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The Effect of Friction on Penetration in Friction Stir Welding"Friction stir butt welding," as it was originally termed by Wayne Thomas and Christopher Dawes, in the early 1990s, but now commonly called "friction stir welding," has made great progress as a new welding technique. Commercially, friction stir welding (FSW) is finding many applications. Marine Aluminum of Norway is using the process for welding 20-meter aluminum sheets for ferry construction. Japan is using the technique in development work on bullet trains. Sapa of Sweden utilizes FSW in the landing of refrigeration units for cargo ships. In the United States, Boeing is using the technique in the production of Delta rockets. Eclipse Aviation Corporation plans to use FSW to produce a business jet available in August, 2003.

Marshall Space Flight Center has been investigating the use of FSW for assembly of the Shuttle's external fuel tank since the late 1990s and hopes to have the process in use by the summer of 2002.

In FSW, a cylindrical pin tool of hardened steel, is rotated and plunged into the abutting edges of the parts to be joined. The tool is plunged into the weldment to within about .050 in of the bottom to assure full penetration. As the tool moves along the joint, the tool shoulder helps produce frictional heating, causing the material to plasticize. The metal of the two abutting plates flows from the front of the tool to the back where it cools and coalesces to form a weld in the solid phase.
Document ID
20020068830
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Contribution to a larger work
Authors
Steve Rapp
(University of Virginia Charlottesville, United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
July 1, 2002
Publication Information
Publication: Research Reports-2001 NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellowship Program
Publisher: Marshall Space Flight Center
Volume: NASA/CR-2002-211840
Issue Publication Date: July 1, 2002
Subject Category
Mechanical Engineering
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG8-1786
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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