Material flow in butt friction stir welds in AA2024-T3

The properties of a workpiece joined by friction stir welding (FSW) are directly related to the material flow around the tool. In the present work, the material flow is investigated by traditional metallography as well as X-ray and computer tomography (CT). By introducing a thin copper strip in the workpiece and welding through it, thus, acting as a marker material, detailed information about the flow field is gathered. The two- and three-dimensional CT images are used in parallel with micrographs for visualization of the flow field. Two procedures for estimating the average velocities for material flowing through the shear layer are presented. The procedures depend on the configuration of marker material relative to the welding direction, i.e. longitudinal and transverse. As such, the present work constitutes the first attempt in the literature to estimate flow velocities in FSW based on thorough experimental investigations.