Optimization of friction stir welding process for joining of aluminum to steel

搅拌摩擦焊（FSW）是一种固态焊接工艺，可对多种难焊材料进行高质量焊接。由于所使用的能量输入较低，FSW可产生高强度接头，同时减少变形。由于能够处理大批量生产所固有的变化，FSW的优点还包括改进的工艺鲁棒性和降低的生产成本。搅拌摩擦焊在制造轻质结构方面迅速获得认可。对提高燃油经济性的需求不断增长，推动了为运输车辆开发创新铝产品的努力。然而，车辆中使用的大多数结构涉及钢，并且在钢结构中使用轻质材料具有极大的兴趣。钢和铝合金的组合的使用在制造中已经增加，并且已经投入了许多努力来将钢焊接到铝合金。

Friction stir welding (FSW) is a solid-state welding process, which can produce high quality welds of several materials difficult to weld. Due to the low energy input used, FSW creates high strength joints with reduced distortion. Being capable of handling variations inherent to high volume production, advantages of FSW also include improved process robustness and reduced production costs. FSW has rapidly gained acceptance for the manufacturing of lightweight structures. The rising demands for improved fuel economy have driven the efforts for the development of innovative aluminum products for transportation vehicles. However, the majority of the structures used in vehicle involve steel and the employment of lightweight materials in steel structures is of great interest. The use of the combination of steel and aluminum alloys has been increasing in fabrication and many efforts to weld steel to aluminum alloy have been invested.