Thermo-mechanical analyses of welding aluminium alloy with TIG and friction stir welding

Two energy distribution models were established to study the temperature field during friction stir welding (FSW) and TIG welding of aluminium alloy 2024., and its influence on residual stresses. Several different. parameters: temperature-dependent. material and mechanical properties, heat transfer. between welding panels, and backing plate and different heat inputs, are considered in the finite element models. Only the influence of the temperature field on mechanical results is considered in this paper. Crescent shape temperature contours and lower peak temperatures were predicted for FSW when compared with TIG welding. The lower peak temperature during FSW results residual stresses about 30% lower than those caused by TIG. The crescent shape temperature contours contribute mainly to changing the location of the residual stress peak rather than lower value. Although the residual stress for FSW is lower than TIG but it is still higher than some experimental results; this is the subject of ongoing study.