Fabrication of AA6061/Al2O3 surface composite by double pass friction stir processing and investigation on mechanical and wear properties

Abstract

ABSTRACT Friction Stir Processing (FSP) is known for its ability to produce the surface composite. FSP technique has been proved as a leading and efficient method to increase mechanical, microstructural, and tribological properties of the prepared composites. In this paper, FSP was employed to fabricate the surface composite on aluminium alloy AA6061 by using Al2O3 as the reinforcement particles. FSP with a single and a double number of passes were used to compare their influence on the microstructural, microhardness, and tribological characteristics of the prepared composites. Uniform distribution of reinforcement particles in AA6061 was observed in double pass FSP as compared to FSP with a single number of passes. Double pass AA6061/Al2O3 surface composite showed an increase in microhardness by 21.5% and coefficient of friction by 63.45%.