Heat Modeling for Friction Stir Welding

Abstract

Based on the extended heat transfer equations, a 3-dimensional thermal model for the friction stir welding is established to analyze the influence of process parameters such as welding speed and rotational speed on heat transfer in the stir zone. A moving coordinate system is introduced to describe the dynamic thermal problem, thus making the modeling difficulty reduced and transient problem converted to pseudo-steady heat transfer. Numerical simulation results give a better approximation to practical reproduction, successful prediction of weld shape, weld defects and peak temperature.