Study on mechanical and tribological behaviour of friction stir processed aluminium based metal matrix composites

Abstract

Over the past few decades, significant development has been made in the utilization of aluminium in the automobile, aircraft and structural industries. However, research is still required on aluminium alloys due to the demand to construct automobile components and structures. Although the applications of aluminium alloys are vast, their poor surface properties limit their use in mechanical and wear applications due to the high thermal expansion and inadequate wear characteristics. This lack of the surface property of AA6082 makes many researchers search for a suitable manufacturing process. A better way to improve the tribological and mechanical properties of aluminium alloys is the addition of ceramic particles using an effective manufacturing process. Composites with multiple reinforcements are the contemporary research area, due to their increased performance leading to upgrade both their mechanical and tribological behaviour. While considering the tribological behaviour, the enhancement of surface properties could improve the friction and wear behaviour of the material. Therefore, the modification of bulk properties is not required. An advanced and effective technique for improving the surface properties of Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) is Friction Stir Processing (FSP). newlineIn FSP, the stirring action of the tool will induce Severe Plastic Deformation (SPD) on the material surface, and it causes dynamic recrystallization in the processed zone. This effect leads to the formation of fine and equiaxed grains, which can exhibit superplastic behaviour newline