| About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2025 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Friction Stir Welding and Processing XIII
|
| Presentation Title |
Friction Stir Lap Welding for High-Strength Aluminum Automotive Components |
| Author(s) |
Piyush Upadhyay, Hrishikesh Das, Mitch Blocher, Shivakant Shukla, Jorge Dos Santos |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Piyush Upadhyay |
| Abstract Scope |
The use of high-strength Al alloys in thicker gauges can enable car components and assemblies as viable alternatives to steel, maintaining lightweight architecture. As substrate thicknesses and strengths increase, joining technologies are pushed to their limits. Friction Stir Lap Welding (FSLW) can produce multi-sheet joints without third-body fasteners, offering design adaptability with short stitches and effective seals with long continuous joints, eliminating adhesives.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been developing three-sheet dissimilar Al joints using FSLW at both coupon and near-component levels. Process developments have been carried out in stiff gantry system and flexible robotic platform. Viable three-sheet FSLW joints have been demonstrated at a welding speed of 1 m/min (pin length = 5 mm+) for sheets containing high-strength 7xxx, 6xxx, and some cast alloys. This presentation highlights the challenges and opportunities of implementing FSLW in an assembly line without rigid fixturing. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Joining, Aluminum, |