A novel way to produce bulk SiCp reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites by friction stir processing

Friction stir processing (FSP) has been developed to produce upper surface modification of metallic materials in recent studies. The feasibility to make bulk dispersal SiCp reinforced Al metal matrix composites (MMCs) were studied successfully in this paper. The distribution of well-dispersed SiCp got a range of S mm x 2 mm on the cross-section of joints. Excellent bonding between SiCp and base metal can be obtained by this process. The percentage of SiCp over 1.5% was found in the bulk reinforced region not only confined to 100 mu m magnitude under the upper surface. The microhardness of MMCs can reach steady 10% higher than the one of the base metal (about HV88) at the depth of 1.0 mm under surface. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.