Fabrication of Friction Stir Processed 6082-T6 Aluminum Alloy With Reinforced Powder

Abstract

In this study, Friction Stir Processing (FSP) technique was applied for the development of surface composites of 6082-T6 aluminum alloy reinforced with Titanium Carbide with the aim of investigating the possibility of enhancing the surface property of aluminium alloy by reinforcing it with Titanium Carbide to form metal matrix composites using one pass and three passes respectively. The groove with depth of 1.5 mm and width range from 0.5mm to 1.9mm were machined and filled with reinforcement powder using axial load of 20 kN. The rotational speed of the tools employed is 1000 rpm and the feed rate of 60 mm/min was used. The hardness properties to provide a sense of mechanical response and the surface morphology of the eroded samples were studied and characterised to reveal the microstructural features by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) was used to analyse the specimens. This study would motivate future studies to further explore the viability of composites produced using FSP technique.