Application of Optimal Control Algorithm to Inertia Friction Welding Process

Inertia friction welding (IFW) is a rotational pressure welding process and is a technique commonly used in the production of aircraft engine shafts. With the ever-increasing achievable production tolerances in terms of the upset and angular orientation, it follows that a significant improvement in the control of these quality parameters is called for. The approaches used for this purpose up to now were based on conventional control algorithms which considered only partial feedback and failed to comply with the required narrow tolerances. The objective of this brief is to develop optimal control algorithms which use feedback from the upset and angular orientation and are able to reach the necessary accuracy. The efficacy of these algorithms is established through experimental data collected from an actual IFW test bench.