| Abstract: | Friction stir welding( FSW) is a solid-state welding process that utilizes a rotating tool to induce gross material plastic deformation and join two parts together. A large number of studies have indicated that axial force control can be used to achieve good welding quality. However,in the welding process,due to workpiece's geometry error,improper clamping and other process variations,the axial force can vary significantly and produce welding defects.The control of force in the process of FSW is investigated. At first,the development and evaluation of a closed-loop control system is described,which is equipped with a custom real-time wireless force dynamometer for FSW. Then,an axial force controller is designed based on nonlinear force controllers for FSW. Experimental validations are carried out on an FSW platform. The experimental results demonstrate that the controller maintains the constant axial force and shows desirable dynamic behavior, even when the disturbance is encountered during the welding process. |
