The influence of process parameters in linear friction welded 30CrNiMo8 small cross-section: a modelling approach

The linear friction welding process is a solid-state welding technology enabling high-quality joints in chains, thus competing with the currently in use flash butt welding process. In the present study, the effects of welding parameters were investigated, using 30CrNiMo8 small cross-section with 10 mm in diameter. To that end, a 2^k full factorial design was used. The influence of the process inputs was assessed experimentally and numerically using the commercial software DEFORM. A fairly good agreement was obtained between experiments and modelling. Some differences in the statistical effect of the parameters were observed regarding burn-off rate. Confirmation experiments were carried out to evaluate the adequacy of the attained regression models and good predictive ability was achieved.