Physical and mechanical behavior of aluminum-magnesium alloy matrix hybrid composite fabricated through friction stir consolidation process

Abstract

Nowadays metal matrix composite materials are preferable in automotive and aerospace industries due to their mechanical properties and essentially attractive strength to weight ratios. However, their availability in use is limited because of their manufacturing method difficulty and process extravagancy. The aim of this research was to fabricate metal matrix hybrid composite through a novel approach thermo-mechanical method called friction stir consolidation (FSC) process. XRD result witnessed the presence of SiC, ZrO2, and AZ61 alloy phases. Different compositions of AZ61, SiC, and ZrO2 powder were taken into consideration and the progression of the FSC process were examined through properties of compressive strength, hardness, density, and porosity. For instance, the compressive yield strength of composition 85%Vol. of AZ61, 10%Vol. of ZrO2, and 5%Vol. of SiC accounts 164.2 MPa with an acceptable 2.2451 g/cm3 and 0.593% density and porosity respectively. However, when the strength to weight ratio was taken into consideration, 95%Vol. of AZ61, 2.5%Vol. of ZrO2, and 2.5%Vol. of SiC composition attained highest strength to weight ratio value. Additionally, the compressive yield strength value increased directly proportional with the ZrO2 volumetric composition. Likewise, the fractured surface of sample acquired highest strength to weight ratio was examined through SEM Fractography analysis.

Wear Behavior of AZ61 Matrix Hybrid Composite Fabricated via Friction Stir Consolidation: A Combined RSM Box–Behnken and Genetic Algorithm Optimization

“…Figure 8 shows the SEM image of the sample with a composition of 85%wt of AZ61, 7.5%wt of SiC and 7.5%wt of ZrO 2 before the wear test. Additionally, the mechanical and physical properties of metal matrix hybrid composites fabricated via the FSC process were well investigated in our previous study [37].…”