Friction-stir processing of a high-damping Mn-Cu alloy used for marine propellers

Mn-Cu alloys are used for specialised applications, such as marine propellers, where high noise-damping characteristics are required. These alloys tend to have more severe shrinkage porosity than conventional propeller alloys, and the corrosion resistance (including stress-corrosion and corrosion-fatigue resistance) of the alloys is not as high as desirable. Friction-stir processing (FSP) trials on one such alloy (tradename Sonoston) have shown that near-surface porosity can be eliminated and that the coarse, as-cast microstructure can be significantly refined. The corrosion resistance of processed material is substantially improved provided a heat treatment to relieve residual stress is carried out after FSP.