The Boeing Company

Rockwell International Corporation

Robert A Spurling

Norman G Taylor

Murray W Mahoney

William H Bingel

Frederick E Long

Gerald S Steele

Burton I Davis

The present invention provides a method to repair a void in an aluminum alloy, particularly a void resulting from an exit hole left from friction stir welding (FSW). The method includes machining the void to provide a tapered bore (34) through a parent metal, i.e., the aluminum alloy (30), providing grooves and ridges (36) on a sidewall of the tapered bore, inserting into the bore a consumable tapered plug (38) having an included angle less than, or equal to, that of the tapered bore, and rotating the plug inside the bore under an applied load to plasticize both its surface and the ridges on the parent metal tapered bore. The tapered plug is preferably attached at its proximal end to a nonconsumable heat sink (40) to remove excessive heat generated during rotation of the plug. Also, a support bracket is temporarily attached to the aluminum alloy adjacent the tapered bore to receive a distal end of the plug (38) and to react to the applied load. The plasticized material (48) at the interface between the plug and the tapered bore, upon hardening, produces a strong bond consisting of refined and recrystallized fine metal. The heat sink and the support bracket can be later trimmed away.

Method to repair voids in aluminum alloys

A mechanical grinding device is provided for preparing very thin specimens such as transmission electron microscopy specimens. The specimens are held on the end of a long rod which is pressed against a spherical tool by the weight of the rod. The opposite end of the rod extends through a hole in a pivot plate which is spaced above the tool. The tool is mounted on a tool holder which is eccentrically positioned on a rotating base by a pivot. As the base rotates, the tool holder moves and a concave surface is ground in the specimen, thus thinning it.

Device for preparing thin specimens

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Thousand Oaks, CA, United States of America

Robert A Spurling