Friction Stir Welding - Applications

Shipbuilding and marine industries

The shipbuilding and marine industries are two of the first industry sectors which have adopted the process for commercial applications. The process is suitable for the following applications:

  • Panels for decks, sides, bulkheads and floors
  • Aluminium extrusions
  • Hulls and superstructures
  • Helicopter landing platforms
  • Offshore accommodation
  • Marine and transport structures
  • Masts and booms, e.g. for sailing boats
  • Refrigeration plant

Aerospace industry

At present the aerospace industry is welding prototype and production parts by friction stir welding. Opportunities exist to weld skins to spars, ribs, and stringers for use in military and civilian aircraft. The Eclipse 500 aircraft, in which ~60% of the rivets are replaced by friction stir welding, is now in production. This offers significant advantages compared to riveting and machining from solid, such as reduced manufacturing costs and weight savings. Longitudinal butt welds in Al alloy fuel tanks for space vehicles have been friction stir welded and successfully used. The process could also be used to increase the size of commercially available sheets by welding them before forming. The friction stir welding process can therefore be considered for:

  • Wings, fuselages, empennages
  • Cryogenic fuel tanks for space vehicles
  • Aviation fuel tanks
  • External throw away tanks for military aircraft
  • Military and scientific rockets
  • Repair of faulty MIG welds
  • Various primary and secondary structural components

Railway industry

The commercial production of high speed trains made from aluminium extrusions which may be joined by friction stir welding has been published. Applications include:

  • High speed trains
  • Rolling stock of railways, underground carriages, trams
  • Railway tankers and goods wagons
  • Container bodies

Land transportation

The friction stir welding process is currently being used commercially, and is also being assessed by several automotive companies and suppliers to this industrial sector for its commercial application. Existing and potential applications include:

  • Engine and chassis cradles
  • Wheel rims
  • Attachments to hydroformed tubes
  • Tailored blanks, e.g. welding of different sheet thicknesses
  • Space frames, e.g. welding extruded tubes to cast nodes
  • Truck bodies
  • Tail lifts for lorries
  • Mobile cranes
  • Armour plate vehicles
  • Fuel tankers
  • Caravans
  • Buses and airfield transportation vehicles
  • Motorcycle and bicycle frames
  • Articulated lifts and personnel bridges
  • Skips
  • Repair of aluminium cars
  • Magnesium and magnesium/aluminium joints

Other industry sectors

Friction stir welding can also be considered for:

  • Electric motor housings (in production)
  • Refrigeration panels
  • Cooking equipment and kitchens
  • White goods
  • Gas tanks and gas cylinders
  • Connecting of aluminium or copper coils in rolling mills
  • Furniture
  • Many other applications

More on friction stir welding:

Copyright © 2007 TWI Ltd
Information and advice from TWI and its partners are provided in good faith and based, where appropriate, on the best engineering knowledge available at the time and incorporated into TWI's website in accordance with TWI's ISO 9001:2000 accredited status. No warranty expressed or implied is given regarding the results or effects of applying information or advice obtained from the website, nor is any responsibility accepted for any consequential loss or damage.