Papers by Author: Stewart W. Williams

Abstract: An investigation has been performed into the compatibility of aluminum alloys used in the aerospace industry with Wire-Arc Additive Manufacturing. Modelling and preliminary experimental trials have been performed to show that it is viable to use Al-Cu-Mg alloys, like 2024, without solidification cracking. A relatively fine and texture free grain structure was obtained in the as-deposited WAAM material and the addition of inter-pass deformation, by rolling each added layer, led to further grain size refinement. With adequate control of porosity and subsequent heat treatment, the WAAM material was found to have tensile properties comparable to that of standard wrought products.

Abstract: Local mechanical tensioning is one of the most efficient and industrially relevant stress engineering techniques to modify weld residual stress field and subsequently reduce buckling distortion. However, application of rolling load and its magnitude need to be optimised for an energy efficient rolling process. In the present study gas metal arc butt welded plates of low carbon mild steel were rolled by a dual roller in different rolling configuration (top and reverse side rolling) and with different magnitude of rolling load. All the plates were rolled post welding. Residual strain profiles of the post weld rolled plates were measured, using the SALSA strain scanner, and the in-plane stress were characterized. Average distortion of the rolled plates was correlated with the residual stress. Reverse rolling was found to be more effective in removing distortion while the stress profiles did not show any significant reduction of the peak stress.

Abstract: Although Friction Stir Welding (FSW) avoids many of the problems encountered when fusion welding high strength Al-alloys, it can still result in substantial residual stresses that have a detrimental impact on service life. An FE model has been developed to investigate the effectives of the mechanical tensioning technique for controlling residual stresses in FSWs. The model purely considered the heat input and the mechanical effects of the tool were ignored. Variables, such as tensioning level, heat input, and plate geometry, have been studied. Good general agreement was found between modelling results and residual stress measurements, justifying the assumption that the stress development is dominated by the thermal field. The results showed a progressive decrease in the residual stresses for increasing tensioning levels and, although affected by the heat input, a relatively low sensitivity to the welding variables. At tensioning levels greater than ~ 50% of the room temperature yield stress, tensile were replaced by compressive residual stresses within the weld.

Abstract: Finite element modelling has proved to be an effective tool for the investigation of trends effected by changing welding conditions. This is especially important in mechanical tensioning of friction stir welds because of the large number of parameters involved. In this paper, an FE model is used to examine the effectiveness of the mechanical tensioning technique for controlling residual stresses in FSWs by the investigation of trends caused by changes to the welding parameters. Comparisons between different geometries, traverse speeds, and welding off-axis angle all produced consistent results, and showed that the peak stresses are most strongly influenced by both the local tensioning and heat input, and not by the more global welding conditions. The results also showed a progressive decrease in the residual stresses for increasing tensioning levels and, although affected by the heat input, a relatively low sensitivity to the welding variables. At tensioning levels greater than ~50% of the room temperature yield stress, tensile stresses were replaced by compressive residual stresses within the weld.

Abstract: The liquid film re-growth behaviour resulting from pulsed laser surface melting (LSM) has been investigated for typical 2xxx, and 7xxx aerospace alloys, both on parent plate and friction stir welded (FSW) joints. In Zr free alloys, as a result of the high growth rate and steep thermal gradient, the melted layer re-grew with a stable front, epitaxially, from the parent subsurface grains. This caused a thin coarse grained solidified layer to form over the parent material, thermomechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and heat affected zone (HAZ), and fine columnar grains to develop over the FSW nugget zone of the same order in width as the nugget grain size. In the case of the Zr containing alloys, a very fine columnar grain structure was found over the entire surface, independent of the subsurface grain structure. This has been shown to occur by growth selection from a band of nanoscale Al grains epitaxially nucleated on Al3Zr dispersoids, at the melt solid interface, that had not fully dissolved in the melt.

Abstract: The corrosion susceptibility of friction stir welds in AA2024-T351 was found to vary with the weld processing parameters. Corrosion attack was investigated with in situ X-ray tomography, which showed how the penetration of corrosion into the interior of the structure varied with weld microstructure. The susceptibility to corrosion was related to the degree of overageing by comparing the corrosion behaviour to samples of the base alloy that had been aged at different temperatures. A systematic increase first in the anodic reactivity and then the cathodic reactivity of the overaged structures with temperature can be used to predict the location of the region of the weld with the highest susceptibility to corrosion. Similar investigations were made for a dissimilar weld between AA2024 and AA7010. Laser surface melting produces a thin homogeneous melted and rapidly solidified layer over the weld surface leading to a substantial improvement in corrosion resistance.