Application Status of Aluminum Alloy Friction Welding

The stirring friction welding technology possesses many unique advantages, and the connection of light alloy materials (such as aluminum, copper, magnesium, zinc, etc.) has unparalleled advantages over other welding methods in terms of welding methods, mechanical properties, and production efficiency. Stirring friction welding is a solid-phase connection method. The weld joint has excellent mechanical properties and small welding distortion. It does not need to add shielding gas and welding wire, and there is no melting, smoke, spatter and arc, which is an environmental protection type. The new connection technology. The actual situation is also true. Within a few short years after the advent of FSW technology, great progress has been made in the welding mechanism, applicable materials, welding equipment, and engineering applications. The stirring friction welding technology is mainly used to solve the welding of aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, and zinc alloys. With regard to the characteristics and applications of the stirring friction welding process, the British Welding Research Institute has conducted more research and applied for patent protection worldwide in 1993 and 1995. At present, the Institute is mainly engaged in welding equipment manufacturers and international large companies such as aviation, aerospace, marine, high-speed trains and automobiles, and researches and develops the stirring friction welding technology in the form of group sponsorship or cooperation (TWI's GSP project). , continue to expand its application range. Current research projects sponsored by industrial companies include: stirring friction welding of large thickness aluminum alloys, stirring friction welding of steels, stirring friction welding of titanium alloys, and stirring friction welding of automotive light components. The United States Edison Welding Institute (EWI) is working closely with TWI and is also conducting research on the FSW process. Lockheed of the United States. Martin Aerospace, the Marshall Space Flight Center, the United States Naval Research Year, Dartmuth University, Stuttgart University in Germany, Adelaide University in Australia, and the Australian Welding Institute all have special studies on stirrer friction welding from different perspectives. 1. Application of aluminum alloy stirring friction welding in the aerospace field With the further development of the research on stirring friction welding, the stirring friction welding equipment is gradually moving from the laboratory to commercial use. TWI applied this technology to produce three 2000 series aluminum shuttle fuel tanks for Boeing; Lockheed, USA. Martin, Boeing-McDow, Rockwell Group, Edison Welding Institute and many others are currently working on the research, application evaluation and development of stirring friction welding. Structures suitable for welding in the aerospace field using FSW technology include: skins for military or civilian aircraft, cryogenic fuel tanks in spacecraft, aircraft fuel tanks, auxiliary fuel tanks for military aircraft, military or technological exploration rockets, etc.; Lockheed, USA. Martin Aerospace used this technology to weld cryogenic containers for the storage of liquid oxygen outside the space shuttle. At the Marshall Space Flight Center, this technology has also been used to weld large cylindrical containers. Boeing has invested millions of dollars in the manufacture of large-scale, specialized stirred friction welders for large cryogenic fuel containers used in Delta rocket launchers. BAE Airbus is conducting method, performance, and feasibility verification of FSW technology for production purposes. For medium and large commercial passenger aircrafts, the stirring friction welder used is manufactured by GRAWFORD-SWIFT, which is located at Helivac, and is said to be a European-sized power welder. US ECLIPSE (Lunar Eclipse) Airlines will use FSW to build a medium-sized aircraft with a length of 10.86m and a wingspan of 11.88m. Figure 1 shows the E500-based new energy-saving small jet high-efficiency aircraft developed by ECLIPSE at a cost of US$300 million. The company estimates that the use of FSW can reduce the assembly time of the ribs and frames on the fuselage wall by 80% and reduce the aircraft cost to US$837,000. The aircraft’s main structural parts, skins, etc. are all manufactured using the internationally newer connection technology, stirred friction welding technology. The fuselage of the passenger aircraft is basically all manufactured with stirring friction welding, including aircraft skin, ribs, and strings. Supports, aircraft floors, and structural components. The application of stirring friction welding is mainly used to increase the production efficiency and reduce the manufacturing cost. The agitation friction welding process of aeronautical structural parts is jointly developed by TWI and ALCOA of the United States, and then applied to the welding of ECLIPSE 500 aircraft structural parts. In September 2000, the company passed the preliminary design assessment and certification of the Aircraft Safety Committee. In June 2001, it established the feasibility of aircraft manufacturing with friction stir welding. In 2001, it began manufacturing friction stir welding aircraft structural parts, and in June 2002, Fly, and from June 29 to July 1, demonstrated to the public that hundreds of customers of this new type of aircraft are currently competing to order this new type of modest and capable commercial aircraft. 2. Application of aluminum alloy friction stir welding in ship manufacturing At present, based on the great advantages of friction stir welding in welding methods, mechanical properties, manufacturing costs and environment, and potential industrial applications, in the field of shipbuilding, Friction stir welding has been intensively researched and developed. Ship manufacturing not only requires an increase in speed, but also requires an increase in the performance of the unit price load. Therefore, the ship's manufacture should use aluminum alloy materials as much as possible to reduce the weight of the ship. However, the traditional connection method of aluminum alloy materials is rivet connection and arc welding connection. Riveting increases manufacturing time, manpower, and material usage, while aluminum alloy welding is prone to deformation, defects, smoke and dust, and also limits arc welding. The use of aluminum alloy components, so with the development of friction stir welding technology, using friction stir welding to achieve a high degree of integration of pre-molded modular manufacturing to replace the traditional ship to board - reinforcement structure manufacturing, is the shipbuilding technology The inevitable and revolutionary progress of development. The application of friction stir welding on light alloy pre-formed structures of ships has obvious advantages in appearance, weight, performance, cost, and manufacturing time. It can be used not only for the manufacture of light alloy structural parts for ships, but also for on-site use. Assembling provides a new connection method for modern shipbuilding. It is a further leap forward for the development of modern welding technology to inform friction stir welding instead of welding for the manufacture of light alloy structural parts. FSW technology has broad application prospects in shipbuilding, marine industry and aerospace industry. The structures suitable for welding with FSW technology include: welding of decks, sidings, partitions, etc., welding of aluminum extrusions, hull and Welding of reinforcements, welding of helicopter landing platforms, etc. This technology has been used to weld aluminum alloy structural parts with a length of 20m in the upper part of the speedboat, and the total length of the weld exceeds 500Km.

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