Effects of refill friction stir spot weld spacing and edge margin on mechanical properties of multi-spot-welded panels

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Authors
Balasubramaniam, Guruvignesh Lakshmi
Boldsaikhan, Enkhsaikhan
Fukada, Shintaro
Fujimoto, Mitsuo
Kamimuki, Kenichi
Advisors
Issue Date
2020-06-07
Type
Article
Keywords
Aerospace aluminum alloy , Edge margin , Refill friction stir spot welding , Robotic spot welding , Spot weld spacing
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Citation
Lakshmi Balasubramaniam, G.; Boldsaikhan, E.; Fukada, S.; Fujimoto, M.; Kamimuki, K. Effects of Refill Friction Stir Spot Weld Spacing and Edge Margin on Mechanical Properties of Multi-Spot-Welded Panels. J. Manuf. Mater. Process. 2020, 4, 55
Abstract

Refill friction stir spot welding (RFSSW) is an emerging technology for joining aerospace aluminum alloys. The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of the refill friction stir spot weld spacing and the edge margin on the mechanical properties of multi-spot-welded AA7075-T6 panels. AA7075-T6 is a baseline aerospace aluminum alloy used in aircraft structures. The study employs an innovative robotic RFSSW system that is designed and developed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI). The experimental strategy uses Design of Experiments (DoE) to characterize the failure loads of multi-spot-welded panels in terms of the spot weld spacing, edge margin, and heat-affected zone (HAZ) of the spot weld. The RFSSW process leaves behind a thermal “imprint” as HAZ in heat-treatable aluminum alloys. According to the DoE results, larger spot weld spacings with no HAZ overlap produce higher failure loads of multi-spot-welded panels. On the other hand, edge margins that are equal to or less than the spot weld diameter demonstrate abnormal plastic deformations, such as workpiece edge swelling and weld crown dents, during the RFSSW process. The larger edge margins do not demonstrate such abnormal deformations during the welding process.

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Description
© 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher
MDPI AG
Journal
Book Title
Series
Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing;v.4:no.2:art.no.55
PubMed ID
DOI
ISSN
2504-4494
EISSN