Influence of Microstructure and Experimental Parameters on Mechanical and Wear Properties of Al-TiC Surface Composite by FSP Route

S. Jerome, S. Govind Bhalchandra, S.P. Kumaresh Babu, B. Ravisankar

Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli – 620 015, Tamilnadu, India.

DOI: 10.4236/jmmce.2012.115035                

Abstract

Surface properties decide the fatigue, wear and corrosion behavior of a material. Hence their performance can be improved by surface modifications. Friction Stir Processing (FSP) is a promising technique to develop surface composite. The aim of the present study is to develop defect free surface composite of Al 5083 alloy reinforced with TiC particles and investigate the particle distribution in the matrix, mechanical properties and wear behavior of the composites. Microstructural observations were carried out by using optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microstructural studies revealed that distribution of particles were more uniform in samples subjected to double pass than the single pass FSP. The microhardness profiles along top surface and across the cross section of the processed samples were evaluated. The average hardness along the top surface was found to increase by 27.27%, as compared to that of the base metal (88Hv). The particles were incorporated maximum average depth about 250μm in the surface composite. The slurry erosion tests revealed that the wear rate was highly reduced in case of double pass FSP samples as compared to base metal and single pass FSPed composite

Keywords

Al- TiC surface composite, Friction stir processing, Microhardness, Wear resistance

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	R.S. Mishra , Z.Y. Ma, I. Charit, "Friction stir processing: a novel technique for fabrication of surface Composite", J. Materials Science and Engineering A, 341, pp 307-310, (2003)
[2]	Y. Morisada , H. Fujii , T. Nagaoka , M. Fukusumi, "Effect of friction stir processing with SiC particles on microstructure and hardness of AZ31", J. Materials Science and Engineering A, 433, pp 50–54, (2006)
[3]	Y. Morisada, H. Fujii, T. Nagaoka , K. Nogi, M. Fukusumi, "Fullerene/A5083 composites fabricated by material flow during friction stir processing", J. Composites: Part A, 38, pp 2097–2101,(2007)
[4]	Yoshiaki Morisada, Hidetoshi Fujii, Tadashi Mizuno, Genryu Abe, Toru Nagaoka, Masao Fukusumi, "Modification of thermally sprayed cemented carbide layer by friction stir processing", J. Surface & Coatings Technology, 204, pp 2459–2464, (2010).
[5]	Wei Wang, Qing-yu Shi, Peng Liu, Hong-ke Li, Ting Li, "A novel way to produce bulk SiCp reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites by friction stir processing", J. Materials processing technology, 209, pp 2099–2103, (2009).
[6]	A. Shafiei-Zarghani, S.F. Kashani-Bozorg, A. Zarei-Hanzaki, "Microstructures and mechanical properties of Al/Al2O3 surface nano-composite layer produced by friction stir processing", J. Materials Science and Engineering A 500, pp 84–91, (2009).
[7]	D.K. Lima, T. Shibayanagib, A.P. Gerlich, "Synthesis of multi-walled CNT reinforced aluminium alloy composite via friction stir processing", J. Materials Science and Engineering A, 507, pp 194–199, (2009).
[8]	M. Raaft, T.S. Mahmoud, H.M. Zakaria, T.A. Khalifa, "Microstructural, Mechanical and wear behaviour of A390/graphite and A390/Al2O3 surface composites fabricated using FSP", J. Materials Science and Engineering A,(2009.)
[9]	H.N.B. Schmidt , T.L. Dickerson, J.H. Hattel, "Material flow in butt friction stir welds in AA2024-T3", J. Acta Materialia, 54, pp1199–1209, (2006).
[10]	Y.L. Saraswathi, S. Das, D.P. Mondal, ''Influence of microstructure and experimental parameters on the erosion–corrosion behavior of Al alloy composites'', J.Materials Science and Engineering A 425, pp 244–254, (2006).