ABSTRACT
Commercial airplane companies are constantly looking to reduce the cost of airplane manufacturing and improve airplane performance. Historically most aircraft assembly is done by mechanical joining (e.g., fasteners), fusion welding, and adhesive bonding. Improvements in cost may be achieved through improved manufacturing processes, reduced part count, raw material costs, and improved assembly rate. Performance improvements can be made by reducing the final part weight through the elimination of fasteners and overlapping splice joints. One enabling technology to be considered is friction stir welding (FSW). FSW has shown a huge potential for the integration of very complex structural elements in airframe construction that can result in significant manufacturing cost savings. This chapter will discuss the advantages of FSW for aerospace and the characteristics inherent to the process. For more specific details on FSW see Mishra and Mahoney (2007).
