Investigating the Microhardness Behavior of Al6061/TiC Surface Composites Produced by Friction Stir Processing

  • Mohammad Azad Alam*
  • , Haji Hamdan Ya
  • , Nur Alya Qistina
  • , Mohammad Azeem
  • , Mazli Mustapha
  • , Mohammad Yusuf
  • , Faisal Masood
  • , Rehan Khan
  • , Tauseef Ahmad
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

The continual pursuit of fuel efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and desirable physical and mechanical properties of materials has steered researchers towards the latest generation of aluminum matrix composites for automotive and aerospace applications. In this context, the present study investigates the microhardness behavior of Al6061/TiC composites produced by friction stir processing. The morphological characteristics of the produced surface composites were analyzed using optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SEM micrographs confirmed the presence of TiC particles and their uniform distribution within the aluminum matrix. The mechanical properties of the composites were explored using a microhardness tester, revealing a distinctive feature of the Al6061/TiC composites - a 35% increase in microhardness value compared to the base Al6061 alloy. This improvement in microhardness can be attributed to enhanced interfacial bonding, obstructions in dislocation movement, and grain refinement, all contributing to Hall-Petch strengthening.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)157-161
Number of pages5
JournalInternational Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements
Volume11
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2023
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Wit Press. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • TiC
  • aluminum alloys
  • friction stir processing
  • microhardness behavior
  • microstructures
  • surface composites

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Computational Mechanics
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computational Mathematics
  • Applied Mathematics

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