Influence of friction stir processing Procedure on the microstructure Mechanical properties and stress Corrosion cracking behaviour of Cast magnesium alloy

Abstract

Cast ZE41 magnesium alloy, which contains rare-earth elements as newlinewell as zirconium, is majorly used as a structural material for aeronautical, newlinemilitary, and automotive components because of its high specific strength and newlinecreep resistance. However, the coarse microstructure and presence of large newlineintermetallic phases in the cast alloys deteriorate the mechanical properties newlinerestricting their use for wider applications. Friction Stir Processing (FSP), a newlinesolid-state plastic deformation method, can effectively modify the local newlinemicrostructure of the cast magnesium alloys. The multi-pass method, a newlinevariation of the friction stir process, is used for larger surface modifications. newlineThis research work investigates the effect of single-pass and multi-pass newlinefriction stir processing on the microstructural, mechanical, and Stress newlineCorrosion Cracking (SCC) behaviour of the as-cast ZE41 magnesium alloy. In newlineaddition, the influence of the Micro-Arc Coating (MAO) on the newlinemicrostructural, mechanical, and stress corrosion cracking behaviour of the newlineas-cast ZE41 magnesium alloy was studied. Single-pass and multi-pass newlinefriction stir processing was carried out on the base metal plate with a tool newlinerotation speed of 650 rpm and traverse speed of 50 mm/min along the newlinelongitudinal direction. Multi-pass processing was accomplished by varying newlinethe process parameters, namely overlap percentage (0 %, 25 %, 50 %, 75 %, newlineand 100 %) and overlap directions (advancing and retreating side). newlineThe macrostructural and microstructural analysis of the base metal newlineand all the processed samples were done using Optical Microscopy (OM) and newlineScanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Electro-Dispersive Spectroscopy newline(EDS). newline