A simple Eulerian thermomechanical modeling of friction stir welding

A simple three-dimensional thermomechanical model for friction stir welding (FSW) is presented. It is developed from the model proposed by Heurtier et al. (2006) based on a combination of fluid mechanics numerical and analytical velocity fields. Those velocity fields are introduced in a steady state thermal calculation to compute the temperature field during welding. They allow partial sliding between the shoulder and the workpiece, the amount of which is provided as an additional result of the model. The thermal calculation accounts for conduction and convection effects by means of the particular derivative. The complete thermomechanical history of the material during the process can then be accessed by temperature and strain rate contours. The numerical results are compared with a set of experimental test cases carried out on an instrumented laboratory device. The choices for modeling assumptions, especially tribological aspects, are discussed according to agreements or deviations observed between experimental and numerical results. The amount of sliding appears to be significantly influenced by the welding conditions (welding and tool rotational velocities), and physical interpretations are proposed for its evolution. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.