PRESS RELEASE

 
02 August 2007

Maney Publishing

Leeds, UK

Special issue on Friction Stir Welding from journal 

Science and Technology of Welding and Joining

A special issue of the international journal Science and Technology of Welding and Joining this month gives an insight into the latest research and applications of friction stir welding. 

Invented at TWI, Cambridge, UK in 1991 by Wayne Thomas and colleagues, friction stir welding (FSW) is an innovative solid state joining process allowing continuous, rapid linear welding of metals without bulk melting. The use of a specially designed tool that rotates as it moves along the joint line, produces high levels of plastic deformation which lead to the formation of a high integrity joint. 

FSW technology has been extensively researched and developed by TWI and its licensees. Its economic and technological benefits are widely recognised, particularly for the joining of low melting point materials such as aluminium and its alloys in sectors that include aerospace, automotive and shipbuilding. Industrial applications are numerous and the process is used in the production of the Eclipse business jet, Delta Rocket oxidiser and propellant tanks, and decks for fast ferries, among many other applications. The research focus is now on applying FSW to join high temperature materials such as steels and nickel base alloys; on improved process control and automation; and on modelling and fundamental studies to improve understanding of the metallurgical processes involved in the severe deformation occurring during FSW and to predict the properties of the resulting components.

Edited by Professor Tony Reynolds of the University of South Carolina and Professor 

Stan David of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee, the issue reflects the state-of-the-art of FSW research and the diverse nature of the international FSW research community: contributors include physical metallurgists, mechanical and process engineers, modellers and physicists. 

Particularly notable is the paper by Zili Feng and colleagues at Oak Ridge and Los Alamos laboratories reporting the use of a novel in situ neutron diffraction technique capable of simultaneous time-resolved measurement of the temperature and stress fields in the stir zone during joining - said to be the first time this characterisation has ever been achieved. 

Other papers in the issue examine process simulation and property prediction, including residual stresses; welding of single crystal materials; process response and optimisation; microstructure development during joining; and the properties of the joints and structures achieved. 

Professor Reynolds anticipates further special issues dedicated to this fertile area of study with rapid strides being made in the FSW of ferrous and titanium alloys and structural intermetallics, as well as the more widely treated magnesium and aluminium alloy systems.

The special issue (Volume 12, No. 4) is available as a stand-alone publication as well as to regular subscribers to the journal. The issue costs £55/$110 and can be purchased via Ingenta, where full contents can also be viewed. Please visit: www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/stwj. 

About the journal

Science and Technology of Welding and Joining is published by Maney Publishing on behalf of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining in association with the Japan Welding Society. The Editors are Professor Stan David (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, TN, USA), Professor Tarasankar DebRoy (Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA) and Professor Harry Bhadeshia (Cambridge University, UK and the GIFT Institute, Pohang, Korea). STWJ is the only international peer-reviewed journal devoted to research in welding and joining of engineering and functional materials. As an online-only journal, articles are posted rapidly after acceptance which provides readers with the latest research and results. For more information visit www.maney.co.uk/journals/stwj.

About Maney Publishing

Maney Publishing was founded in 1900 and has offices in the UK in Leeds and London, and in North America. With a collection of over 70 journals in materials sciences, the humanities and healthcare, Maney is committed to publishing high quality journals in print and electronic formats that are international in scope and peer-reviewed. Please visit www.maney.co.uk for more information.

About the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining

The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining exists to promote and develop all aspects of materials science and engineering, geology, mining and associated technologies, mineral and petroleum engineering and extraction metallurgy. The Institute was formed from the merger of the Institute of Materials and the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy in 2002, and is the professional body for the international materials, minerals and mining community. Please visit www.iom3.org for more information.

For further information please contact Alison Holgate, Marketing & PR Assistant, Maney Publishing. Email: a.holgate@maney.co.uk  Tel: 0113 386 8160