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Experimental characterization of Ti6Al4V T joints welded through linear friction welding technique: microstructure and NDE

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Abstract

Linear friction welding (LFW) is an innovative solid-state welding technique that allows to manufacture joints with high mechanical properties. This technology has various applications in the aerospace field; in particular it is used to weld massive structural components made of Ti6Al4V. This paper deals with the experimental study of Ti6Al4V T-joints welded through LFW, with particular focus on the effectiveness of ultrasonic control in detecting and distinguishing welding defects within the joints. Aiming to this scope, joints with different properties were manufactured and tested: some were free from defects but with different metallurgy, and some had different types of defects. The results obtained proved that the ultrasonic control was an effective method to detect and identify defects in linear friction welded titanium joints, moreover it was possible to get information regarding the microstructure and in particular the extension of the different metallurgical zones induced by the welding process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are very grateful to the Italian company: “Sophia High Tech s.r.l.” for the design and the manufacturing of the whole equipment used for the linear friction welding process. Sophia High Tech not only designed and produced the equipment but also helped the authors in the whole experimental campaign with their know-how and effort. The authors also want to thank the DAC – Distretto Aeronautico della Campania for funding the whole research activities through the grant “CAMPUS”. The authors want to specially thank Dr. Chiara Montanino for the interesting discussion and for helping the authors in writing this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering, University of Naples “Federico II”, Piazzale Tecchio 80, 80125, Naples, Italy

    Antonello Astarita, Mariacira Liberini, Ilaria Papa, Fabio Scherillo & Antonino Squillace

  2. Fox Bit srl, viale Luraghi presso consorzio Il Sole, 80038, Pomigliano d’Arco, NA, Italy

    Mario Coppola

  3. Leonardo Company S.p.A.- Aircraft Division, Engineering - AT&D, Manufacturing and Assembly Research and Development, Viale dell’Aeronautica, s/n, 80038, Pomigliano d’Arco, NA, Italy

    Sergio Esposito

  4. Department of Industrial Engineering - Aerospace Division, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Claudio, 21, Naples, Italy

    Leandro Maio

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  1. Antonello Astarita
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  2. Mario Coppola
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  7. Fabio Scherillo
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  8. Antonino Squillace
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Correspondence to Antonello Astarita.

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Astarita, A., Coppola, M., Esposito, S. et al. Experimental characterization of Ti6Al4V T joints welded through linear friction welding technique: microstructure and NDE. Adv. Manuf. 4, 305–313 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-016-0160-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40436-016-0160-7

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