An Investigation on Friction Stir Processing of Aluminum Alloy-Boron Carbide Surface Composite

Abstract

AbstractIn the modern manufacturing sector, Al2014-T6 alloy is one of the unique candidates for making high-strength light-weight automotive and aerospace components. The current work focused on the fabrication of a boron carbide (B4C) reinforced Al2014 alloy surface to make the composite material through a friction stir processing method. The effect of the volume percentage of boron carbide on the tensile strength and wear rate of the Al2014 surface composite has been investigated. The microstructure and elements of surface composite have been analyzed using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The homogeneous mixing of reinforced particles on the surface composite has been achieved. The behavior of fracture and ductile nature of the Al2014 surface composite has been studied by the tensile tests using a fractography analysis. The worn-out surface behaviors of 5, 10, and 15% of B4C particles have been illustrated through SEM analysis. The maximum tensile strength (509 MPa) and minimum wear rate (1.8 mm3/Nm) were observed for the composite with 15 volume percentage of boron carbide particles.KeywordsFriction stir processA12014B4CEDSSEMFractographyTensile strengthWear characteristics