Friction stir welding and processing of steels

Abstract

Since the invention of the friction stir welding(FSW), a large number of researches and developments of FSW have been carried out. And now, it has been widely used in the manufacture of light alloy structure. In addition, friction stir process(FSP) which based on the FSW technology has received wide attention. And it shows a unique advantage in the preparation of metal materials and composite materials. However, due to the limit of the high temperature tool materials, the level of activity in research on the friction stir welding of steels is dwarfed when compared with that on aluminium alloys. The current state of the researches on the FSW/FSP of steels is briefly summarized. The research works about the homogeneous and dissimilar FSW of steel, FSP of steels and the tool materials used at high temperature are presented. Furthermore, the trends and the key issues of FSW/FSP of steels are prospected.