MATERIALS TESTING, cilt.56, ss.937-944, 2014 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
The aim of this study was to develop a finite element model for predicting the transient temperature and stress fields during friction stir welding. For this purpose, a three-dimensional model based on the nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) has been generated. The experimentally measured temperatures by using an infrared thermometer during experiments were compared to the results obtained by FEA. In the numerical simulations, mechanical and physical properties were considered depending on temperature. The effect of the rotational and transverse speeds on the distribution of temperature and stresses in the welded AA6061-T6 plates were examined. It was observed that the maximum temperature near the weld region increases with increasing rotational speed. The normal stresses, sigma(x) and sigma(y) also increase as the rotational speed increases. The temperature decreases as the tool transverse speed increases.