Reduction of wing-related incidents and aircraft fuselage by replacing riveting process with friction stir spot welding process

Friction stir spot welding has been considered as one of the superior manufacturing processes with various applications which nowadays draw the attention of aerospace industries. The main goal of the current study is to compare the shear tensile-shear strength of dissimilar aluminum alloy sheets of 7075-T6 and 2024-T3 in the friction stir spot welding process with the riveting process commonly used in the wing and body structures of the aircraft. In addition, the influence of various parameters such as the influence of tool penetration speed, tool rotational speed, and the arrangement of aluminum alloy sheets on the tensile-shear strength of the joining zone have been investigated and compared with that of rivet joining process. By properly choosing these parameters, the optimum tensile-shear strength of the joint can be attainable. Results obtained during the current research can be considered to replace the riveting process with the stir spot welding process in the aerospace industries, and in particular for some portions of the wing and body of the aircraft in order to achieve higher strength for the desired joints. As a result, the damage related to the joints used in aircraft structures could be efficiently reduced.