Process modelling of linear friction welding (LFW) between AA2124/SICp composite and unreinforced alloy

Abstract

In the present study, the Linear Friction Welding (LFW) process between a bar of Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) AMC225xe (AA2124 with 25% SiC particulate reinforcement) and a bar of unreinforced base alloy was simulated using the commercial finite element package ABAQUSTM. Fully coupled implicit thermo-mechanical analysis procedure was employed, with semi-automatic re-meshing using Python scripting and output database scripting methods for extracting deformed configurations. Due to the large deformation near the weld region, multiple analyses were carried out between each re-meshing stage in order to limit the element distortion. Comparison of the simulation results with the experimental data collected during welding, and with post-weld optical section micrograph has shown satisfactory agreement.