The effect of SiC particle addition during FSW on microstructure and mechanical properties of AZ۳۱ magnesium alloy

چکیده مقاله

Welding and joining of magnesium alloys exert a profound effect on magnesium application expansion, especially in ground and air transportations where large-size, complex components are required. Due to specific physical properties of magnesium, its welding requires great control. In general, the solid-state nature of friction stir welding (FSW) process has been found to produce a low concentration of defects. In the current research, specimens from AZ31 magnesium alloy were welded together using the friction stir process with previously inserted SiC powder particles in the nugget zone. In other word, hybrid welding and processing of weld took place during stirring of the material. The results indicated that proper values of rotation and translation speeds led to good appearance of weld zone and suitable distribution of SiC particles. The comparison between the microstructure and mechanical properties of FS welded and processed sample with those of FS welded showed that the addition of SiC particles decreased the grain size and increased the strength and the formability index.