J. E. Barnes, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, GA; Z. S. Loftus, Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Marietta, GA; J. McMichael, Alcoa Technical Center, Alcoa Center, PA

Summary:

Friction Stir Welding (FSW) has shown great promise for joining aluminum from both a technical and manufacturing perspective. Very often implementation efforts fail due to the prohibitive cost of engineering involved when making design changes to an existing, proven vehicle. Most applications for conversion to FSW start out as lap configurations. Changing the configuration to butt configurations incurs significant re-design activity, limiting implementation on legacy vehicles. As FSW technology progresses, so does the design and analytical capability to handle it. This presentation will focus on mechanical property data and metallographic analyses for Al 7075 alloy. Advantages of a lap FSW configuration over a butt joint for increased manufacturability in thin-gauge aerostructures will also be discussed.