Selection guide of insert piece shape for steel joint by autocompleting friction welding method

Abstract

An autocompleting friction welding method, which was developed by the authors, is to weld with using a rotating insert piece set between fixed base metals. This paper describes the selection guide of the insert piece size for steel joints by the autocompleting friction welding method. The base metal was low carbon steel (LCS), and the weld faying surface of the fixed specimen had a 10 mm diameter. The effect of the thickness at the bottom of the grooves for the insert piece (groove bottom thickness) on the joining phenomena was investigated. When the joint was made at a friction pressure of 90 MPa with a friction speed of 27·5 s⁻¹, the insert piece had a shear fracture towards the circumferential direction (circumferential shear fracture) in the peripheral portion of the weld interfaces by the initial peak produced during the friction process. In this case, the insert piece had the following dimensions: the thickness was 4·0 mm, and the groove bottom thickness was 1·2 mm or over with an inner groove diameter of 11 mm. In particular, the joint with a groove bottom thickness of 1·2 mm had 100% joint efficiency and the LCS base metal fracture with no crack at the weld interface. The value of a circumferential shear fracture (CSF value) was defined and calculated by the ratio between the theoretical and the actual generated friction torques. When the CSF value nearly equalled 1, the joint had 100% joint efficiency and the LCS base metal fracture with no crack at the weld interface.