Fabrication of Composite Using Base Metal as Al 6082 T0 Reinforced with Fe-MWCNT Using Friction Stir Processing and Examine Changes in Tensile Strength, Microstructure and Hardness

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a method of changing the properties of metal through intense, localized plastic deformation. This deformation is produced by forcibly inserting a non-consumable tool into a workpiece, and revolving the tool in a stirring motion as it is pushed laterally through the workpiece. It comprises of a rotating tool with pin and shoulder which are inserted into a single piece of material and traversed along the desired path to cover the region of interest. Friction between the shoulder and work piece results in localized heating which raises the temperature of the material to the range where it is plastically deformed. During this process, severe plastic deformation occurs and due to thermal exposure of material, it results in a significant evolution in the local microstructure. Carbon nanotubes were dispersed into Al matrix by multipass FSP to fabricate Al6082 T0/Fe-MWCNT. After processing, the composite material was subjected to tensile strength, microstructure, scanning electron microscopy and hardness tests. The maximum strength was obtained with 3 pass FSP and was attributed to the combined effect of CNT cluster reduction, grain refinement and CNT shortening.