Analytical Modeling of Transient Thermal Profiles in Rotary Friction Welding of Similar and Dissimilar Materials: 316L Stainless Steel and A60 Carbon Steel
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24237/djes.2026.19203Keywords:
Heat transfer, Mathematical modeling, Rotary friction welding, Separation of variablesAbstract
Rotary friction welding (RFW) is a solid-state joining process widely used for cylindrical components; however, accurate prediction of transient temperature fields remains challenging due to complex frictional heating, material property mismatch, and convective losses. This study develops an analytical model for transient thermal behavior during RFW of 20 mm diameter rods made of similar (316L/316L) and dissimilar (316L/A60) materials at rotational speeds of 710–2000 rpm. Interfacial heat generation is formulated based on thermal effusivity and partitioned between the contacting materials. The three-dimensional transient heat conduction equation in cylindrical coordinates is solved analytically using separation of variables, yielding a Fourier–Bessel series solution. For computational efficiency, the dominant axisymmetric mode (n = 0) is implemented in MATLAB. The model assumes constant thermophysical properties, semi-infinite geometry, axisymmetric heat generation, and lateral convective heat losses. Results show symmetric temperature distributions for similar materials and pronounced asymmetry for dissimilar joints due to differences in thermal conductivity and diffusivity. The predicted peak interface temperature increases nearly linearly with rotational speed, reaching 780.1 °C at 1000 rpm, with deviations below 5% from experimental data (770–800 °C). The heat-affected zone (T > 500 °C) is also accurately predicted. The proposed model provides a fast, physically consistent, and computationally efficient tool for thermal analysis and optimization of RFW processes.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Benfredj Amal, raouache elhadj, Mechta Ahlam, Laouissi Aissa
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