Experimental investigations on microstructure and mechanical properties of AA7075/SrCo3 composites fabricated using friction stir processing

Friction Stir Processing (FSP) has been successfully evolved as a solid state technique to fabricate aluminum matrix composites. The present research work aims to fabricate AA7075/SrCO3 composite using FSP. Nine samples were processed by varying three parameters namely tool rotational speed, traverse feed and penetration depth. Tests were carried out to find out the tensile strength and microhardness. A maximum tensile strength of 213 MPa and average microhardness of 153 VHN was observed. The microstructure and dispersed reinforcement particles of the successfully fabricated composite were analyzed by using optical and scanning electron micrographs. It shows the grain refinement and homogeneous distribution of reinforcement particles in the matrix material. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.