Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Double Rotating Shoulder Friction Stir Welding

In this work, a new Double Rotating Shoulder (DRS) tool is designed to create a preheating effect and promote material flow in the shoulder-affected area during friction stir welding (FSW). A comparative study of the temperature field, strain field and material flow of AA 6061 aluminium alloy during FSW using a DRS tool and a conventional tool was carried out using numerical simulation. The model was verified according to the actual temperature field in both cases. Further, the macroscopic morphology and mechanical properties of both joints were investigated. The results showed that the simulated temperature field during FSW using a DRS tool has a good correlation with the actual temperature field. The DRS tool does lead to different macroscopic profiles but has almost no impact on mechanical properties.