STUDIES ON MICROSTRUCTURAL

ASPECTS OF JOINING OF ALUMINIUM

BASED METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES
REINFORCED WITH B4C,SiC & Mg BY
FRICTION STIR WELDING

ALAGESHWARAN.M
ANANDABABU.V
GNANASEKAR.A
GNANASEKARAN.S
 ABSTRACT

This this presents work the investigations on joining6mm plates of

aluminum matrix composites reinforced with both Sic and B4C
particles by friction stir welding (FSW) process. This study majorly
focuses on the metallurgical characterizations to explore the micro-
structural behavior of the welded specimen subjected to constant load
of 10KN, rotational speed of 1000rpm and travelling speed of
75mm/min of the FSW tool. Further, tensile and hardness properties of
the welded specimens are investigated and related to the micro-
structural variations. The results reveal vital information on the
distribution pattern of the elements in the Al MMC in the weld region
leading to variation in the mechanical strength.
 INTRODUCTION
Composite material is defined as the
combination of two different materials.
composite=matrix +reinforcement
Al, Mg will act as a metal matrix
SIC, B4C will act as a reinforcement
 TYPES OF AMCS

AMCs can be classified into four types depending on the type of

reinforcement.

(a) Particle-reinforced AMCs (PAMCs)

(b) Whisker-or short fibre-reinforced AMCs (SFAMCs)

(c) Continuous fibre-reinforced AMCs (CFAMCs)

(d) Mono filament-reinforced AMCs (MFAMCs)

 WELDING OF ALUMINUM COMPOSITES

Welding processes reported in literature for evaluating the feasibility of welding

aluminium metal matrix composites are:

Fusion Welding
Arc Welding
Electron Beam Welding
Laser Beam Welding have been considered with and without
filler wire
Solid state welding
capacitor discharge,
friction, friction stir welding
Diffusion Bonding,
Resistance Welding
Resistance spot welding with and without a soft aluminium
interlayer)
 ALUMINUM MATRIX COMPOSITES

AA6061 are more attractive for the following reasons:

Greater strength
Improved stiffness
Reduced density(weight)
Good corrosion resistance
Improved high temperature properties
Controlled thermal expansion coefficient
Thermal/heat management
Control of mass (especially in reciprocating applications)
Improved damping capabilities.
 TYPICAL REINFORCEMENT MATERIAL

They are usually reinforced by Al2O3, SiC, C , SiO2,

B, BN, B4C, AlN may also be considered.

In this work SiC , B4C

 COMPOSITION OF Al-MMC

AMCs has been made with combination of

Sample in
weight % Al% SiC% B4C Mg%
%
1 75 15 08 2

2 75 13 10 2

3 75 10 13 2

4 75 06 17 2
 METHODOLOGY

Preparing the New composite of Al-MMC

Manufacturing using the stir casting
Tool Design
Welded using the FSW
Specimen is prepared by wire cutting
Testing of Mechanial properties using destructive &
non destructive testing
 MANUFACTURING USING
STIRCASTING
The aluminum metal matrix composite is prepared using
stir casting at 1200C .
After manufacturing AMCs,the suface finish is
obtained using milling.
PARAMETERS VALUE UNIT
Spindle speed 300-500 Rpm
Stirring time 10 Min
Temp of melt 900 C
Preheated temp of 650 C
SiC particles
Preheated temp of 650 C
B4C particles
Powder feed rate 0.75-1.0 g/s
 TOOL DESIGN
The H13 tool steel is prepared for
FSW of aluminium metal matrix
composite ,as per dimensions given
below
 FRICTION STIR WELDING
The composite material is welded using
FSW and the welding parameters are given
below
Rotating speed =1000rpm
Travelling speed=75mm/min
Plunge force=10KN
 EVALUATIONS

Non-Destructive Testing
Radiography
SEM
Macro
Mechanical Testing
Tensile
Hardness
 MACRO STRUCTURE

The macrostructure at the joint exhibits a continuous flow of plasticized material

within the advancing & retreating side.
 Typical, FSW defects such as piping, tunnels, &
wormholes are avoided owing to the presence of
B4C which resists the free flow of matrix alloy
during FSW.
The weld nugget structure typically develops
onion rings in the AMCs. During the joining
process, re-arrangement of the particles occurs
due to high deformation and stirring.
HARDNESS
 The hardness at the weld nugget is higher than
the base metal composite.
Friction stir welded specimen results in increased
hardness at the AA6061/B4C AMCs joints.
Investigators also reported hardening of AMCs
subsequent to FSW .
The hardness at TMAZ and HAZ varied
prominently
The plasticized composite is exposed to the
compressive stresses created by the rotating tool .
 RADIOGRAPHY

The quality of the FSW specimen is assessed using

non destructive testing. Radiography using X-ray is
employed to identify and analyze the defects at the
FSW joint. Initially the test is carried out on the FSW
specimen in the presence of the reinforcement. In the
base material due to the presence of inter molecules it
is observed that there are pores at the butt ends .
 TENSILE PROPERTIES

UTS YS FAILURE
S.NO B4C(wt %) %
(mpa) (mpa) LOCATION
1 08 116 95 22.267 SZ

2 10 98 89 15.334 TMAZ

3 13 104 91 12.645 SZ

4 17 95 82 19.569 TMAZ
 The UTS of the fabricated
AA6061/B4C/SiC composite was
calculated from three standard test
specimens prepared as per ASTM E8-
04 attained from each composite
using a digitalized universal tensile
testing machine In these scenarios,
the joint efficiency increased to 80%
from 60%.
Scanning Electron
Microscope
(1)The B4C & SiC particles are uniformly and
homogenously distributed in the metal
matrix.
(2)No segregation is observed at any
particular region (fig). There are traces of
porosity at tips of B4C as observed from the
SEM images.
(3)The welded samples SEM reveal minute
alteration of the particles size or shape
within the nugget and the parent material.
(4)There is no fragmentation or rounding of
individual B4C particles during stirring for
welded specimens with B4C.
 CONCLUSION
(1)The macrostructure reveal continuous flow of
plasticized material between the advancing &
retreating side. The typical FSW defects viz., tunnels,
wormholes & piping are eliminated due to presence of
B4C that offers high resistance to the free flow of
matrix alloy during FSW.
(2) The parent composite exhibits an average hardness
value of 80 Hv while the weld nugget has an average
hardness of 115 Hv. The average hardness values in
the TMAZ are slightly lower than in the weld nugget.
(3) SEM measurements reveal that both the
parent material and the weld region comprise
of relatively homogeneous distributions of the
fine and B4C & sic particles. FSW can create
high fine B4C particle density regions in the
weld nugget.
(4) The UTS of the fabricated AA6061/B4C/SiC
composite was calculated from three standard
test specimens prepared as per ASTM E8-04
attained from each composite using a
digitalized universal tensile testing machine In
these scenarios, the joint efficiency increased
to 80% from 60%.
REPORTED DIFFICULTY IN WELDING OF AMCS

Fusion Welding Processes leads to the deterioration of these metal matrix

composites
Similarly, in the case of SiC reinforced composites, the SiC reacts with
molten aluminium to form Al4C3.
 LITERATURE REVIEW
(Important 2 papers)
D. Storjohann et al demonstrated the fact that the In fusion welds of Al 2O3-
reinforced composites, the decomposition of Al2O3 was observed. In fusion
welds of SiC whisker-reinforced composites, the decomposition of SiC to
Al4C3+Si by reaction with molten aluminium occurred. These phenomena
led to unacceptable fusion welds in aluminium metal-matrix composites.
Jitai NIU et al illustrated the effect of Laser Parameter on the strength of
weldment of Al composite. Their results exhibited the fact that the strength
of the joint reduces because of the interaction of matrix and reinforcement
phases.
Thank You