LINEAR FRICTION WELDING – PROCESS CONTROL AND MACHINE TECHNOLOGY

• Main Author: PIOLLE N.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2020-01-01
• Series: MATEC Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://www.matec-conferences.org/articles/matecconf/pdf/2020/17/matecconf_ti2019_04019.pdf

Linear Friction Welding (LFW) is well adapted to produce titanium aircraft engine and structure parts, as an alternative to machining from solid, from forging or from electron beam welded blanks. The process can be described through a small number of mechanical variables: the amplitude and frequency of oscillation motion, the contact pressure and the axial displacement resulting of hot material flowing outside of the joint interface. Nonetheless, because of the high speeds and loads, the correct control and monitoring of linear friction welding requires special care on machine and tooling design. The main principles of LFW machine design are described, with a special focus on the consistency between process quality requirements and machine characteristics: the static and dynamic machine behavior, the control system performance, the sensor technology and the tooling clamping solutions shall allow a good control of the weld parameters and an accurate monitoring of the physical phenomena at the joint interface.