Development and Performance Studies of a Lightweight AA6061/Ti Particulate Surface Composite through Friction Stir Processing

Surface engineering is becoming increasingly crucial for several automotive and aerospace components that involve intense surface interactions. Friction stir processing (FSP) has emerged as an effective surface modification and hardening technique in recent days. The technique also allows the incorporation of reinforcement into the modified surface to enhance the strength and hardness further. This work applied FSP to develop a pure Ti particulate reinforced AA6061 metal matrix composite (MMC). Six different strategies were adapted (in the form of micro grooves, micro drills on the surface) to effectively infuse reinforcement on the alloy surface. Microstructural changes before and after FSP were studied using SEM and EBSD. Other tests such as post-mortem EDS, XRD, hardness, and compression were also done to examine the performance of developed composite. Microstructural lineaments revealed a more uniform dispersion of reinforcement particles in the matrix when the particles were impregnated using a multi-groove approach. Details on the development strategy, microstructural evolution and various strengthening mechanisms involved in enhancing the mechanical properties are presented in this manuscript.