Thermo-mechanical modeling of friction stir welding

In this paper an integrated model has been utilized to predict thermo-mechanical behavior during friction stir welding of an aluminum alloy. A finite element code, ABAQUS, is employed to solve the governing equations of heat conduction and plastic deformation, while a rigid-viscoplastic material behavior is utilized and effects of different thermal and mechanical boundary conditions are considered in the simulation. To assess the accuracy of the model, predicted results have been compared with experimental data and good agreement has been observed.