Microstructural, mechanical and wear behavior of A390/graphite and A390/Al2O3 surface composites fabricated using FSP

In the present investigation, A390/graphite and A390/Al2O3 surface composite (SC) layers were fabricated using friction stir processing (FSP). The effect of tool rotational and traverse speeds on the microstructural, mechanical and wear characteristics of the surface layers was studied. The results revealed that increasing the tool rotational speed increases the hardness of the composite layers. The traverse speed has less significant influence on the hardness of the composite layer than the tool rotational speed. The A390/Al2O3 surface composites exhibited higher hardness than the A390/graphite surface composites. The surface composites exhibited better wear resistance than the matrix alloy. The A390/Al2O3 surface composites exhibited lower wear rates than the A390/graphite surface composites. Increasing the tool rotational reduces the wear rate of both A390/Al2O3 and A390/graphite surface composites.