Fabrication and Analysis of Bulk SiCp Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composites using Friction Stir Process

In this study, Friction Stir Processing (FSP) a recent grain refinement technique was employed to disperse micron-sized (2 μm) SiCp particles into aluminum alloy AA6063. The feasibility to fabricate bulk composites through FSP was analyzed and experiments were conducted at different traverse speeds and wider volumes of the specimens. Micro structural observation were carried out by employing optical microscopy test of the cross sections in both parallel and perpendicular to the tool traverse direction. Mechanical property including micro hardness was evaluated in detail at various regions on the specimen. The composites had an excellent bonding with aluminum alloy substrate and a significant increase of 30% in the micro hardness value of metal matrix composite (MMC) as to that of the base metal has observed. The observations clearly indicate that SiC particles were uniformly distributed within the aluminum matrix. Keywords—Friction Stir Processing; Metal matrix composite; Bulk composite