POSTER
Study of dissimilar metallic assembly through friction stir welding & friction melt bonding
By Nicolas Dimov (Thales TGS, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, UCLouvain), Taneshan Sapanathan (UCLouvain), Aude Simar (UCLouvain), Erik Charkaluk (Polytechnique), Daniel Weisz-patrault (Polytechnique), Julien Benoist (Thales TGS)

Over the last two decades, research on FSW has been carried out mainly for aluminium and other "soft" metals such as zinc, magnesium and eventually copper alloys. FSW of titanium or titanium alloys, stainless steel and nickel based alloys have revealed certain challenges, especially in terms of cost and durability of the tool. Likewise, assembly of dissimilar metals (e.g. Ti/Al, Fe/Al), having different coefficient of thermal expansion and melting temperature, has also been challenging. Dissimilar joints are also prone to the formation of hot tears and presence of brittle intermetallics; they are detrimental to the joints. A new process called friction melt bonding (FMB), carried out using a simple flat faced tool, offers interesting capabilities to control intermetallic formation. This franco-belgian CIFRE PhD aims to compare both welding techniques (FSW and FMB): microstructures, mechanical properties, design limitations, process parameters and cost for Ti-6Al-4V/Al 6061-T6 and 316L/Al 6061-T6 joints.