The aim of the study was to analyse mechanical properties and microstructure of joints obtained using friction stir welding (FSW) technology. The focus of the study was on overlap linear FSW joints made of 1.4541 DIN 17441 steel sheets with thickness of 1.2 mm. Tools used during friction stir welding of steel joints were made of W-Re alloy. The joints were subjected to visual inspection and their load bearing capacity was evaluated by means of the tensile strength test with analysis of joint breaking mechanism. Furthermore, the joints were also tested during metallographic examinations. The analysis performed in the study revealed that all the samples of the FSW joints were broken outside the joint area in the base material of the upper sheet metal, which confirms its high tensile strength. Mean load capacity of the joints was 15.8 kN. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations of the joints did not reveal significant defects on the joint surface and in the cross-sections.

This work presents a numerical simulation of aviation structure joined by friction stir welding, FSW, process. The numerical simulation of aviation structure joined by FSW was created. The simulation uses thermomechanical coupled formulation. Th model required creation of finite elements representing sheets, stiffeners and welds, definition of material models and boundary conditions. The thermal model took into account heat conduction and convection assigned to appropriate elements of the structure. Time functions were applied to the description of a heat source movement. The numerical model included the stage of welding and the stage of releasing clamps. The output of the simulation are residual stresses and deformations occurring in the panel. Parameters of the global model (the panel model) were selected based on the local model (the single joint model), the experimental verification of the local model using the single joint and the geometry of the panel joints.

The work presents a computer simulation realized with the ADINA program concerning nanoindendation test. A shape of nanoindenter was proposed to be similar to the real surgical tools. The theoretical model was used to predict phenomena which would appear in practice. The contribution of the TiN coating thickness to the implant rigid properties was simulated. Three types of extortion conditions could be considered, i.e., short contact with surgery tool (i); long continuous contact with natural tissue (ii); long cyclic contact with natural tissue (iii). In the first part of the work, the authors focused on the first type of extortion (i). The second part of the work is dedicated to the calculations of temperature impact to layer behaviour. Two layer thicknesses are considered i.e., 250 nm and 50 nm. The examined coatings find serious practical applications as a blood-contacting material in medicine. The coatings were subjected to transmission electron microscopy investigations. Columnar mechanism of film growth controlled by kinetic process is stated to operate for the considered range of layer thickness. Plasma temperature is observed to influence the substrate behaviour. Examinations of thinner layers, i.e. under 100nm, revealed higher degree of smoothness and uniformity, which could be related to the operation of the surface diffusion mechanism at the early stage of deposition. The physical explanation of TEM images was based on the finite element calculations of the temperature distribution using the ADINA program .

Titanium nitride (TiN) is regarded as a potential biomaterial for blood-contact applications. TiN thin films were fabricated by pulsed

laser deposition with the Nd:YAG laser on biologically applied polyurethane. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of 250 nm thick films revealed columnar structure. Such films were observed to be brittle, which led to crack formation and secondary nucleation of microcolumn. TEM studies showed a kinetic mechanism of growth (columnar) in films of 250 nm thickness. It was stated that thinner films were much smoother and uniform than the thicker ones, which could be associated with the surface diffusion mechanism to appear. In order to improve the coatings elasticity, the thickness was reduced to 50 nm, which limited the deposition mechanism operation to the early stage. TEM cross-section observation revealed elastic properties of thin films. A biological test showed that TiN surface film produced on polyurethane is characterized by good biocompatibility and decreased surface affinity for cell adhesion. Films of 0.25 and 0.5 1m thick of TiN were selected for theoretical finite element modelling (FEM) using ADINA program. The micro cracks formation predicted in simulation was verified by phenomena observed in microstructure examinations.