Producing of AZ91/SiC composite by friction stir processing (FSP)

Friction stir processing (FSP) was used to fabricate SiC/AZ91 composite layer. Effect of process parameters such as rotational and traverse speeds, tool penetration depth and tilt angle on the formation of defects such as cracks, tunnelling cavity and also on sticking of matrix material to the tool was investigated. Also, effect of these parameters was studied on the mechanical properties and microstructures of specimens. Microstructure studies were carried out by optical and SEM. Results showed that FSP is an effective process to fabricate SiC/AZ91 composite layer with uniform distribution of SiC particles, good interfacial integrity and significant grain refinement. Increasing the rotational speed leads to a decrease in the grain size and an increase in the traverse speed leads to a decrease in the grain size. There are upper and lower limitations for these speeds which were determined. PD is a more effective parameter to produce sound surface layer. PD value was affected by traverse and rotational speeds and the tilt angle values. This study shows that by using 5 mu m SiC particles, the stir zone grain size reduces from 150 to 7.17 mu m and stir zone hardness increases from 63 to 96 Hv.