EVALUATION OF CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION COATED FRICTION STIR WELDING TOOL PERFORMANCE IN DUPLEX STAINLESS STEEL WELDING

Friction stir welding is a three-decade-old technology patented by The Welding Institute in 1991. The welding technique was originally intended to join aluminium alloys but has now become common for high-strength materials such as duplex stainless steel. As the main component, the welding tool plays an important role during the welding process since heat is generated through the rubbing action between the tool and the workpiece. Joining a duplex stainless steel plate using friction stir welding is challenging since the workpiece material is abrasive. One of the options for strengthening the welding tool found in the literature is applying a coating material. However, the growth characteristics of the coating material bonded to the tool substrate have not been widely discussed in the literature. Thus, the main objective of this research is to investigate the improvement of FSW tool life in joining the duplex stainless steel, through surface enhancement.