Evaluation of a High-Frequency Induction Heating Assisted Friction Stir Welding Process on Carbon Steel Sheets

Friction stir welding of carbon steel causes tool wear and system deformation issues because of its relatively high strength compared to aluminum. As a countermeasure, additional high-frequency induction heating is suggested to solve this problem. An inline high-frequency induction heating assisted friction stir welding process was studied on 450 MPa and 980 MPa grade carbon steel sheets. As a pre-experiment, the heating performance of the high-frequency induction heating system was quantified. Then the effective welding speed range, vertical load history, and weldment performance were investigated to evaluate the characteristics of the process. Those results were compared with a conventional friction stir welding process conducted under equivalent process conditions. For the 440 MPa steel, about 40% faster maximum welding speed was achieved by applying the 4 kW induction heating. No tensile strength degradation of the weldment was found. Also, the maximum vertical load was decreased by 26% compared to the conventional friction stir welding process. No significant degradation of hardness was observed in the welds on 440 MPa and 980 MPa steel. Key words: High-frequency induced heating, Friction stir welding, Carbon steel, Welding speed, Vertical load