Friction Stir Welding

Dear Colleagues,

Friction stir welding (FSW) process revolutionised the welding world by providing another method for joining difficult-to-weld materials. The process was invented by TWI, UK in 1991. Friction welding process was available for welding concentric parts in solid state. However, FSW became a disruptive technology for welding linear parts in solid state. Although initially applied to aluminium and its alloys, it was later applied to welding copper, steels, stainless steels and titanium.

There are several advantages why FSW is considered for welding these metals. The process features no melting, generally full penetration in a single-pass, no arc, and avoids many metallurgical issues due to solidification. The process is applied in various industries including shipbuilding, aircraft, space technology, railway bogie construction, etc.

Although extensive research has been conducted on this process, there are still a number of opportunities for advancing the technology. This Special Issue invites authors to publish their research on the latest developments in areas of FSW including:

• tool design and materials,
• modelling material flow, heat generation, heat flow,
• post-weld heat treatment,
• machines for field welding, and
• industry acceptance testing and standard development.

I look forward to receiving your submissions.

Prof. Dr. Krishnan Kannoorpatti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Lubricants is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Tool design
• Material flow
• Heat treatment
• Field welding
• Standards
• Modelling
• Machine development
• Friction heat