Machining and mechanical characterization of friction stir processed (FSP) surface hybrid composites (AA8014+TiB2+ZrO2)

In modern trends, the study on properties of hybrid composites with alloy matrix is complicated. The strength of the weld joint is depending on the strength of the weldment with the parent material. This study proposed to conduct an experimental study to maximize the strength of the hybrid composite, that is, the aluminum alloy AA8014 reinforcement with titanium diboride (TiB2) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) particles. Friction stir processing (FSP) is introduced to this study for analyzing and optimizing the strength of the welded structures. This investigation considered two cases with the use of a pin on the FSP tool and without the use of a pin. The tool pin has a square cross-section made up of H13 tool steel material. Taguchi's statistical route is focused on this work to maximize the welding strength. In this regard, the most important four process parameters were considered to optimize. That is, reinforcement quantity (4 wt%, 6 wt%, 8 wt%, and 10 wt%) tool speed (1000 rpm, 1200 rpm, 1400, and 1600 rpm), traverse speed of the tool head (4 mm/min, 5 mm/min, 6 mm/min, and 7 mm/min), and axial force (3 kN, 4 kN, 5 kN, and 6 kN) were considered. The experimental observations were used to optimize welding strength. The results revealed that the maximum tensile strength was obtained 268 MPa at the optimized parameters of reinforcement quantity 8%, spindle speed/tool rotation speed was 1400 rpm, 40 mm/min of traverse speed, and 3 kN of axial force.