Proposal and experimental verification of a temperature distribution model for the FSW process

The Friction Stir Welding (FSW) process is relatively new compared to traditional welding methods. Although it does not bring the material to its melting point, it does generate a sufficient amount of heat flow that influences the quality of the weld and the process efficiency. Several researchers have sought ways of knowing the heat dissipated by friction and the temperatures that are generated, some of them through simulations with high computational cost and in a non-predictive way or by direct measurements through the instrumentation of the tool. This work proposes a phenomenological-based semi-physical model (PBSM) that estimates the temperature distribution in an Aluminum AA5052 alloy workpiece using the FSW process. The model is compared with real-time in situ measurements. The results showed that the model has a good agreement with real data allowing its use in a previous published whole model of the FSW process. The cited complete model is control-oriented, able to use in any model-based control structure.