Advances in the Research and Applications of Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding
A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Manufacturing Processes and Systems".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2024) | Viewed by 264
Special Issue Editors
Interests: friction stir welding; friction stir processing; joining; microstructure; mechanical property
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past decade, a novel solid-state spot-welding method, refill friction stir spot welding (refill FSSW), has seen significant advances in both research and applications due to such advantages as keyhole-free surface, improved mechanical performances, and environmental compatibility. The combinations of Al- and Mg-based similar and dissimilar metals have been successfully welded using refill FSSW. Moreover, this method has been effectively utilized for joining metals to polymers and even polymers to polymers. Additionally, several variants based on refill FSSW have been developed and applied for structural repairs, the processing of cast alloys, etc. The impressive technical advantages of refill FSSW have attracted considerable attention from over 60 organizations worldwide, including universities, research institutions, as well as equipment manufacturers.
However, several scientific and technical knowledge gaps still exist, which hinder the development and applications of refill FSSW: (1) The joining mechanisms including microstructure evolutions and material flow behaviors need to be revealed to guide the production of high-performance welds, especially for combinations of dissimilar materials. (2) Tool life remains a significant challenge; thus, the tool wear mechanism needs to be investigated and tool design should be further optimized. (3) In terms of industrial application, the stabilities of refill FSSW in continuous production including surface quality and mechanical properties should be evaluated; moreover, the feasibility of in-line real-time data monitoring of tool condition, formation of defects, etc., needs to be verified. (4) The application of digital twin technology, which involves numerical simulations of the process, microstructure, prediction of weld performance based on data-driven solutions, is still in the preliminary stage.
The present issue focuses on high-quality research related to refill FSSW. Reviews and original articles are welcome on the following topics, among others:
- The development of refill FSSW: the combinations of similar and dissimilar materials.
- The microstructural characterization of welds: multi-scale techniques like OM, SEM, EBSD, TEM, etc.
- Mechanical performance assessment: static and fatigue mechanical properties.
- Numerical modeling and simulation: material flow, procedure analysis, and failure mechanisms.
- Industrial applications: the design of process hardware and software, production strategies, quality monitoring, and NDT.
Dr. Banglong Fu
Dr. Uceu Suhuddin
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- refill friction stir spot welding
- friction spot welding
- microstructure
- mechanical properties
- industrial application
- digital twin
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