Effect of Tool Pin Profile on the Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Friction Stir Processed Al-20 wt% Mg2Si Composite

This study was undertaken with the aim of modifying the microstructure and improving the tribological properties of in situ Al-20Mg(2)Si composite. For this purpose, friction stir processing (FSP) was applied on the composite at constant travel and rotation speeds of 110 mm/min and 1500 rpm, respectively, using three different tool pin profiles: threaded tapered cylindrical, triangular tapered, and triangular threaded tapered. The sliding wear tests were conducted using a pin-on-disc apparatus under the applied load of 30 N and sliding distance of 1000 m at room temperature. The results showed that FSP substantially improved tribological properties of the as-cast composite. The best result was observed in the sample processed by the threaded triangular tapered tool, where compared with the as-cast composite, its wear rate and average friction coefficient decreased by almost 40% and 18%, respectively. This improvement can be attributed to the significant refinement and uniform redistribution of Mg2Si intermetallics, especially the coarse irregular-shaped primary crystals, the formation of ultrafine grains, and elimination of casting defects from the substrate microstructure of the processed sample, which improves its hardness and increased its potential in supporting the oxide tribolayer on the composite surface.