TWI Industrial Member Report Summary 738/2002
R Johnson
Background
The first industrial application of friction stir welding (FSW) was to extend the weldability of aluminium alloys, some of which are difficult to join by fusion welding. With the current increased industrial demand for magnesium alloys, for example as potential weight saving in vehicles to achieve higher fuel efficiencies, there is renewed interest in welding them for structural applications. TWI is a partner in a European collaborative project, MagJoin, (GROWTH Contract No. G5RD-CT 1999 0034), to investigate the welding of magnesium alloys to themselves and to aluminium alloys for automotive applications. As most fusion welding techniques encounter problems with the porosity in high pressure die-cast magnesium components, it is timely to assess the FSW characteristics of these materials in order to assist their potentially wider adoption in industry.
Objectives
- Review the joining processes used for magnesium alloys.
- Establish the feasibility of FSW magnesium alloys with consistently good quality.