Friction stir welding is increasingly gaining acceptance in different branches of the transport industry: aerospace, automotive, railway and naval. The NDT community is investigating the applicability of various techniques and their capability to detect specific discontinuities in friction stir welded components, both at the manufacturing and service stages. Until now, it was found that the NDT of friction stir welds was complex and challenging. Full characterization of these welds is realizable by employing complementary techniques, such as ultrasonic testing for detection of kissing bond discontinuities and eddy current testing for conductivity mapping. The present study showed that the pulsed eddy current technique has the ability to simultaneously detect discontinuities, such as lack of penetration and voids, and to sense conductivity changes. The potential of this NDT technique is not fully explored, but it shows considerable promise for determining the weld hardness and residual stresses in friction stir welded joints.
Pulsed eddy current testing of friction stir welds
Impulswirbelstromprüfung von Rührreibschweißungen
Materials Evaluation ; 66 , 4 ; 382-386
2008
5 Seiten, 7 Bilder, 7 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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