, 217, 256, 269, 290, 291, 314, 315, 316, 319, 320,
368, 369, 390, 391, 421, 459, 466, 467, 468, 469, 324, 341, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349, 362, 363,
470, 473, 481, 498, 500, 502, 507, 508, 510, 545, 365, 366, 368, 390, 393, 394, 397, 423, 459, 462
547 models, 26, 83, 185, 187, 211, 315, 316, 320, 321,
martensite, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 63, 73, 76, 79, 82, 84, 323, 344, 345, 353, 354, 356, 357, 358, 359, 361,
85, 86, 88, 89, 91, 99, 101, 106, 108, 151, 152, 362, 393, 394, 397, 400, 403, 407, 420, 427, 443,
327, 330, 331, 332, 342, 346, 370 457
martensitic and duplex steels, 1 molybdenum, 7, 13, 22, 23, 146, 147, 153, 181
martensitic stainless steel, 7, 20, 36, 38 moving dies, 241, 245, 250, 257, 259
material flow, 140, 153, 156, 162, 164, 172, 173, multi material lightweight vehicle, 220
176, 179, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, multi-beam, 57, 67, 69
189, 190, 192, 196, 214, 242, 260, 261, 264, 265, multifunctional metal matrix composites, 138, 167
266, 302, 430 multi-material Al-Cu-Ti-Fe joint, 281, 283
material flow pattern, 162, 242, 260, 261, 264, 265, multi-material joining, 237, 280, 282, 287, 288
266 multi-materials structures, 75
material position, 184 multi-pass welding, 8, 18, 22, 25, 39, 237, 279, 287,
material velocity fields, 257 327, 331, 332, 334, 354, 363
mating interfaces, 262, 285
maximum slope of the heating curve (MSHC), 440,
441, 443, 450, 451, 452, 453, 455, 456, 457, 458 N
maximum temperature (Tmax), 334, 375, 440, 441,
450, 451, 452, 457 nanocrystals, 268
mechanical behaviour, 34, 106, 116, 171, 213, 452, necking, 258, 277, 280
458 net power input, 238, 253, 270, 272, 273
mechanical engineering, 41, 57, 70, 293, 351, 361, nickel-equivalent, 9
393, 465, 505, 547 nitrogen, 3, 5, 7, 10, 18, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 33, 34,
mechanical interlocking, 103, 161, 230, 231, 267, 35, 39, 76, 125, 153
268, 280 non-destructive tests, 441, 442, 484, 485, 487, 493,
metal foams, v, 115, 116, 117, 118, 121, 125, 129, 498, 499, 500, 523, 524, 537, 538, 543
130, 131, 132, 133, 134 nugget size, 83, 84, 85, 86, 109
metallic bonding, 237, 241, 262, 263, 265, 287 numerical modelling, 179, 315, 323, 328, 423
metallurgy, 34, 35, 57, 71, 73, 121, 214, 216, 219, numerical simulation, vi, 16, 185, 207, 319, 333,
233, 234, 290, 312, 314, 344, 345, 347, 348, 365 351, 352, 355, 358, 360, 361, 369, 394, 400, 402,
Micro-EBW, 57, 66, 67, 68, 69 421, 422, 427
microhardness, 77, 82, 83, 84, 88, 94, 100, 125, 127,
150, 196, 197, 198, 201, 205, 208, 209, 460 O
microstructural evolution, 35, 71, 72, 75, 93, 106,
120, 179, 180, 185, 187, 191, 194, 196, 205, 208, overaging, 193, 198
215, 217 oxide dispersion, 242, 265
microstructure modeling, 359
model, 16, 26, 27, 28, 31, 35, 36, 53, 73, 83, 85, 91,
97, 99, 131, 132, 169, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, P
207, 217, 244, 256, 258, 259, 260, 269, 270, 272,
273, 290, 298, 316, 321, 322, 323, 324, 326, 327, parameters, 9, 22, 25, 26, 33, 35, 43, 47, 53, 58, 62,
346, 347, 352, 354, 356, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 63, 68, 83, 85, 88, 116, 128, 131, 134, 135, 139,
363, 364, 365, 366, 369, 372, 373, 375, 379, 385, 140, 145, 148, 155, 162, 169, 175, 181, 189, 196,
389, 393, 394, 395, 397, 398, 400, 401, 402, 408, 203, 205, 224, 232, 234, 245, 247, 252, 253, 282,
414, 417, 418, 419, 420, 421, 427, 436, 442, 443, 293, 295, 296, 297, 299, 301, 302, 308, 309, 312,
313, 314, 346, 351, 354, 358, 359, 364, 365, 369,
 Index 555

370, 371, 373, 378, 389, 395, 397, 400, 401, 420,
421, 422, 425, 427, 429, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438, Q
440, 442, 443, 452, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 461,
quality, vi, vii, ix, 3, 4, 6, 34, 41, 42, 44, 46, 47, 50,
480, 481, 519, 534, 536, 541
52, 58, 62, 66, 67, 68, 69, 78, 80, 81, 83, 98, 99,
peak temperature, 22, 76, 80, 130, 151, 152, 193,
102, 115, 122, 129, 130, 132, 135, 141, 152, 153,
198, 207, 238, 269, 270, 272, 408
154, 155, 156, 157, 168, 201, 211, 219, 224, 274,
phase change, 20, 315, 317, 323, 324, 325, 329, 331,
285, 288, 293, 296, 306, 309, 323, 327, 330, 353,
332, 345, 352, 353
358, 359, 365, 390, 396, 401, 422, 425, 426, 427,
phase transformation, 18, 20, 27, 34, 43, 76, 151,
430, 431, 434, 440, 441, 442, 449, 450, 457, 458,
289, 315, 318, 320, 327, 330, 332, 333, 334, 340,
460, 462, 465, 473, 474, 479, 482, 483, 485, 486,
347, 348, 374, 421
492, 502, 503, 505, 507, 510, 511, 512, 513, 514,
phenomenological model, 351, 353, 358, 361, 442
519, 520, 521, 528, 530, 532, 534, 536, 538, 543,
phosphorus, 12, 13, 85, 91
544, 545
physical simulation, 199, 218
pin, 103, 123, 124, 139, 141, 142, 143, 145, 147,
148, 153, 168, 169, 175, 181, 182, 183, 186, 187, R
189, 190, 216, 230, 232, 241, 245, 249, 250, 251,
252, 257, 260, 261, 264, 265, 266, 268, 269, 270, recrystallization, 20, 21, 76, 147, 187, 191, 192, 196,
274, 279, 280, 294, 296, 305, 306, 308, 430, 435, 197, 209, 328, 431
438, 458,461 redundant frictional work, 252, 259
pin-in-groove, 241, 261, 266, 279 refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW), 104, 107,
PinPoint extruder, 237, 241, 242, 245, 246, 247, 248, 138, 161, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 299, 301, 302,
249, 250, 252, 254, 280, 281, 284, 285, 286, 287 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 313
pitting resistance equivalent number, 22 regression analysis, 351, 362, 448
pitting temperature, 26 re-precipitation, 193, 194, 198, 205
plasma arc welding, 358, 368 requirements, 73, 80, 97, 137, 140, 145, 245, 250,
post-weld heat treatment (PWHT), 20, 26, 28, 84, 396, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 473, 474, 475,
204, 205, 206, 212, 215, 370 477, 480, 481, 484, 487, 488, 499, 500, 502, 505,
post-weld natural aging, 193, 194, 198, 208, 295 507, 508, 509, 510, 511, 512, 513, 514, 518, 519,
post-welding solution quenching, 4 520, 521, 522, 524, 528, 530, 532, 534, 536, 537,
precipitation, 16, 17, 23, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 541, 542, 543, 544, 545
36, 37, 38, 76, 172, 193, 194, 198, 208, 295 residual stress(es), vi, 7, 16, 34, 37, 39, 45, 80, 86,
preheating, 18, 20, 144, 238, 270, 336, 370, 372, 90, 95, 106, 111, 113, 119, 120, 139, 141, 151,
379, 385, 387, 388, 390, 481, 491, 533, 534 153, 154, 158, 176, 179, 201, 203, 206, 207, 208,
prescribed weld temperature, 393 209, 212, 215, 217, 218, 223, 315, 316, 334, 345,
press hardened steels (PHS), 72, 86, 91, 103 347, 348, 352, 353, 354, 359, 361, 362, 363, 365,
principle, 2, 57, 58, 59, 66, 68, 98, 162, 211, 376, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 375, 377, 379,
528 380, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390,
probe, 137, 143, 144, 145, 147, 156, 157, 162, 163, 391, 393, 394, 416, 420, 421, 422, 423, 426, 429,
164, 165, 181, 228, 314, 428, 435, 438 461, 462
procedure, 34, 71, 76, 77, 94, 95, 101, 111, 149, 159, resistance spot welding (RSW), 71, 77, 78, 79, 80,
161, 165, 180, 211, 316, 348, 360, 371, 374, 405, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 93, 99, 100, 101,
435, 456, 465, 469, 481, 486, 487, 488, 492, 493, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 113, 155,
494, 495, 498, 499, 504, 512, 518, 519, 520, 522, 159, 294, 359, 361, 367, 391
532, 534, 535, 536, 538, 544, 545 resistance welding, 4, 113
process optimization, 370, 427 retreating side (RS), 145, 146, 151, 164, 165, 166,
process parameters, 1, 5, 37, 45, 47, 62, 96, 106, 112, 181, 187, 188, 189, 192, 232, 240, 260, 261, 266,
115, 117, 128, 134, 140, 160, 169, 170, 179, 201, 275, 277, 279, 282, 428, 441, 450, 452, 455, 456
211, 212, 214, 215, 217, 235, 242, 244, 252, 263, revolutionary pitch, 232
347, 348, 352, 354, 358, 361, 362, 371, 372, 389, robotic, 158, 174, 177, 210, 370, 377, 464, 544
397, 425, 426, 427, 429, 436, 439, 440, 442, 445, Rosenthal thin-plate solution, 270
450, 452, 457, 458, 461, 462, 463 rotating drive spindle, 245, 253
pseudo-steady state, 270
556 Index

rotating pin, 181, 238, 241, 245, 246, 250, 252, 253, spindle rotational speed, 238, 248, 252, 253, 254,
259, 260, 261, 265, 267, 275, 294 255, 256, 285
rotating spindle tip, 250 stainless steel, v, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17,
rotation speed, 100, 101, 139, 148, 150, 164, 166, 19, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 69, 115, 119,
181, 184, 185, 187, 190, 208, 257, 304, 429, 435, 120, 121, 128, 129, 134, 153, 176, 233, 345, 353,
436, 437, 442, 444, 445, 446, 448, 449, 452, 458 354, 358, 361, 362, 363, 366, 368, 371, 372, 374,
R-square coefficient (R2), 300, 440, 441, 442, 453, 377, 378, 389, 390, 391, 460, 462, 530, 532
454, 457, 458 stainless steels, v, 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16, 19, 32,
34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 530
stationary housing, 245, 248, 250, 252, 256, 257
S stationary shoulder friction stir welding (SSFSW),
154, 157, 181, 182, 189, 216, 218
Schaeffler, Anton, 4, 8, 9, 10, 32, 34, 36, 38 statistics-based modeling, 358
Scheil integral, 269 stir zone (SZ), 99, 100, 101, 147, 153, 156, 187, 212,
secondary austenite, 23, 24, 25, 38 293, 295, 300, 301, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 309
secondary phase(s), 1, 7, 16, 21, 22, 192, 215 strains, 90, 131, 169, 206, 315, 316, 331, 332, 333,
segregation, 13, 14, 16, 34, 79, 89, 91, 141, 366 334, 335, 345, 402
shear deformation, 131, 262, 265 strength, 2, 6, 42, 54, 64, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 79,
shielded metal arc welding, 5, 347, 353, 422, 503, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88, 89, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99,
504 100, 103, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112,
shielding gas, 5, 6, 19, 36, 39, 93, 126, 129, 130, 113, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 126, 127,
134, 142, 150, 377, 396 129, 131, 135, 136, 137, 140, 142, 146, 147, 150,
shoulder, 137, 139, 142, 143, 144, 147, 155, 156, 151, 152, 153, 156, 158, 159, 160, 161, 166, 168,
157, 158, 161, 162, 163, 164, 167, 170, 181, 182, 169, 170, 174, 175, 181, 192, 194, 199, 200, 201,
183, 187, 189, 190, 194, 197, 203, 207, 209, 211, 205, 206, 211, 213, 215, 216, 218, 220, 224, 228,
218, 230, 232, 261, 426, 430, 435, 437, 438, 442, 229, 230, 231, 232, 235, 272, 276, 279, 293, 295,
443, 445, 461, 462 296, 297, 299, 300, 301, 305, 306, 308, 309, 312,
shrinking, 7, 15 314, 339, 349, 358, 365, 367, 370, 371, 377, 378,
simulation of weld attributes, 358 381, 389, 390, 391, 430, 453, 458, 461, 466, 484,
sliding conditions, 258, 259 512, 521
slip factor, 239, 253, 254, 255, 258, 259 strength reduction, 127, 276
slot welding, 280 stress fields, 131, 256, 257, 355
softening, 77, 79, 82, 83, 85, 88, 89, 93, 94, 95, 99, stress relief, 16
105, 106, 110, 111, 127, 128, 146, 147, 160, 183, stress(es), 7, 15, 16, 18, 20, 37, 42, 48, 65, 66, 67,
275, 431 83, 85, 86, 89, 91, 92, 93, 95, 104, 117, 118, 120,
solid state, 2, 26, 76, 80, 101, 122, 180, 181, 207, 121, 124, 131, 135, 138, 151, 158, 161, 201, 202,
215, 217, 223, 230, 237, 262, 275, 279, 284, 288, 203, 206, 207, 208, 215, 217, 218, 230, 238, 239,
290, 294, 314, 317, 431 244, 256, 257, 258, 259, 276, 278, 296, 301, 315,
solid state joining, 122, 237, 290, 294 316, 327,334, 336, 337, 338, 340, 341, 342, 343,
solidification, 2, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 25, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 352, 353, 354, 364, 369,
33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 44, 45, 50, 53, 54, 76, 79, 370, 372, 374, 375, 379, 380, 381, 383, 385, 386,
88, 89, 91, 105, 127, 128, 212, 294, 317, 318, 387, 388, 389, 391, 394, 400, 401, 402, 419, 420,
323, 324, 325, 328, 346, 347, 348, 349, 352, 353, 422, 426, 430
359, 360, 363, 365, 366, 370 stretchability, 90
solid-state, 1, 137, 138, 141, 153, 162, 165, 167, 172, stringer bead deposition, 287
179, 210, 211, 214, 229, 237, 240, 241, 279, 287, stringer beads, 285
289, 290, 294, 318, 327, 332, 333, 374, 425, 426, sub-critical heat affected zone (SCHAZ), 82, 85, 89
431 subcritical tempered zone (SCTZ), 76, 77, 85, 94
solid-state welding, 1, 141, 153, 167, 229, 425 submerged arc welding, 4, 22, 349, 423
solidus temperature, 33, 45, 323, 326, 332, 333 substrate, 8, 87, 105, 121, 122, 165, 166, 167, 211,
solubility, 14, 21, 34, 221, 222, 223 284, 285, 286, 346
specification, 13, 150, 371, 465, 470, 473, 477, 480, sub-surface channels, 138, 162
487, 488, 502, 504, 528, 530, 534, 535, 544, 545 subtractive machining, 286
spindle extruder, 284, 285
 Index 557

sulphur, 12, 13, 16 titanium alloys, 64, 138, 152, 153, 154, 167, 171,
surface contamination, 63, 262, 263 172, 173, 177, 180
surface exposure, 239, 262, 263, 264, 265 T-joint fillet weld, vi, 393, 394, 395, 415, 421, 423
surface oxides, 262 tool off-set, 184
tool parts, 237, 249, 250, 287
torque, 140, 176, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 212, 238,
T 248, 249, 252, 259, 260, 429, 523
total grip length, 238, 244, 245
tailor-welded blanks (TWBs), 54, 74, 77, 79, 88, 89, total length of the extrusion chamber, 246, 247
91, 108, 109 total power consumption, 238, 252
technology, vii, 3, 7, 35, 36, 37, 38, 41, 42, 45, 54, toughness, 7, 12, 13, 18, 19, 21, 22, 34, 45, 79, 84,
57, 58, 59, 62, 66, 67, 69, 70, 71, 72, 78, 79, 80, 89, 90, 122, 130, 149, 150, 160, 170, 203, 217,
98, 99, 102, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 277, 430
112, 113, 126, 129, 137, 138, 140, 160, 165, 168, transverse speed, 139, 429, 448, 452
169, 170, 171, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, travel speed, 80, 103, 150, 164, 166, 181, 182, 184,
180, 209, 211, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 185, 189, 194, 214, 238, 241, 252, 255, 270, 297,
220, 228, 233, 234, 235, 237, 243, 274, 287, 288, 378, 427, 435, 436, 437, 438, 442, 444, 455, 456
289, 290, 293, 294, 295, 309, 312, 313, 314, 315, TRIP, 71, 72, 74, 78, 87, 89, 91, 106, 107, 108, 109
345, 346, 347, 349, 360, 361, 362, 363, 367, 368, tungsten inert gas welding, 129, 234, 364, 503
370, 390, 391, 393, 421, 422, 423, 425, 426, 459, twin boundaries, 12
460, 461, 462, 465, 505, 545, 547, 548
technology evolution curves, 287, 288
temperature field, 75, 181, 185, 315, 317, 319, 320, U
321, 322, 325, 334, 344, 345, 348, 362, 373, 375,
391, 393, 395, 421 ultimate tensile strength (UTS), 82, 88, 89, 90, 92,
tempering, 19, 20, 76, 77, 79, 90, 106, 331, 348 150, 158, 231, 232, 239, 240, 279, 285, 378, 425,
tensile specimens, 276, 285 426, 427, 441, 442, 443, 446, 447, 448, 449, 450,
tensile strength, 20, 37, 73, 74, 82, 83, 89, 90, 93, 99, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 458, 460
130, 141, 149, 158, 169, 192, 199, 200, 204, 231, under pressure equipment, 465, 518
235, 262, 280, 285, 341, 358, 359, 378, 381, 427 unmixed zone, 33
texture, 153, 191, 195, 196, 203, 212, 217, 295, 306, upsetting, 246, 263
312, 460
thermal cycle, 7, 22, 25, 67, 71, 75, 76, 77, 119, 125,
147, 153, 185, 186, 187, 191, 192, 193, 196, 197, V
199, 218, 269, 271, 272, 304, 308, 329, 331, 332,
333, 348, 352, 353, 354, 423 velocity fields, 258
thermal field, 17, 185, 186, 206, 274, 316, 323, 327, visual testing, 396, 422, 442
349, 363 voltage, 7, 61, 62, 63, 396, 432, 534
thermal gradient, 16, 77, 208, 256
thermal signal analysis, 425 W
thermocouple measurements, 269, 271
thermography, 425, 427, 431, 432, 434, 442, 458, wavelength, 42, 44, 46, 125, 224, 432
460, 461, 462, 463, 464 weld defects, 46, 64, 70, 92, 187, 211, 278, 293, 299,
thermo-mechanical (mechanically) affected zone 300, 353, 371, 372, 458
(TMAZ), 26, 101, 147, 148, 149, 151, 153, 187, weld nugget (WN), 79, 83, 85, 147, 153, 157, 187,
192, 194, 196, 197, 200, 201, 203, 204, 207, 240, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198,
275, 277, 295, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 306, 308, 199, 201, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 299,
428, 429, 431 302, 306, 308, 309, 345, 358
thick, 20, 22, 35, 47, 52, 53, 58, 64, 76, 97, 99, 100, weld pitch, 181, 183, 187, 189
102, 104, 111, 120, 131, 152, 158, 160, 161, 207, weldability, v, vii, 1, 5, 8, 17, 20, 21, 35, 36, 37, 38,
209, 210, 215, 218, 249, 253, 254, 271, 274, 279, 41, 46, 47, 52, 73, 81, 82, 83, 94, 107, 108, 109,
280, 282, 283, 293, 295, 314, 395, 423, 478, 479 110, 112, 115, 116, 129, 134, 224, 229, 473, 481
thin-sheet, 209
tilt angle, 140, 164, 175, 181, 203, 429, 435
558 Index

welded joints, 16, 25, 35, 36, 68, 75, 77, 78, 88, 89, welding quality, vii, 58, 86, 142, 436, 505, 507, 528,
90, 92, 95, 101, 106, 107, 110, 126, 130, 135, 538, 543
140, 141, 149, 150, 151, 162, 167, 205, 206, 212, welding simulation, 346, 357, 393, 394, 421, 422
228, 294, 314, 315, 364, 365, 422, 425, 436, 440, welding speed, 7, 45, 47, 52, 63, 75, 79, 87, 91, 95,
441, 442, 443, 446, 457, 458, 460, 464, 477, 480, 99, 103, 111, 129, 150, 151, 181, 183, 185, 186,
503, 544, 545 187, 192, 194, 198, 199, 200, 202, 208, 209, 211,
welder, 297, 465, 498, 507, 534, 536, 537, 538, 539 213, 214, 224, 232, 249, 265, 282, 324, 354, 363,
welding distortion, 393, 422 370, 396, 401, 429, 462, 534
welding management, 505 welding standards, 505
welding metallurgy, v, 1, 36, 37, 109, 172 wire breaking, 258
welding of composites and polymers, 138 wire feed rate, 238, 242, 248, 252, 253, 282
welding parameters, 2, 38, 69, 71, 75, 76, 79, 93, 95, wire feeding, 109, 246, 247, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260,
100, 103, 108, 112, 141, 145, 147, 150, 151, 153, 290
156, 168, 179, 181, 184, 185, 186, 189, 192, 195, wire feeding unit, 247
196, 197, 199, 200, 202, 205, 214, 229, 290, 295, work hardening alloys, 180, 192, 201
297, 304, 309, 354, 355, 358, 364, 370, 386, 396
welding process(es), vi, vii, 7, 18, 35, 36, 39, 42, 45,
63, 68, 71, 72, 76, 78, 80, 81, 84, 99, 101, 102, Y
105, 109, 129, 130, 138, 145, 153, 160, 175, 180,
181, 211, 219, 220, 224, 232, 253, 295, 296, 297, yield strength, 149, 150, 152, 239, 262, 276, 354
299, 309, 315, 316, 317, 320, 323, 324, 329, 334,
344, 348, 351, 352, 353, 356, 358, 359, 360, 362, Z
363, 366, 369, 370, 371, 372, 373, 377, 393, 394,
395, 397, 400, 404, 408, 409, 423, 427, 431, 450, Zinc coated steels, 94
452, 454, 458, 459, 463, 467, 473, 474, 475, 477, Zn coated AHSS, 91, 111
480, 481, 487, 491, 492, 502, 534, 536 Zn coating, 91, 97