Influence of pin geometry on mechanical and structural properties of butt friction stir welded 2024-T351 aluminum alloy

The aim of this work was to investigate the combined effect of small difference in pin geometry, together with rotation and welding speed on the weldability, mechanical and structural properties of FSW 2024-T351 Al plates. The only difference in tool pin design was the shape of thread: regular and rounded. Specimens were welded using rotation rate of 750 rev/min and welding speeds of 73 and 93 mm/min. In all four cases, specimens were defect free, with good or acceptable weld surface. Modification in pin design showed strong influence on macro structure and hardness distribution. Weak places are identified as low hardness zone, close to the nugget zone and are in good agreement with fracture location in tensile testing. Weld efficiency, as a measure of weld quality, are better in case of 310 tool, while UTS values can differ up to 13% for the equal welding parameters. Therefore, it can be assumed that small modification in tool design, particularly in pin geometry, can have great influence on weld formation and mechanical properties

Residual life estimation of a thermal power plant component: The high-pressure turbine housing case

This study focuses on the estimation of residual life of damaged thermal power plant components. The high-pressure turbine housing was chosen as an example of thermal power plant component where, during the years of exploitation, damage appeared in the form of dominant crack. Residual life estimation procedure, based upon experimental and numerical methods has been introduced and applied. Material properties were determined experimentally both at room and operating temperature, while all necessary calculations were performed by the special finite element method, so-called X-FEM. The residual life estimation of the damaged high-pressure turbine housing was performed by applying the Paris's law for crack growth analysis