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The Refill Friction Stir Spot Welding is an innovative spot like solid state process befitting of overlap joint configurations of similar and dissimilar materials. This process caught the interest and is rapidly growing in the aerospace sector due to its potential to substitute traditional mechanical fasteners, surpassing their mechanical performance while maintaining the so desired lightweight “rationale.” In the current study, process parameters, namely plunge depth, plunge time and rotational speed, are optimized in order to obtain the highest Ultimate Lap Shear Force (ULSF) of 2024-T3 Aluminum Alloy similar joints. The optimization campaign was carried out using a second order multivariate polynomial regression machine learning (ML) algorithm. The trained ML model was able to generalize and accurately predict the Ultimate Lap Shear Force on the holdout set, having a R2 of 88.0%. Moreover, the model suggested an optimum parameter combination (Rotational Speed = 2,310 rpm, Welding Time = 5.3 s and Plunge Depth = 2.6 mm) from which the predicted maximum ULSF was computed. Confirmation tests were carried out to evaluate the agreement between the predicted and the experimental values.

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Linear friction welding is a solid-state process that comprises rapid heating and cooling of the welded parts. Residual stresses (RS) as in every other welding process cannot be avoided. The presence of RS compromises the in-service performance and reliability. They influence stress corrosion cracking, fatigue strength, and the crack growth rate. Knowing the magnitude and nature of such stresses is critical for improving the quality of welded joints. Therefore, four different manufacturing stages of linear friction welded chain links were analyzed in the present study: "as forged" (F), "as welded" (A), "as welded" without flash (N), and post weld heat treated (P). The residual stress field was measured using the hole drilling (HD) method. The results of the hole drilling method showed to be independent of the measured position and symmetry with respect to the weld was observed in all evaluated regions. Close to the weld center line (WCL), the compressive stresses present in the "as forged" condition switched to tensile as a result of the welding process. However, in further regions, stresses remained almost unchanged for either A and N. The PWHT uniformizes the residual stress field along the whole weld region.

Linear friction welding (LFW) is a solid-state welding process that has been thoroughly investigated for chain welding in recent years in order to replace the currently in use Flash Butt Welding (FBW) process. Modelling has proven to be an indispensable tool in LFW, thus providing necessary insight to the process, regardless of its final application. This article describes a 3D model developed in the commercial software DEFORM to study the LFW process of 30CrNiMo8 high strength steel in the Hero chain. Hence, a weakly coupled thermal and mechanical model were used, by means of the process experimental input such as displacement histories. The flash morphology and intervening mechanisms were analyzed. A thermal evaluation of different regions in the studied geometry was considered, and a correlation of the modeled and experimental width of the extrusion zone was established.

The linear friction welding process is a solid-state welding technology enabling high-quality joints in chains, thus competing with the currently in use flash butt welding process. In the present study, the effects of welding parameters were investigated, using 30CrNiMo8 small crosssection with 10 mm in diameter. To that end, a 2 k full factorial design was used. The influence of the process inputs was assessed experimentally and numerically using the commercial software DEFORM. A fairly good agreement was obtained between experiments and modelling. Some differences in the statistical effect of the parameters were observed regarding burn-off rate. Confirmation experiments were carried out to evaluate the adequacy of the attained regression models and good predictive ability was achieved.