All issues › Volume 1, Issue 2, September – October 2026
Additive Friction Stir Deposition for Repair and Remanufacturing of Aluminium Alloys: Process Mechanics, Interface Integrity and Qualification Challenges — A Review
Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sengunthar Engineering College, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India
ORCID: 0000-0002-3709-4237
Abstract
Repair of high-value aluminium components is difficult when the alloy is precipitation strengthened, fusion-weld sensitive or geometrically inaccessible. Additive friction stir deposition (AFSD) offers a solid-state alternative in which a rotating tool plastically deforms feedstock and consolidates it onto a prepared substrate without bulk melting. This review examines AFSD specifically as a repair and remanufacturing process rather than only as a freeform additive-manufacturing route. Peer-reviewed evidence on process mechanics, material flow, thermal history, alloy-specific microstructure, interface formation, defects, post-deposition treatment, mechanical performance, corrosion, monitoring and modelling is synthesized. The literature shows that defect filling alone is an inadequate measure of repair quality. Reliable repair requires intimate interfacial mixing, removal of oxide-contaminated damage, control of heat and axial force, and management of precipitate dissolution and re-ageing. The solid-state process can suppress solidification cracking and produce fine equiaxed grains, but excessive thermal exposure can soften 6xxx and 7xxx alloys, create through-thickness property gradients and enlarge the heat-affected region. Groove geometry, deposition path, overlap and local restraint strongly influence bonding at the deepest part of a repair. Post-deposition heat treatment can restore strength in heat-treatable alloys, although corrosion and fatigue must be qualified independently. The review concludes that AFSD repair should be approved through a process-qualification route linking damage removal, deposition records, interface inspection, property recovery and component-level validation. Priority research needs include defect-sensitive nondestructive evaluation, fatigue and corrosion allowables, closed-loop control, dissimilar-alloy compatibility and life-cycle evidence for remanufacturing.
Keywords: additive friction stir deposition, aluminium alloys, solid-state repair, remanufacturing, interface integrity, microstructure, process qualification
How to cite
Chinnusamy, T. R. (2026). Additive Friction Stir Deposition for Repair and Remanufacturing of Aluminium Alloys: Process Mechanics, Interface Integrity and Qualification Challenges — A Review. Imaginex International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and Reviews, 1(2), 13–24.