State of the art of continuous friction stir welding

Abstract

Modern industries are constantly looking for better solutions to produce strong, reliable joints in their products. The ever-evolving need for more lightweight structures alongside with environmentally sustainable methods sets limitations for the processes to be used. So far, fusion-based welding methods have been widely used to join similar materials. However, those methods cannot effectively create sufficient bonding between dissimilar materials, as the requirement of lightweight structures is often met with hybrid material joints. Friction stir welding (FSW), in contrast to fusion welding, is ideal for hybrid joints. The method was developed in 1991, and various modified methods have been invented since then. FSW has great potential to become more widely used in multiple industrial applications and therefore it is necessary to understand the current advantages and limitations of the process. The purpose of this thesis is to conduct a literature review of the state of the art of continuous friction stir welding. This thesis focuses on presenting multiple current available FSW processes and applications, discusses the most important welding parameters in FSW processes, introduces the future potential of FSW and reports the current market situation of FSW. The author declares that Microsoft Copilot AI-tool has been used to check and refine the language of this thesis.