Fabrication of Al 6082/SiC Composite Using Friction Stir Processing

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a solid-state method capable of causing a wide-ranging microstructural change in a specific region of interest. FSP can be done on various materials like Al, Mg, Cu, etc. but for research, aluminum is selected. It has large applications in the production parts of an automobile, spacecraft as well as for a requirement of structural support. Aluminum has an outstanding strength-to-weight ratio for this reason these types of industries are growing day by day. This research discusses the preparation of aluminum composites by using FSP, in which silicon carbide (SiC) is dispersed on the aluminum. SiC is blended at a varied weight percentage and was compressed in the groove i.e., 2, 4 and 6 wt.% on Al. The fabricated composite has been characterized by an optical microscope as well as FESEM and it has been observed that the fine grain structure with good bonding with reinforcement. There is also a tensile and hardness test calculated to examine the mechanical properties of the fabricated composite and found that tensile strength is increased upto 1.58 times the unprocessed material whereas hardness has also improved upto 85.75 HB.