3D numerical simulation of the three stages of Friction Stir Welding based on friction parameters calibration

An Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian (ALE) formulation was developed to simulate the different stages of the Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process with the FORGE3® F.E. software. A splitting method was utilized: a) the material velocity/pressure and temperature fields are calculated, b) the mesh velocity is derived from the domain boundary evolution and an adaptive refinement criterion provided by error estimation, c) P1 and P0 variables are remapped. The proposed ALE formulation is applied to FSW simulation. Steady state welding, but also transient phases are simulated, showing good robustness and accuracy of the developed formulation. Friction parameters are identified for an Eulerian steady state simulation by comparison with experimental results. Simulations of the transient plunge and welding phases help to better understand the deposition process that occurs at the trailing edge of the probe, and in particular possible void formation. Flexibility and robustness of the model allows investigating the influence of threads and tooling designs.