It has been widely recognised that the fundamental mechanism of weld formation in friction stir welding (FSW) is too complex, a phenomenon to be understood completely. In the present study two modes of metal transfer phenomenon in FSW have been discussed with the help of three FSW techniques. In the first technique a strip is welded to the plate by the process, in the second one the brass sheet is inserted perpendicular to the welding direction and in the third one the process is performed with tools having different pin lengths. The results suggest a strategy to model the process particularly for predicting welding tool performance.
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