Recent trends in parametric influence and microstructural analysis of friction stir welding for polymer composites

Over the past several years, friction stir welding (FSW) of polymers and their composites has received a lot of interest. In this respect, an effort has been made to explore the articles on current trends to gain a more in-depth understanding of friction stir welding of various polymers. There is an emphasis on fine-tuning the FSW processing settings to maximise the efficiency of the resulting joints. Besides this, the study highlights that the research community has applied the ANOVA to analyse the parametric effect of welding factors on each performance characteristic during the FSW of polymers. Friction stir welding leaves holes as a defect in the end stage, and this area needs more research and development. This review study also includes a summary of the researchers’ recommended tool setup, microstructure analysis, and other best practices.