Development of Friction Stir Welding and Processing

Dear Colleagues,

Friction stir welding (FSW), a mature solid-state joining method, has become a revolutionary welding technique over the past two decades due to its energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and high-quality joints. FSW is highly efficient in the joining of Al alloys, Mg alloys, Ti alloys, polymers and other similar materials. Derived from FSW, friction stir processing (FSP) is a solid-state processing technique to fabricate and modify bulk materials, composites and surface coatings, with tailored microstructures and enhanced mechanical properties, via severe plastic deformation and low temperature. Recently, FSW and FSP techniques have gained considerable scientific and technological attention in several fields, including aerospace, railway, renewable energy and automobile. Therefore, we expect that these fields may significantly contribute to accelerating the research and development in the areas of FSW and FSP.

This topic focuses on new FSW/P technologies and basic investigations into the affecting factors and the underlying mechanisms for these technologies. The topics of interest for this Special Issue, in particular, include (but are not restricted to):

• Novel FSW technologies via assisted energy to improve quality and efficiency;
• Friction stir modifications of surfaces to generate functional surfaces for tribological, corrosion, and design properties;
• Fabrication of new multifunctional materials based on severe plastic deformation and low temperature;
• Joining of different material combinations and dissimilar materials with coatings to improve interfacial metallurgy and joining performance;
• Control strategies for inherent issues in FSW/P area;
• Additive manufacturing for adapted friction stir-based technologies;
• Any other aspects of novel FSW and FSP technologies.

Prof. Dr. Yongxian Huang
Prof. Dr. Li Zhou
Dr. Xiangchen Meng
Dr. Yuming Xie
Topic Editors