A Robust Numerical Procedure for the Thermomechanical Flow Simulation of Friction Stir Welding Process Using an Adaptive Element-Free Galerkin Method

Abstract

A meshfree modeling technique of material flow in the three-dimensional multiphysics thermomechanical friction stir welding process is presented. In this numerical model, the discretization in space is derived by the Element-Free Galerkin method using a Lagrangian meshfree convex approximation. The discrete thermal and mechanical equations are weakly coupled as the time advances using a forward difference scheme. A mortar contact algorithm is employed to model the stirring effect and heat generation due to frictional contact. Heat conductance between contacting bodies is considered as a function of contact pressure. A two-way adaptive procedure is introduced to the coupled thermomechanical system to surpass potential numerical problems associated with the extensive material deformation and spatial discretization. In each adaptive phase, a consistent projection operation utilizing the first-order meshfree convex approximation is performed to remap the solution variables. Finally, a three-dimensional multiphysics thermomechanical coupled friction stir welding problem is analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the present meshfree numerical procedure.

Modeling heat transfer during friction stir welding using a meshless particle method

“…In recent years, a few meshless methods including natural element method (NEM) [8], adaptive EFG method [9] and SPH method [10][11][12][13] have been extended to model FSW process. Among these meshless methods, SPH method is the most popular one.…”

“…Alternatively, numerical modeling is an effective avenue in understanding such thermal process. In this regard, many numerical simulations [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] have been carried out to explore the temperature distribution and other physics that is involved in FSW. Various approaches including finite element method (FEM) [2][3][4], finite difference method [5][6][7] and meshless methods [8][9][10][11][12][13] have been utilized in these numerical simulations.…”

An Explicit Coupled Method of FEM and Meshless Particle Method for Simulating Transient Heat Transfer Process of Friction Stir Welding

“…Numerical modeling provides an effective way to understand such processes. Currently, there were many numerical approaches applied to FSW modeling, including finite element method (FEM) [1][2][3], finite difference method (FDM) [4][5][6], and meshless methods [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Due to flexibility in space discretization, convenience for adaptive refinement, high accuracy, and strong ability in modeling large deformations in a Lagrangian frame, meshless methods are good options for FSW modeling.…”