Wear Analysis During Friction Stir Processing of A359+20%SiC MMC

Metal Matrix Composites (MMC) are very interesting materials for applications in the automotive and aerospace fields, since they combine the lightness of Aluminium with the strength of the ceramic reinforcement. These materials are very difficult to join and conventional welding techniques are not applicable, whereas solid-state welding techniques, like Friction Stir Welding (FSW), could be a solution. However very hard tool materials will need to be chosen in order to overcome the problem of heavy abrasive tool wear. In this work the wear behaviour of coated and uncoated steel tools has been investigated in the Friction Stir Processing of extruded bars in A359 + 20%SiC. AISI 1040 steel was…