Surface composites by friction stir processing: A review

Emerged in the middle of 20th century, composite materials are now one of the hotspot research topics in the modern technology. Their promising characteristics make them suitable for enormous applications in industrial field such as aerospace, automotive, construction, sports, bio-medical and many others. These materials reveal remarkable structural and mechanical properties such as high strength to weight ratio, resistance to chemicals, fire, corrosion and wear; being economical to manufacture. Herein, an overview of composite materials, their characterization, classification and main advantages linked to physical and mechanical properties based on the recent studies are presented. There, were presented the conventional manufacturing techniques of composite and their applications. It was highlighted the tremendous need to discovery new generation of composites that should incorporate the synthetic or natural materials by implementing new efficient manufacturing processes. In the combination of matrix and reinforcement materials, the use of natural materials as constituent are compulsory in order to obtain a complete material degradable as environmentally friendly.

Recent progress of reinforcement materials: a comprehensive overview of composite materials

Friction stir welding (FSW), a highly efficient solid-state joining technique, has been termed as “green” technology due to its energy efficiency and environment friendliness. It is an enabling technology for joining metallic materials, in particular lightweight high-strength aluminum and magnesium alloys which were classified as unweldable by traditional fusion welding. It is thus considered to be the most significant development in the area of material joining over the past two decades. Friction stir processing (FSP) was later developed based on the basic principles of FSW. FSP has been proven to be an effective and versatile metal-working technique for modifying and fabricating metallic materials. FSW/FSP of aluminum alloys has prompted considerable scientific and technological interest since it has a potential for revolutionizing the manufacturing process in the aerospace, defense, marine, automotive, and railway industries. To promote widespread applications of FSW/FSP technology and ensure t...

Recent Advances in Friction Stir Welding/Processing of Aluminum Alloys: Microstructural Evolution and Mechanical Properties

In this experiment, copper-base composites reinforced with 30 nm and 5 μm SiC particles are fabricated on the surface of a purecopper sheetvia friction stir processing (FSP). Microstructure, mechanical properties and wear resistance of friction stir processed (FSPed) materials are investigated as a function of volume fraction of SiC particles. Results show that, applying FSP, without SiC particles, increases the percent elongation significantly (more than 2.5 times) and decreases copper's strength. Adding micro- and nano-sized SiC particles decreases the tensile strength and percent elongation. Increasing the volume fraction or decreasing the reinforcing particle size enhances the tensile strength and wear resistance and lowers the percent elongation.

Investigation of mechanical properties of Cu/SiC composite fabricated by FSP: Effect of SiC particles’ size and volume fraction

In this research, nanosized SiC and Al2O3 particles were added to as-cast AZ91 magnesium alloy, and surface nanocomposite layers with ultrafine-grained structure were produced via friction stir processing (FSP). Effects of reinforcing particle types and FSP pass number on the powder distribution pattern, microstructure, microhardness, and on tensile and wear properties of the developed surfaces were investigated. Results show that the created nanocomposite layer by SiC particles exhibits a microstructure with smaller grains and higher hardness, strength, and elongation compared to the layer by Al2O3 particles. SiC particles do not stick together and are distributed separately in the AZ91 matrix; however, distribution of SiC particles is not uniform in all parts of the stirred zone (SZ), which causes heterogeneity in microstructure, hardness, and wear mechanism of the layer. Al2O3 particles are agglomerated in the different points of matrix and create alumina clusters. However, distribution of Al2O3 clusters in all parts of the SZ is uniform and results in a uniform microstructure. In the specimen produced by one-pass FSP and SiC particles, the wear mechanism changes in different zones of SZ due to the nonuniform distribution of particles. However, in the specimen produced by Al2O3 particles, the wear mechanism in all parts of the SZ is the same and, in addition to the abrasive wear, delamination also occurs. Increasing FSP pass number results in improved distribution of particles, finer grains, and higher hardness, strength, elongation, and wear resistance.

Experimental Investigation of Magnesium-Base Nanocomposite Produced by Friction Stir Processing: Effects of Particle Types and Number of Friction Stir Processing Passes

The objective of this article is to provide a review of friction stir processing (FSP) technology and its application for microstructure modification of particle reinforced composite materials. The main focus of FSP was on aluminum based alloys and composites. Recently, many researchers have investigated this technology for treating other alloys and materials including stainless steels, magnesium, titanium, and copper. It is shown that FSP technology is very effective in microstructure modification of reinforced metal matrix composite materials. FSP has also been used in the processing and structure modification of polymeric composite materials. Compared with other manufacturing processes, friction stir processing has the advantage of reducing distortion and defects in materials. The layout of this paper is as follows. The friction stir processing technology will be presented first. Then, the application of this technology in manufacturing and structure modification of particle reinforced composite materials will be introduced. Future application of friction stir processing in energy field, for example, for vanadium alloy and composites will be discussed. Finally, the challenges for improving friction stir processing technology will be mentioned.

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Daniel P. Solomon

Papers

Friction Stir Processing of Particle Reinforced Composite Materials

A Large-Scale Robotic System for Depainting Advanced Fighter Aircraft