Introduction 

Friction stir spot welding (FSSW) is a solid-state joining process, which is a derivative of
friction stir welding (FSW); however, during FSSW, no linear movement of the tool
occurs. This results in a localised ‘spot’ weld. Although one continuous process, FSSW
occurs over three stages: plunging, stirring and extraction, as shown in Figure 1.A). The
key industrial drivers for this technology are to replace mass-adding fastening
processes, such as riveting, and to join a range of dissimilar materials, which are
currently difficult to join using fusion welding processes. Despite the interest in the
technology among a range of sectors, there has been limited industrial implementation,
which is partly due to concerns about the small weld area and exit hole produced. A
general FSSW weld cross-section is shown in Figure 1.B). 

Figure 1. A) Schematic drawing of the conventional FSSW process and B)

correspondent cross-section

To address these concerns, a new variant of the process - refill friction stir spot welding
(RFSSW) or friction spot welding (FSpW) was patented in 2004. The process uses a
non-consumable tool comprised of two rotating components - probe and shoulder –
assembled concentrically with a static clamp ring. The major improvement to this
process, in comparison with the other friction stir spot processes, is that the rotating
elements have independent vertical movement. This allows the production of spot welds
without an exit hole after the tool extraction, as shown in Figure 2.
 Figure 2. RFSSW equipment at TWI Cambridge and weld top surface

The RFSSW process has two variants, shoulder-plunge and probe-plunge, which
depend on the plunging component. 

The principle of the RFSSW process is described below and its variants are shown in
Figure 3 and Figure 4:

 Stage 1 - As the weld cycle begins, the three components move to the surface of
the top sheet and dwell for a certain amount of time to produce initial frictional
pre-heating.
 Stage 2 – For the shoulder-plunge variant, the shoulder is the plunging
component to a set depth into the base material. At the same time, the probe
retracts to create a chamber for the displaced material to flow into. During the
plunge stage, the friction on the shoulder causes the material to heat and soften.
 For the probe plunge variant, the principle is similar but the probe is the plunging
component.
 Stage 3 - The rotating components return to the surface of the top sheet whilst
rotating and the previously retracted component consolidates the weld material
by offsetting the positions from stage 2.
 Stage 4 – The weld cycle finishes by extracting the tool from the surface of the
material. 

Figure 3. RFSSW process shoulder-plunge variant

 Figure 4. RFSSW process probe-plunge variant

Microstructure Properties
Refill friction stir spot welds typically exhibit three main microstructural regions, as
shown in Figure 5. The stirred zone (SZ) is the dynamically recrystallised volume of
material in the centre of the weld. Two different regions can be identified in this area,
corresponding to the volume of material displaced by the shoulder (SZ S) and by the
probe (SZP). The thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) is an area that
experiences less deformation than the SZ, therefore dynamic recrystallisation does not
occur. The heat-affected zone (HAZ) is characterised by increased grain size due to
local increase of temperature. The extent and microstructural composition of these
zones are dependent on the material and processing conditions (parameters and tool
design, for example). 
 Figure 5. Cross section macrograph of RFSSW aluminium alloy

Applications
RFSSW has been mainly used to join heat treatable aluminium alloys, without and with
surface protection, for example anodized or coated. Dissimilar combinations between
aluminium and other engineering materials, such as magnesium, steel, titanium, copper
and carbon fibre composites, have also been explored with successful results. Welding
of polymers and polymer composites have also proven possible.

As a single-spot welding process, RFSSW is an alternative solution to replace mass-

adding fastening processes, such as rivets, and to address challenging material
combinations for fusion spot welding processes. Although this technology is only
currently being used for research and development applications, possible industrial
sectors for this technology include:

 Shipbuilding and Marine  

o panels for decks, sides, bulkheads and floors
 Aerospace  
o Skin/stringer applications 
o Fuselage and wing structures
 Railway industry 
o Rail stock vehicle floor, side and roof panels, namely for high-speed trains
o railway tankers
 Automotive  
o engine chassis cradles
o car body structures
 Figure 6. Skin stiffened panel joined using RFSSW technology

Advantages
Refill friction stir welding offers many advantages over current spot joining processes,
especially when joining aluminium alloys:

 Remaining in the solid-state, avoiding many of the defects associated with

melting and solidification during fusion welding, such as pores and solidification
cracks. 
 The peak temperatures are lower, allowing a reduction in distortion and
shrinkage.
 No filler material or third body is added to the weld.
 No exit hole and the roughness of the spot weld is lower than the base material.
 Being able to join many ‘non-weldable’ aluminium alloys, namely from the 2xxx
and 7xxx series.
 No fumes, porosity or spatter are generated.
 Easily automated, making the process suitable for production.
 Energy efficient.
Spot welding parameters
Spot welding parameters include:

 Electrode force

 Diameter of the electrode contact surface

 Squeeze time

 Weld time

 Hold time

 Weld current

The determination of appropriate welding parameters for spot welding is a very complex issue. A
small change of one parameter will effect all the other parameters. This, and the fact that the
contact surface of the electrode is gradually increasing, makes it difficult to design a welding
parameter table, which shows the optimum welding parameters for different circumstances.
However, this table shows target values for the welding parameters.    

Sheet thickness, t  Electrode force, F  Weld current, I  Weld time  Hold time  Electrode diameter, d 

[mm]    [kN]    [A]    [cycles]    [cycles]    [mm]

0.63 + 0.63    2.00    8 500    6    1    6

0.71 + 0.71    2.12    8 750    7    1    6

0.80 + 0.80    2.24    9 000    8    2    6

0.90 + 0.90    2.36    9 250    9    2    6

1.00 + 1.00    2.50    9 500    10    2    6

1.12 + 1.12    2.80    9 750    11    2    6

1.25 + 1.25    3.15    10 000    13    3    6    7

1.40 + 1.40    3.55    10 300    14    3    6    7

1.50 + 1.50    3.65    10 450    15    3    6    7

1.60 + 1.60    4.00    10 600    16    3    6    7

1.80 + 1.80    4.50    10 900    18    3    6    7

2.00 + 2.00    5.00    11 200    3x7+2    4          7    8

2.24 + 2.24    5.30    11 500    3x8+2    4          7    8

2.50 + 2.50    5.60    11 800    3x9+3    5                8

2.80 + 2.80    6.00    12 200    4x8+2    6                8

3.00 + 3.00    6.15    12 350    4x9+2    6                8

3.15 + 3.15    6.30    12 500    4x9+2    6                8

Electrode force

The purpose of the electrode force is to squeeze the metal sheets to be joined together. This
requires a large electrode force because else the weld quality will not be good enough. However,
the force must not be to large as it might cause other problems. When the electrode force is
increased the heat energy will decrease. This means that the higher electrode force requires a
higher weld current. When weld current becomes to high spatter will occur between electrodes
and sheets. This will cause the electrodes to get stuck to the sheet. 

An adequate target value for the electrode force is 90 N per mm2. One problem, though, is that
the size of the contact surface will increase during welding. To keep the same conditions during
the hole welding process, the electrode force needs to be gradually increased. As it is rather
difficult to change the electrode force in the same rate as the electrodes are "mushroomed",
usually an average value is chosen.   

Diameter of the electrode contact surface

One general criterion of resistance spot-welding is that the weld shall have a nugget diameter of
5*t1/2, “t” being the thickness of the steel sheet. Thus, a spot weld made in two sheets, each 1 mm
in thickness, would generate a nugget 5 mm in diameter according to the 5*t½-rule. Diameter of
the electrode contact surface should be slightly larger than the nugget diameter. For example,
spot welding two sheets of 1 mm thickness would require an electrode with a contact diameter of
6 mm. In practice, an electrode with a contact diameter of 6 mm is standard for sheet thickness of
0.5 to 1.25 mm. This contact diameter of 6 mm conforms to the ISO standard for new
electrodes.    

Squeeze time

Squeeze Time is the time interval between the initial application of the electrode force on the
work and the first application of current. Squeeze time is necessary to delay the weld current
until the electrode force has attained the desired level.
Weld time

Weld time is the time during which welding current is applied to the metal sheets. The weld time
is measured and adjusted in cycles of line voltage as are all timing functions. One cycle is 1/50
of a second in a 50 Hz power system. (When the weld time is taken from American literature,
the number of cycles has to be reduced due to the higher frequency (60Hz) that is used in the
USA.) 

As the weld time is, more or less, related to what is required for the weld spot, it is difficult to
give an exact value of the optimum weld time. For instance: 

 Weld time should be as short as possible. 

 The weld current should give the best weld quality as possible. 

 The weld parameters should be chosen to give as little wearing of the electrodes as
possible. (Often this means a short weld time.) 

 The weld time shall cause the nugget diameter to be big when welding thick sheets.

 The weld time might have to be adjusted to fit the welding equipment in case it does not
fulfil the requirements for the weld current and the electrode force. (This means that a
longer weld time may be needed.)  

 The weld time shall cause the indentation due to the electrode to be as small as possible.
(This is achieved by using a short weld time.)   

 The weld time shall be adjusted to welding with automatic tip-dressing, where the size of
the electrode contact surface can be kept at a constant value. (This means a shorter
welding time.) 

When welding sheets with a thickness greater than 2 mm it might be appropriate to divide the
weld time into a number of impulses to avoid the heat energy to increase. This method will give
good-looking spot welds but the strength of the weld might be poor.  

By multiplying the thickness of the sheet by ten, a good target value for the weld time can be
reached. When welding two sheets with the thickness 1 mm each, an appropriate weld time is 10
periods (50Hz).

Hold time (cooling-time)

Hold time is the time, after the welding, when the electrodes are still applied to the sheet to chill
the weld. Considered from a welding technical point of view, the hold time is the most
interesting welding parameter. Hold time is necessary to allow the weld nugget to solidify before
releasing the welded parts, but it must not be to long as this may cause the heat in the weld spot
to spread to the electrode and heat it. The electrode will then get more exposed to wear. Further,
if the hold time is to long and the carbon content of the material is high (more than 0.1%), there
is a risk the weld will become brittle. When welding galvanized carbon steel a longer hold time
is recommended. 

Weld current

The weld current is the current in the welding circuit during the making of a weld. The amount
of weld current is controlled by two things; first, the setting of the transformer tap switch
determines the maximum amount of weld current available; second the percent of current control
determines the percent of the available current to be used for making the weld. Low percent
current settings are not normally recommended as this may impair the quality of the weld. Adjust
the tap switch so that proper welding current can be obtained with the percent current set
between seventy and ninety percent.  

The weld current should be kept as low as possible. When determining the current to be used, the
current is gradually increased until weld spatter occurs between the metal sheets. This indicates
that the correct weld current has been reached.