Friction stir processing of commercially pure aluminium in bare and reinforced conditions

Abstract

Friction stir processing can imbibe super plasticity into the materials. Besides, it is also an established method for the fabrication of surface/bulk composites. With these advantages, the present investigation is devoted to friction stir processing of commercially pure aluminium in bare and copper-reinforced conditions. The copper is added in two steps 0.5 and 1 vol%. The base materials, processed bare, and composite materials were examined for microstructure, and tested for tensile and hardness properties. The process accounted for grain refinement. In processed bare aluminium A1 (45.8%) exhibited nearly 2.6 times higher ductility compared to BM Across (17.6%). Among processed composites, D1 with higher content of copper resulted in maximum strength (78.52 MPa) and retained considerable ductility (21.75%). The uniform distribution of self-hard copper particles in the aluminium matrix and the direct strengthening mechanism aided in improved hardness of composite materials.