Wear and Corrosion Behavior of Al7075 Matrix Hybrid Composites Produced by Friction Stir Processing: Optimization of Process Parameters

Despite the high strength-to-weight ratio, the poor tribological behavior and sea water corrosion performance of aluminum alloy limit its engineering applications. In this investigation, an attempt is made to obtain good wear and corrosion resistance by fabricating MoS2 and CeO2 reinforced aluminum 7075 matrix hybrid composites through friction stir processing. The microstructural observation suggests intermetallic free uniformly distributed composites are formed. The specific wear and corrosion rates of the fabricated composites are analyzed. The reason behind variation of the responses is investigated. The processing conditions such as rotational speed, traverse speed, tilt angle and mixing ratio of reinforcement powder are optimized for low specific wear rate and low corrosion rate using Taguchi optimization method. The effects of the processing conditions on individual responses are also investigated. Gray relation approach is also adopted for optimizing the processing conditions while considering equal importance of both the output responses.