Submerged friction stir welding: An overview of results of experiments and possible future works

Conventional Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is performed in an open air environment making use of the heat generated by both friction and plastic deformation of a material. Submerged Friction Stir Welding (SFSW) is a new development from the FSW process in which the welding is performed under liquid medium like water orbrine. SFSW process has wide applications in the marine field. This paper reviews the investigations carried out in SFSW and compares them with conventional FSW. Also, it describes the influence of the process parameters like tool rotational speed and tool traversing speed on mechanical and microstructural properties of the joints made in SFSW,compared with FSW. Further, it deals with some of the novel methods of SFSW. Research gapsareidentified to suggest future work for derivingmore information regarding SFSW.