Register for this professional development event through the OTC 2016 registration form.

Friction stir welding (FSW) was invented by TWI, Cambridge, UK, and patented in 1991. In the last 20 years, the research community has made significant advances in understanding the process, and numerous industrial applications have been taken to full implementation. During the same period friction stir processing (FSP) has been developed in parallel with FSW, and essentially employs FSW tooling to perform local thermo-mechanical treatments rather than to make joints.

The scientific and technical literature is rich with information on joining of aluminum, steel, titanium, magnesium, metal matrix composites, and even superalloys, as well as generic information on process fundamentals. The goal of this course is to provide participants with the essence of the accumulated FSW/FSP knowledge: both fundamental and practical. This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of the process and the linkage to performance by introducing aspects from basic process design, controls, tools, and metallurgical aspects. The course will culminate with a discussion of how various elements of the course link together.

Session 1: 8:30 a.m. to Noon (0830 to 1200)

• Overview of friction stir welding and examples of adoptions: highlights and issues—20 minutes
• Fundamentals of the friction stir process (FSP)—part I: process parameters—45 minutes
• Break—15 minutes
• Fundamental of FSP—part II: material flow and microstructural evolution—45 minutes
• Break—15 minutes
• Fundamental of FSP—part III: history of tool development—40 minutes

Lunch Break: Noon to 1:00 p.m. (1200 to 1300)

Session 2: 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (1300 to 1700)

• Weld configurations and tool selection: gaps and mismatches—40 minutes
• Low Temperature Metals—40 minutes
• Break—15 minutesBreak—15 minutes
• High Temperature materials—70 minutes
• Break—15 minutes
• Derivative Technologies—30 minutes
• Discussion—30 minutes

Tracy W. Nelson received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Prior to joining Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1995, he worked for Westinghouse Power Generation Division as a materials/welding engineer. Nelson has been involved in friction stir welding (FSW) and processing research and development since 1998. His research in FSW includes both fundamental and applied topics. These include process development, local texture evolution, and microstructural characterization in FSW aluminum, steels, stainless steels, and nickel alloys. Nelson and his co-workers have authored numerous papers and patents in the area of FSW. He was the site director (2004–2010) and more recently center director (2010–present) for a multi-university National Science Foundation (NSF) I/UCRC: Center for Friction Stir Processing. Nelson has served as consultant for several organizations on FSW, and has participated on the design, development, and implementation of a full-scale FSW demonstration on steel in Northrop Grumman naval shipyard, and a full-scale prototype FSW machine for field welding of linepipe for oil and gas.

Carl D. Sorensen received his B.S. from Brigham Young University in physics and his Ph.D. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in materials science. Sorensen has been actively working in FSW technologies since 2000. He has been a consultant in the design of FSW equipment and has developed control and data management software for FSW machines. He has been active in modeling of FSW processes, data analysis for FSW systems, and fundamental understanding of FSW process. He has authored more than 40 papers and presentation on FSW processes, and is the author of a chapter in the ASM International Friction Stir Welding and Processing handbook. He is an inventor on five patents related to friction stir processing.

Space is limited; advance registration is recommended.

Register for this professional development event through the OTC 2016 registration form. Please note that conference registration is not required to attend this training course.

Registration Fees
Registration fees include course materials, morning and afternoon beverage breaks, and lunch.

*Not sure if your organization is an OTC sponsoring society? Check this list to find out if you qualify for the discounted member registration rate.