Patent ID: 8657179

Claim:
A thermal stir welding system, comprising: a thermal stir welding head assembly to include a first plate defining a first surface, a second plate spaced apart from said first plate and defining a second surface that opposes said first surface wherein said first surface is maintained parallel to said second surface, a rod passing through said first plate and at least partially through said second plate, said rod passing perpendicularly through said first surface and said second surface wherein said rod is rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof relative to said first surface and said second surface, and said welding head assembly adapted to have a work piece disposed between said first surface and said second surface wherein the work piece is in a plastic state thereof in a region adjacent to said rod as said rod rotates about said longitudinal axis thereof and as said welding head assembly and the work piece experience relative movement therebetween in a direction perpendicular to said longitudinal axis; a heat source adapted to inductively heat the work piece in at least said region; a controllable drive source coupled to said rod for rotating said rod about said longitudinal axis thereof; a mechanism adapted to be coupled to one of the work piece and said welding head assembly for causing said relative movement between said welding head assembly and the work piece; an ultrasonic temperature sensor coupled to one of said first plate and said second, said ultrasonic temperature sensor having an axis of sensitivity that is aligned parallel to a surface of said rod in said region where the work piece is in the plastic state, said ultrasonic temperature sensor transmitting ultrasonic energy along said axis of sensitivity wherein echoes are generated at each of said first surface and said second surface; and a controller coupled to said ultrasonic temperature sensor for generating at least one control signal using said echoes to estimate temperature of the work piece in said region, said controller coupled to at least one of said controllable drive source, said heat source, and said mechanism for causing said relative movement, wherein at least one of rotational speed of said rod, heat supplied by said heat source, and speed of said relative movement are controlled.