Project Code: 36201
Start date and planned duration: January 2025, 12 months
Objective
- Development of the capability to join complex three-dimensional thin titanium alloy components by friction stir welding.
Project Outline
This project will be executed within one year and will be divided into seven stages.
TWI Industrial Members will be consulted on potential titanium alloy joining applications requiring complex geometry weld paths. This will define a target demonstrator and lead to specifying the requirements of the new high temperature stationary shoulder welding head to be installed on the robot (Stage 2).
The head specification and selected demonstrator will inform the design of the welding head including welding access and welding duty capability (Stage 3).
The welding head components and FSW tooling will be purchased and assembled ready to install on the robot (Stage 4).
Stage 5 will include mounting the head on the robot and no load testing will be performed.
Once the head is available, welding trials will be carried out, initially on small coupons which will include basic weld assessment (macrographs and transverse tensile testing). If weld trials are successful a sub-scale representative geometry demonstrator will be fabricated. No mechanical testing of the demonstrator has been included during Stage 6. Demonstrator coupons for BD purposes will also be fabricated.
Finally, a report will be written which will capture and document the development process and results. (Stage 7).
Industry Sectors
- Aerospace
Benefits to Industry
Thin section welding capability should provide an alternative to diffusion bonding for titanium. This is particularly important for the aerospace industry, where diffusion bonding is currently used extensively.
The knowledge captured will be documented and the target is to present it at the 14th International Symposium on FSW in May 2026.