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Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101 www.materialstoday.com/proceedings

ICMPC-2019

Microstructural and Wear Characteristics of Friction Stir

Processed Al-7075/SiC Reinforced Aluminium Composite
Rohan Ande1,Piyush Gulati2, Dinesh Kumar Shukla3, Hitesh Dhingra4
1,2
School of Mechanical Engineering, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India
3
Mechanical Engineering Deptt., Dr. B.R. Ambedkar NIT Jalandhar, Punjab, India
4
Mechanical Engineering Deptt., Canadore college @Stanford, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Abstract
Friction stir processing (FSP), a solid-state surface modification technique, derived from friction stir welding (FSW) process has
been evolved as an efficient energy processing technique to fabricate aluminium matrix composites (AMCs). In the present
investigation, FSP was used to fabricate 7075-T651 aluminium alloy surface composites using micro sized silicon carbide (SiC)
particles as reinforcement. Since Aluminium 7075 alloy has a vast applications in the automotive and aerospace and having the
highest strength among all commercial Al-alloys, has been selected for the matrix phase. AMCs were fabricated at different
combinations of rotational speed and welding speed. The different combinations were tested for single and triple pass. The
fabricated surface composites were examined for microstructure using SEM equipped with EDXS. The micro-hardness was
measured and sliding wear behaviour was also evaluated using a pin on disc apparatus. It was observed that the average hardness
of the FSP zone composite was 1.65-2.15 times higher than that of parent metal (78VHN). Wear rate along with the frictional
force characteristics were found to be promising than the parent metal.
© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the 9th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization, ICMPC-2019

Keywords: FSP, SiC,

1. Introduction
Aluminium alloys are extensively used in various automobile and aerospace applications. The Al 7075-T651
aluminium alloy specifically possesses high strength comparable to many steels [6]. In the modern world, Metal
Matrix Composite (MMCs) has become a replacement for the conventional materials in the applications of the
automobile and aerospace industries. Aluminium alloy MMCs are predominantly used due to their excellent
properties such as high specific strength, stiffness, high hardness, superior wear resistance and low thermal
expansion which has gained the greater research focus [11].

*Corresponding author.
E-mail address :ande.rohan94@gmail.com

2214-7853© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the 9th International Conference of Materials Processing and Characterization, ICMPC-2019
 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101 4093

These MMCs have comparable strength but lack in ductility, to enhance the properties, use of reinforcement
ceramic composite particles has become an alternative [1]. Aluminium matrix composites (AMCs) with ceramic
particulate reinforcements have improved mechanical properties in comparison to conventional aluminium alloys
and are preferred in various applications [12].AMCs conventionally are produced by liquid metallurgy through stir
casting, squeeze casting and compo casting techniques [13]. It becomes problematic to impregnate the reinforcement
ceramic particles as these particles have a tendency to react or decompose in the molten aluminium at elevated
temperatures which results in the undesirable properties of the AMCs. This makes a challenge to produce surface
composites as reinforcements keeping the core metal unaffected. There is also possibility of segregation and
clustering of reinforced particles near to grain boundaries [14]. There are several techniques in developing surface
composites such as powder metallurgy, high-energy electron beam irradiation and friction stir processing.
Friction stir processing (FSP) is a solid state surface modification technique which cultivates the principle of
friction stir welding (FSW). In FSP, a specially designed rotating cylindrical tool with a pin and shoulder is plunged
into the surface of a metal plate [6]. The tool is traversed in the desired direction which decides the advancing and
retreating side. During FSP, the metal is subjected to intense stirring action producing desirable frictional heat. The
mixing of the composite particle reinforcements by forming a plasticized deformation, resulting in modified fine
microstructural characteristics. FSP is an economical process which overcomes the limitations of other surface
modification techniques. Temperatures being below the melting point of the metals during FSP forefends the
porosity and interfacial reactions. FSP produces a homogeneous distribution of composite particles depending upon
the process parameters.
As per the published literature, several investigations were conducted to evaluate the effect of tool rotational and
traverse speeds with various ceramic composites as reinforcements, on the microstructural characteristics, micro
hardness, wear and mechanical properties. H.B. Michael Rajan et al. [1] has fabricated AA 7075/ TiB2 AMCs by the
in situ reaction of inorganic salts K2TiF6 and KBF4 with molten aluminium at 850˚, they observed the submicron and
ultrafine intergranular distribution along the grain boundaries. Further upon application of FSP, extracted that TiB2
particles changed the wear mode from adhesive to abrasive, wear debris morphologies became finer from thin plates
to spherical due to distribution and particles size. SuniSinhmar et al. [3] carried out an intermittent seven pass FSP at
a time interval of 10min. after each pass with an overlap of 50% at every processed area. They observed the
reduction in grain size by 10 fold and increased uniformity, increased ductility from 13.5% to 23.6% in longitudinal
direction than traverse direction while ultimate and yield strength were found to be unfavourable. H.G. Rana et al.
[4] fabricated AA 7075/B4C surface composite using FSP with various combinations of rotational and traverse
speed at different volume fractions of reinforcements. They observed that the traversing speed has less significant
effect on the dispersion ofB4C composite particles, increase in traversing speed led to reduction in micro hardness
due to insufficient stirring time and reduction in grain refinement. Average hardness of Al 7075/ B4C increased by
(1.3-1.6) times than that of Al 7075 base metal. R. Praveen et al. [5] reviewed the potential use of various process
parameters, as Al-SiC MMCs have low density and good corrosion (wear) resistance. They also recommended that
by considering interfacial reactions, volume fraction, size and shape of reinforcing SiC particles distribution has an
immense possible application as fuselage skin in the aerospace industry. R. Hashemi et al. [6] fabricated AMC using
FSP of Al-7075-T651/ TiNnano-size particles with three different tool geometries (square, triangular, threaded
taper) and two different number of pass (2 and 4). They observed TiN composite particles exhibits good and
consistent wear performance under high loaded force, as the wear resistance increased by 60% and friction
coefficient decreased by 45% compared to parental metal. They also observed that substrate properties such as
hardness and dispersion of TiN particles along with tribo formations affect the wear resistance.
In the present work, an attempt has been made to fabricate Al-7075-T651/ SiC AMCs using FSP and studied the
effect of SiC particles and its process parameters on the microstructure, micro hardness and dry sliding wear
behaviour. SiC particles were used as reinforcement to prepare AMCs because of its high strength to weight ratio,
high modulus, wear resistance, high thermal stability, low density and good corrosion/ oxidation properties forming
a protective coating of silicon oxide at 1200˚.
2. Materials and methods
Aluminium alloy Al-7075-T651 plates of size 6mm x 100mm x 120mm were used in this study. The chemical
composition of Al-7075-T651 aluminium alloy is presented in Table-1. A groove of 3mm depth, 1.5mm wide and
80mm long was made on the 100mm side along the center-line of the plate using vertical grinding machine and
compacted with SiC powder as shown in Fig.2. The composite particles are of size about (30-40) microns. A pin-
4094 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101

less tool made of H13 tool steel was initially employed for the capping of the groove after filling with SiC particles
to prevent the particles from scattering and then followed by a tapered pin tool as shown in Fig.1 during FSP were
used in present study. The tool had shoulder of 18mm, tapered pin diameter of (4mm x 6mm), pin length of 5.4mm
and concavity of 0.31mm. The FSP were conducted using vertical milling machine using different combinations of
process parameters as shown in Table-2. In all experiments, the angle of tilt of tool was fixed to 3.2⁰ and the tool
down force was held constant by keeping constant plunge depth into the Al-7075-T651 alloy plates.
Specimens for microstructure were obtained by cutting the processed plates at its center perpendicular to the
processing direction. They were polished using different grades of emery papers and then etched with Keller’s
reagent. The microstructural characteristics were observed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped
with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analysis system. The micro hardness was measured using a
Vickers micro hardness tester (HV-1000B) at 500g load applied for 15s.
The wear and friction force were measured using a pin-on-disc wear apparatus (DUCOM TR20-LE) at room
temperature without adding any lubricant. The pin dimensions were 3mm x 3mm x 30mm (height) as shown in the
Fig.3. The dry sliding wear tests were conducted under constant sliding speed, load and time of 200rpm, 25N and
5mins, respectively. The wear track was also kept constant at 70mm. Before the test, the surface of each pin was
polished on 1500 grit emery paper. The polished surface was slid on a hardened chromium steel disc. The disc was
cleaned with a dry cloth before and after each specimen pin test. A computer aided data acquisition system was used
to draw the results of wear in terms of micro meter (µm) and friction force in (N). The wear rate was computed by
dividing wear over time (seconds).

Fig. 2 Groove on the plate

Fig. 1 Tapered pin H13 steel tool

Fig. 3 Specimen for wear analysis

Table 1. Chemical composition of Al-7075-T651 aluminium alloy

Element Si Fe Cu Mn Mg Cr Zn Ti Aluminium
Wt. % 0.08 0.26 1.5 0.02 2.4 0.21 5.6 0.02 Balance
 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101 4095

Table 2. Combinations of processing parameters

Experiment no. RPM Traversing speed Number of passes
1 1200 30 1
2 1200 30 3
3 1400 30 1
4 1400 30 3
5 1200 40 1
6 1200 40 3
7 1400 40 1
8 1400 40 3

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Microstructural Studies

The microstructural observations using scanning electron micrograph of stirred zone along with energy
dispersive X-ray spectroscopy results are shown in Fig. 4(a-b). As seen, the particle size of the SiC composite in the
stir zone has an immediate effect on the microstructure and micro hardness. EDS composition analysis show that the
dark particles seen are the SiC particles.
Fig.5 shows the SEM micrographs of stir zones produced at traverse speed of 30mm/min and rotational speeds of
1200rpm and 1400rpm. Fig. 5(a) shows the dispersion of SiC composite particles. Fig. 5(b) shows the reduction in
the particle size of SiC composite under 1200 rpm. Fig. 5(c-e) shows the further reduction in particle size of SiC
composite under 1400 rpm. It has been observed the agglomeration of SiC particles in FSPed layer. A homogeneous
agglomeration of SiC particles throughout the matrix has been achieved due to the intense stirring and mixing action
of material during FSP. The specimen under 1400 rpm showed higher agglomeration of fine coarse SiC particles
while specimen under 1200 rpm has shown only the coarse SiC particles, which shows decrease in particle size of
SiC composite particles. It has been found that the agglomeration percent depends on both rotational and traverse
speeds. Increasing tool rotational speed helps in the plasticization of the material quickly, as the effect of heat
improves the clustering of particles. It is observed that increasing tool rotational speed from 1200 rpm to 1400 rpm
at constant traverse speed of 30mm/min led to finer particulates due to dynamic re-crystallization and excess heat
energy.

3.2. Micro-hardness measurement

Fig. 6(a), 6(b) shows the hardness profiles of the cross-sections of the FSPed specimens with single and triple
passes at different traverse and rotational speeds as mentioned in Table -2. The average hardness of the AL-7075
base metal was found to be 78 HV. Uniform distribution of SiC particles in the matrix during FSP was able to
achieve dynamic recrystallization which led to grain refinement. Increasing the tool rotational speed and traversing
speed increases the hardness of the surface material significantly. The Fig. 6(a) can be discussed in two cases, i.e. in
case (1) - Exp. (1, 3) - single pass and Exp. (2, 4) - triple pass are FSPed at constant traversing speed of 30mm/min
increasing the tool rotational speed from 1200 rpm to 1400 rpm increased the hardness from 128 to 153 VHN and
132 to 160 VHN respectively. It is found that the traversing speed has less effect on the hardness compared to
rotational speed [7]. In case (2) – composites are FSPed at constant rotational speed, increasing the traversing speed
from 30 to 40 mm/min has slightly increased the hardness but is less effective compared to the earlier effect of
rotational speeds. The highest hardness in the stirred zone of single pass FSPed composite was observed to be 163
VHN, whereas the highest hardness in the stirred zone of triple pass FSPed composite was observed to be 167 VHN
as shown in Fig. 6(b). It is found that the hardness of the surface composite material through FSP has increased in
range of 1.65 – 2.15 times better than compared to the base material.
4096 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101

Spectrum 4:

Fig. 4(a) EDS composition analysis of marked region for Exp.2

Fig. 4(b) EDS composition analysis of marked region for Exp.4

 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101 4097

Fig. 5- (a) dispersion of SiC particles, (b) under 1200 rpm for Exp.2, (c & d) under 1400 rpm for Exp. 4, (e) under 1200 rpm for Exp. 1
4098 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101

Fig. 6(a) Single pass hardness profile of the specimens at different traverse and rotational speeds

Fig. 6(b) Triple pass hardness profiles of the specimens at different traverse and rotational speeds

3.3. Effect of number of passes

The improvement of mechanical properties and wear resistance properties were observed by increasing the
number of passes resulting in the reduction of clustering effect, thereby increasing the dispersion of particles
uniformly in the surface layer of the composites. This has been illustrated by various literatures such as, Mahmoud
et al. [8] studied that FSP of A390 Al alloy was processed with triple pass and drawn to the conclusion of improved
results in hardness and wear resistance and also observed the reduction in the coefficient of friction when compared
to the un-processed material. Shafiei-Zarghani et al. [9] have observed that by increasing the number of passes
produces the better distribution of SiC and Al2O3nano particles in the AZ91 matrix. The cluster size of the particle
or the matrix can be improved by increasing the number of passes
 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101 4099

3.4. Dry-sliding wear behaviour

Fig. 7(a) Variation of wear in (µm)

Fig. 7(b) Variation of friction force in (N)

Fig. 7(a) shows the variations in wear obtained due to the friction stir processing with different processing
parameters as shown in the table-2. The experiment procedure is conducted using a pin-on-disc apparatus and results
were obtained in micrometers (µm) and friction force (N). The below graph gives a detailed explanation for the
behaviour of wear under various parameters. The hardness of the material is inversely proportional to the wear rate
as per Archard’s wear equation. As hardness increases the wear rate decreases [10]. The best wear performance
among the different sets of processing parameters was achieved in Exp.6 with wear rate of 0.53 µm/sec (1200rpm,
40mm/min and 3-pass) and Exp.7 with wear rate of 1.18 µm/sec (1400rpm, 40mm/min and 1-pass), this is due to the
rapid solidification of the plasticized material in the nugget zone and TMA zone. The number of passes at constant
traversing speed has shown considerable effect in achieving the better wear properties, this is due to the uniform
4100 R. Ande et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 18 (2019) 4092–4101

distribution and reduction in size of the SiC particles in the stir zone. While in Exp. 1 the wear results are not that
appreciable compared to the Exp. 7, this is due to the lower traversing speed and rotational speed which results in
the less heat generation due to insufficient stirring time.

Fig. 7(b) shows the graphical representation of frictional forces for different experiments conducted. The highest
frictional force 10.42 N is obtained for the Exp.6, which also has less wear performance. The trends in the graph
once achieved the highest frictional force value then tends to settle almost as stable. It is found that these variations
occurred at high processing parameters i.e. 1400 rpm, 40mm/min and triple pass. This is due to the reason that the
increase in the number of passes improves the distribution of SiC particles, which means this composite material can
perform consistently for longer duration thereby exhibiting longer service life. From the above observation it can be
said that more frictional force means more power is required to remove the material that eventually leads to less
wear.

4. Conclusions

In this present study, surface composite has been successfully fabricated on Al 7075-T651 alloy plates using
different sets of processing parameters through FSP. The effect of the FSP on the SiC particle distribution, micro
hardness and wear have been studied. Following conclusions were derived from the experimental outcomes:
 Tool traversing speeds has less significant effect on the dispersion of SiC particles compared to the
rotational speeds in the nugget zone. The best dispersion results were obtained in the Exp.4, increase in the
traversing speed lead to insufficient stirring time and inadequate dispersion levels of composite particles.
 There is a hiking trend in the micro hardness with increase in rotational speeds and number of passes
because of the uniformity in distribution of the SiC particles and sufficient heat generation for plasticizing
the material in the nugget zone. The highest hardness of 167 VHN for Exp. 6 was observed due to the more
number of passes performed.
 The average hardness of Al 7075-T651/ SiC composite fabricated using FSP has been increased by 1.65-
2.15 times of the base material, i.e. 78VHN.
 Wear for Exp. 6 with 159 µm (wear rate – 0.53 µm/sec) was found to be the minimum and Exp. 1 with 593
µm (wear rate -1.97 µm/sec) was maximum, but reverse trend is observed for the frictional force as the
Exp. 6 has the highest frictional force of 10.42 N, from this we can say that more frictional force means
more power is required to remove the material that eventually leads to less wear rate.
 With the help of microstructure study, finely dispersed particles were observed in the stir zone for the Exp.
4, processed at lower traversing speed. Furthermore experiments may be carried out for the improvement in
the stirring and thereby particles distribution by altering more parameters like tool traversing speed,
rotational speeds, other modes of impregnating the composite particles, direction of each pass, tilt angle of
tool and number of passes

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the School of Mechanical Engineering- CNC machines laboratory, Lovely
Professional University for providing opportunities to work in Advanced Machine Shop, Sophisticated Analytical
Instruments Laboratories (SAIL)-Thapar University and Materials Science Laboratory at National Institute of
Technology-Jalandhar, for providing the facilities to carry out this investigation.

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