Papers by Keyword: Friction Stir Processing (FSP)

Abstract: An Mg-13.0Gd-1.6Ag-0.3Zr (wt.%) alloy casting was subjected to friction stir processing (FSP) at a tool rotation rate of 500 rpm and a traverse speed of 100 mm/min. The effects of FSP on the microstructures in different zones and mechanical properties were investigated. It indicates that FSP can result in significant break-up and dissolution of the coarse eutectic secondary phase‑‑Mg₅Gd-type, and remarkable grain refinement (~2.5 µm) in stirring zone (SZ). Therefore, the mechanical properties of the casting can be significantly improved after FSP, i.e., it exhibits an ultimate tensile strength of 341 MPa and an elongation of 17 %.

Abstract: Friction Stir Processing (FSP) of various aluminium alloys including wrought 6061 and cast A356, 319, and A390 have been systematically investigated in this study. The effects of processing on microstructure, hardness, tensile properties, and fatigue crack growth behaviour of the alloys were studied. The alloys were judiciously selected to understand the effects of Si level, type, and morphology, and to evaluate the contributions of different secondary phases and strengthening precipitates. Individual and combined effects of these microstructural features were also assessed. The results will be presented and discussed.

Abstract: The effect of rotational and travelling speeds and down force on the torque in Friction Stir Processing (FSP) process are presented. To find a dependence combining the spindle torque acting on the tool with the rotational speed, travelling speed and the down force, the artificial neural networks have been applied. Studies have shown that the increase in the rotational speed causes decrease in the torque while the increase in the travelling speed and down force causes the increase in the torque at the same time. The relationship between parameters of the process and the temperature of the tool, based on measurement head TermSTIR, were presented. Tests were conducted on casting aluminium alloy AlSi9Mg. Application of FSP process resulted in a decrease in the porosity in the modified material and microstructure refining

Abstract: Superplastic forming is a near net shape process used to produce various items with complex geometry. However in many cases, only some portions of the workpiece undergo superplastic deformation. In these cases, instead of choosing expensive starting sheet material with superplastic properties, a low-cost conventional material can be chosen and a grain refinement process can be performed in the selected regions to enhance superplastic properties locally [1]. This process is known as “selective superplastic forming” [R.S. Mishra, M.W. Mahoney, US Patent 6,712,916, 2002]. In some previous works the use of Friction Stir Processing (FSP) was used to obtain locally a microstructure with ultrafine grains in the AZ31 magnesium alloys [2, 3]. In this study a modeling approach was adopted thanks to a commercial FE code and different simulations were conducted in order to correlate the experimental and numerical results for the model optimization [4, 5]. Free bulge forming tests of friction stir processed AZ31 sheets, in conjunction with numerical simulations, were used to evaluate the proposed optimization approach, with the aim to reduce the time and costs in the design of components with complex geometry.

Abstract: Magnesium alloys exhibit poor formability at room temperature because of their hexagonal close packed (hcp) structure. The grain refinement can improve its ductility and formability. Friction stir processing (FSP) is an emerging solid state surface modification technique that can produce homogeneous microstructure with fine-grains in a single pass. The effect of friction stir processing variables that can affect tensile strength and formability of magnesium AZ 31B alloy are studied. The formability of friction stir processed sheet was studied by limiting dome height (LDH) test in plane-strain deformation condition. The results indicate that the tensile properties and formability are improved by friction stir processing. The objective of the present work is to establish randomisation of texture to increase work hardening exponent by favourably orienting a large number of grains (texture) in AZ31 alloy to improve its stretch formability by promoting additional straining in thickness direction. Keywords: Friction stir processing, LDH, Formability, etc.

Abstract: Friction stir processing was carried out on the Al-Mg-Mn alloy to achieve ultrafine grained microstructure. The evolution of microstructure and micro-texture was studied in different regions of the deformed sample, namely nugget zone, thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) and base metal. The average grain sizes of the nugget zone, TMAZ and base metal are 1.5 μm ± 0.5 μm, 15 μm ± 8 μm, and 80μm ± 10 μm, respectively. The TMAZ exhibits excessive deformation banding structure and sub-grain formation. The orientation gradient within the sub-grain is dependent on grain size, orientation, and distance from nugget zone. The microstructure was partitioned based on the grain orientation spread and grain size values to separate the recrystallized fraction from the deformed region in order to understand the micromechanism of grain refinement. The texture of both deformed and recrystallized regions are qualitatively similar in nature. Microstructure and texture analysis suggest that the restoration processes are different in different regions of the processed sample. The transition region between nugget zone and TMAZ exhibits large elongated grains surrounded by fine equiaxed grains of different orientation which indicate the process of discontinuous dynamic recrystallization. Within the nugget zone, similar texture between deformed and recrystallized grain fraction suggests that the restoration mechanism is a continuous process.

Abstract: Single pass and double-pass friction stir processing was carried out on commercially pure aluminium at a rotation speed of 640 rpm and traverse speed of 150 mm/min and a detailed electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis was carried out to understand the microstructure developed. The grain size was refined substantially after the first pass whereas there was no significant change in the grain size after the second pass. This indicates that the final grain size after friction stir processing does not depend on the starting grain size. The equiaxed fine grains were formed by dynamic recrystallization process as revealed by EBSD analysis. TEM observations showed banded contrast across the grain boundaries indicating grain boundaries to be in equilibrium. Free dislocations observed inside grains after the first pass were well arranged into subgrain boundaries after the second pass. EBSD also revealed some variation in microstructural features such as grain size, texture index, grain orientation spread and grain average misorientation across the surface and also in the cross section of the stir zone both after single and double pass.

Abstract: AZ80/Al composite plate was fabricated by means of friction stir processing (FSP) aimed at the improvement of corrosion resistance of magnesium alloy. The cross-section microstructure, surface morphology and corrosion resistance of the Al composite layer were investigated. The experiment results indicated that a dense composite Al layer with superfine and uniform grains was formed, and a few amount of intermetallic compounds existed in the area of Mg/Al interface. The bonding strength of AZ80 magnesium alloy substrate and 1060 pure Al layer was proved to be high which was resulted from the metallurgical bonding of FSP. Microhardness measurement showed the continuous changing of microhardness values from the outmost surface of composite Al layer to the magnesium alloy substrate. Results of electrochemical corrosion test of the composite plate in 5 wt.% NaCl solution showed the better protection effect of the composite Al layer on the magnesium alloy in a corrosion medium. Almost the same corrosion level on the whole corrosion surface was observed which indicated the highly uniform microstructure of the composite layer. It was also proved that the plain arches on the outmost surface of the composite Al layer had no influence on the corrosion resistance of composite Al layer.

Abstract: In order to improve the mechanical properties and processing performance of the Mg alloys, and to prevent magnesium alloy from non-uniform corrosion and too fast degradation in the degradation process, the biological medical Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy was modified by the friction stir processing (FSP) technique in this paper. The microstructural evolution and phase constitute of the stir zone of Mg-Zn-Y-Nd alloy were investigated, the microhardness and the corrosion properties of the alloy after FSP process was studied. The results showed that the FSP parameters had significant influence on the stir zone and thermo-mechanically affected zone. The stir zone experienced severe plastic deformation and complete dynamic recrystallization after FSP. The stir zone consists of fine equiaxed recystallized grains, and thermo-mechanically affected zone (TMAZ) has deformed grain structure. The second phase distributed along grain boundaries in as-cast state was broken during the FSP and transformed into fine, uniform and dispersed particles in the grains. After FSP, the size of grains was reduced from 50μm (as-cast alloy) to 1-2μm. However, the second phase constitution didnt change. The alloy obtained good comprehensive mechanical properties after FSP. The microhardness of alloy after FSP increased from 39HV (as-cast alloy) to 64HV(FSPed alloy). The results of electrochemical tests in simulated body fluid showed that the corrosion potential of FSP alloy increased and corrosion current density decreased, which confirmed the uniform corrosion of FSPed alloy.

Abstract: AE 42 is rare earth containing magnesium alloy which was developed for creep resistance and automobile applications. This alloy was subjected to friction stir processing and the effect of processing parameters on the properties was studied in detail. Mechanical and metallurgical properties of stir zone were evaluated and compared with parent metal. Thermal cycling of stir zone was carried out to study the stability of it at high temperature. Due to processing, stir zone microstructure was refined to 5 micron. The second phase inter-metallic particles Mg₁₇Al₁₂, Al₁₁Ce₃ and A_l2Ce were refined to tiny pieces of 1-2 micron and evenly distributed in the matrix. The stir zone was stable up to 250°C during thermal cycling. Mechanical properties of friction stir zone were superior to parent metal.