Applicability of friction stir welding in polymeric materials

The applicability of friction stir welding has been studied on polypropylene sheets. The joint strength has been analysed in terms of rotation and translation speed. It has been demonstrated that in addition to the judicious selection of welding parameters the proper construction of the welding tool is also very important. The crystallinity of the seam and its neighbourhood has been analysed by DSC, the structure of the seam border region has been analysed by optical and by scanning electron microscopy. It was found, that the seam has undergone embrittlement, as a result of non-satisfactory homogenization. Having analysed the flow circumstances during welding on seams produced by proper tool geometries it has been demonstrated that homogenization and, consequently the joint strength can be substantially improved