Effect of tool velocity ratio on tensile properties of friction stir processed aluminum based metal matrix composites

Abstract

In friction stir processing (FSP), tool rotational speed (TRS) and tool traverse speed (TTS) are the two important parameters, known to produce significant changes in the properties of the processed material. Increasing the TRS and TTS beyond a certain level would produce undesirable results. The heat generation will increase with an increase in the TRS and decrease in TTS. Excessive heat generation results in the formation of coarse grains exhibiting poor mechanical properties. The heat generation will decrease with decrease in the TRS and increase in TTS. Low heat generation will lead to inadequate plasticization and improper material flow. Hence a perfect combination of TRS and TTS is required to attain desirable properties in FSPed material. In this investigation FSP was carried out on aluminum based metal matrix composite (LM25AA+5%SiCp) material using five different tool velocity ratios (TVR: TRS/TTS). The FSP was subjected to microstructural characterization and tensile properties, evaluation. The results revealed that the TVR of 2.6 yielded superior tensile properties compared to other conditions.

Keywords

• friction stir processing
• metal matrix composites
• microstructure
• tensile properties
• tool rotation speed
• tool traverse speed
• tool velocity ratio