Infrared thermography for monitoring heat generation in a linear friction welding process of Ti6Al4V alloy

The increasing use of titanium alloys in a wider range of applications requires the development of new techniques and processes capable to decrease production costs and manufacturing times. In this regard welding and other joining techniques play an important role. Today, solid state friction joining processes, such as friction stir welding, friction spot welding, inertia friction welding, continuous-drive friction welding and linear friction welding (LFW), represent promising methods for part manufacturing. They allow for joining at temperature essentially below the melting point of the base materials being joined, without the addition of filler metal. However, the knowledge of temperature is essential to understand and model the phenomena involved in metal welding. A global measured value represents only a clue of the heat generation during the process; while, a deep understanding of welding thermal aspects requires temperature field measurement. This paper is focused on the use of infrared thermography applied to the linear friction welding process of Ti6Al4V alloy. The attention is concentrated on thermal field that develops on the outer wall of the two parts to be joined (i.e. heat generated in the friction zone), and on the maximum temperature that characterizes the process before and after the flash formation.