Effect of friction stir welding (FSW) parameters on the peak temperature and the residual stresses of aluminum alloy 6061-T6: numerical modelisation

In this paper, numerical modelisation of thermo mechanical behavior of FSW process of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy were performed. A three dimensional (3D), transient, non-linear structural-thermal model was developed using ANSYS software to simulate the distribution of the temperature and the mechanical stresses during FSW of the aluminum alloy. The simulated temperature distributions (profile and peak temperature) and the residual stress were compared with experimental values. The results of the simulation are in good concurrence with that of experimental results.