Abstract
In the present work, an aluminum metal matrix reinforced with (Al2O3) nanoparticles was fabricated as a surface composite sheet using friction stir processing (FSP). The effects of processing parameters on mechanical properties, hardness, and microstructure grain were investigated. The results revealed that multi-pass FSP causes a homogeneous distribution and good dispersion of Al2O3 in the metal matrix, and consequently an increase in the hardness of the matrix composites. A finer grain is observed in the microstructure examination in specimens subjected to second and third passes of FSP. The improvement in the grain refinement is 80% compared to base metal. The processing parameters, particularly rotational tool speed and pass number in FSP, have a major effect on strength properties and surface hardness. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and the average hardness are improved by 25% and 46%, respectively, due to presence of reinforcement Al2O3 nanoparticles.
Highlights
Friction stir processing (FSP), and other processes known as surface modification methods have been the focus of much attention from researchers
friction stir processing (FSP) is considered one of the major techniques used in fabricating surface composites, and the results showed that as the number of FSP passes increases it causes a uniform dispersion of reinforced particles [27,28,29,30,31,32]
The microhardness results indicated that higher hardness values occurred in the center of the nugget zone (NZ), gradually decreased across the thermo-mechanically-affected zone (TMAZ)
Summary
Friction stir processing (FSP), and other processes known as surface modification methods have been the focus of much attention from researchers. The tool rotation speed has a significant influence on mechanical properties and microstructure grain refinement as a result of increasing the heat input causes softening and intense stirring action of the rotating tool pin. The effects of multi-pass FSP on the microstructure, microhardness, and tensile strength of the metal alloy and composites have been studied by many investigators, but there was a disparity in the results with respect to the difference in the materials used. The importance of these additional passes lies in the improvement of the mechanical properties and the fine and homogenous dispersion of the reinforcement particles in the metal matrix composites
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