Microstructural Characterization and Tensile Behavior of Rutile (TiO2)-Reinforced AA6063 Aluminum Matrix Composites Prepared by Friction Stir Processing

doi:10.1007/s40195-018-0806-5

Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters) ›› 2019, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (1): 52-62.DOI: 10.1007/s40195-018-0806-5

Special Issue: 2019年复合材料专辑； 2019年铝合金专辑

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles Next Articles

Microstructural Characterization and Tensile Behavior of Rutile (TiO₂)-Reinforced AA6063 Aluminum Matrix Composites Prepared by Friction Stir Processing

Sahayam Joyson Abraham¹(), Isaac Dinaharan²(), Jebaraj David Raja Selvam³(), Esther Titilayo Akinlabi²()

1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, V V College of Engineering, Tisayanvilai, Tamil Nadu 627657, India
2.Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park Kingsway Campus, Johannesburg, Gauteng 2006, South Africa
3.Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu 641114, India

Received:2018-05-23 Revised:2018-07-28 Online:2019-01-10 Published:2019-01-18
Contact: Joyson Abraham Sahayam,Dinaharan Isaac,David Raja Selvam Jebaraj,Titilayo Akinlabi Esther
About author:
Author brief introduction:Dao-Kui Xu Professor of IMR, CAS, and “Young Merit Scholar” of Corrosion Center in the Institute of Metal Research (IMR), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He achieved Ph.D. degree from IMR, CAS, in 2008, during which he obtained “Chinese Academy of Sciences-BHP Billiton” Scholarship award, “Shi Changxu” Scholarship award and “Zhu-LiYueHua” Excellent Doctorate Student Scholarship of Chinese Academy of Sciences. He worked as a Research Fellow in ARC Center of Excellence, Design of Light Metals, Department of Materials Engineering, Monash University, Australia (2008.10-2011.10). He published more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific papers, attended 20 invited lectures and holds seven patents. His papers were cited more than 1200 times. His research interests mainly include: (1) fatigue behavior and fracture toughness of light metals, such as Mg, Al and Ti alloys; (2) effects of alloying, heat treatment and thermomechanical processes on the microstructural evolution and mechanical improvement of light metals; (3) corrosion, stress corrosion cracking and corrosion fatigue behavior of lightweight alloys; and (4) design of new lightweight alloys with a good balance of properties in terms of mechanical property and corrosion resistance.

Abstract

Abstract:

Rutile (TiO₂) particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites were prepared by friction stir processing. The microstructure was studied using conventional and advanced characterization techniques. TiO₂ particles were found to be dispersed uniformly in the composite. Clusters of TiO₂ particles were observed at a higher particle content of 18 vol%. The interface between the TiO₂ particle and the aluminum matrix was characterized by the absence of pores and reactive layer. Sub-grain boundaries, ultra-fine grains and dislocation density were observed in the composites. TiO₂ particles improved the mechanical properties of the composites. However, a drop in tensile strength was observed at a higher particle content due to cluster formation. All the prepared composites exhibited ductile mode of fracture.

Key words: Aluminum matrix composites, Friction stir processing, Rutile, Microstructure, Tensile strength

Sahayam Joyson Abraham, Isaac Dinaharan, Jebaraj David Raja Selvam, Esther Titilayo Akinlabi. Microstructural Characterization and Tensile Behavior of Rutile (TiO₂)-Reinforced AA6063 Aluminum Matrix Composites Prepared by Friction Stir Processing[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2019, 32(1): 52-62.

Figures/Tables 13

Table 1 Chemical composition of AA6063 aluminum alloy (wt%)

Mg	Si	Fe	Mn	Cu	Cr	Zn	Ti	Al
0.45	0.35	0.15	0.02	0.01	0.09	0.04	0.02	Bal.

Fig. 1 a SEM, b EDAX analysis, c particle size distribution map of TiO2 particles

Fig. 2 FSP procedure to fabricate the composite: a compacting the groove with particles, b closing the groove top using a pinless tool, c processing using a tool with pin (two passes were applied in opposite directions)

Table 2 Processing conditions

Parameter	Values
Rotational speed (rpm)	1600
Traverse speed (mm/min)	60
Shoulder diameter (mm)	18
Pin diameter (mm)	6
Pin length (mm)	5.7
Pin shape	Straight cylindrical threaded
Tool material	HCHCr steel

Fig. 3 Typical photograph of friction stir-processed AA6063/TiO2 AMC plate showing crown appearance

Fig. 4 Macrostructures of AA6063/TiO2 AMCs containing TiO2: a 6 vol%, b 12 vol%, c 18 vol%

Fig. 5 FESEM micrographs of AA6063/TiO2 AMCs containing TiO2 particles: a 6 vol%, b 12 vol%, c, d 18 vol% (arrows point clusters)

Fig. 6 Optical photomicrographs of AA6063/TiO2 AMC at various locations within the stir zone: a top portion, b interface at the advancing side, c middle portion, d bottom portion

Fig. 7 EBSD (IPF?+?grain boundary) maps of AA6063/TiO2 containing TiO2 particles: a 0 vol%, b 12 vol%

Fig. 8 Schematic illustration of a particle distribution and formation of grains, b pinning of grain boundaries by particles (irregular polygonal shape represents grains, black circular shape represents reinforcement TiO2 particles)

Fig. 9 HRTEM micrographs of AA6063/12 vol% TiO2 AMC showing: a sub- and ultra-grain boundaries b, c particle interface and dislocations, d dislocations in the aluminum matrix

Fig. 10 Effect of TiO2 particles on: a microhardness, b hardness distribution in 12 vol% AMC, c stress strain graph, d extracted values

Fig. 11 FESEM micrographs of fracture surfaces of AA6063/TiO2 AMCs containing TiO2 particles: a 0 vol%, b 6 vol%, c 12 vol%, d 18 vol%

References

[1]	M. Megahed, M.A. Attia, M. Abdelhameed, A.G. El-Shafei, Acta Metall. Sin. (Engl. Lett.) 30, 781(2017)
[2]	R. Gostariani, R. Ebrahimi, M.A. Asadabad, M.H. Paydar, Acta Metall. Sin. (Engl. Lett.) 31, 245(2018)
[3]	B.S. Yigezu, P.K. Jha, M.M. Mahapatra, Mater. Manuf. Process. 28, 969(2013)
[4]	C.A. Vasantha Kumar, J. Selwin Rajadurai, Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China 26, 63 (2016)
[5]	K.V. Shivananda Murthy, D.P. Girish, R. Keshavamurthy, T. Varol, P.G. Koppad, Prog. Nat. Sci. Mater. Int. 27, 474(2017)
[6]	C.S. Ramesh, A.R. Anwar Khan, N. Ravikumar, P. Savanprabhu, Wear 259, 602 (2005)
[7]	S. Sivasankaran, K. Sivaprasad, R. Narayanasamy, V.K. Iyer, Powder Technol. 201, 70-82 (2010)
[8]	M. Soltani, S.A. Hoseininejad, Sci. Eng. Compos.Mater. 20, 7(2013)
[9]	J.H. Shin, H.J. Choi, M.K. Cho, D.H. Bae, J. Compos. Mater. 48, 99(2014)
[10]	S. Sivasankaran, K. Sivaprasad, R. Narayanasamy, M. Saravanan, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 78, 385-394 (2015)
[11]	C.A.V. Kumar, J. Selwin Rajadurai, S. Sundararajan, J. Mater. Res. 31, 2445(2016)
[12]	C.S. Ramesh, T.P. Bharathesh, S.M. Verma, R. Keshavamurthy, J. Mater. Eng.Perform. 21, 74(2012)
[13]	S. Sivasankaran, K. Sivaprasad, R. Narayanasamy, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 528, 6776 (2011)
[14]	Z.Y. Ma, Metall. Mater. Trans. A 39, 642 (2008)
[15]	V. Sharma, U. Prakash, B.V. Manoj, Kumar. J. Mater. Process. Technol. 224, 117(2015)
[16]	M. Sarkari Khorrami, M. Kazeminezhad, A.H. Kokabi, Mater. Des. 80, 41(2015)
[17]	J.F. Guo, J. Liu, C.N. Sun, S. Maleksaeedi, G. Bi, M.J. Tan, J. Wei, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 602, 143 (2014)
[18]	A. Thangarasu, N. Murugan, I. Dinaharan, S.J. Vijay, Arch. Civ. Mech.Eng. 15, 324(2015)
[19]	Y. Zhao, X. Huang, Q. Li, J. Huang, K. Yan, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 78, 1437(2015)
[20]	M. Narimani, B. Lotfi, Z. Sadeghian, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 673, 436 (2016)
[21]	S.S. Mirjavadi, M. Alipour, A.M.S. Hamouda, A. Matin, S. Kord, B.M. Afshari, P.G. Koppad, J. Alloys Compd. 726, 1262(2017)
[22]	M.A. Moghaddas, S.F. Kashani-Bozorg, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 559, 187 (2013)
[23]	R. Hashemi, G. Hussain, Wear 324-325, 45(2015)
[24]	S.S. Mirjavadi, M. Alipour, S. Emamian, S. Kord, A.M.S. Hamouda, P.G. Koppad, R. Keshavamurthy, J. Alloys Compd. 712, 795(2017)
[25]	Q. Zhang, B.L. Xiao, Q.Z. Wang, Z.Y. Ma, Mater. Lett. 65, 2070 (2011)
[26]	F. Khodabakhshi, A. Simchi, A.H. Kokabi, M. Nosko, F. Siman?ik, P. ?vec, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 605, 108 (2014)
[27]	H.C. Madhu, P. Ajay Kumar, C.S. Perugu, S.V. Kailas, J. Mater. Eng.Perform. 27, 1318(2018)
[28]	V.C. Gudla, F. Jensen, A. Simar, R. Shabadi, R. Ambat, Appl. Surf. Sci. 324, 554(2015)
[29]	R. Sathiskumar, N. Murugan, I. Dinaharan, S.J. Vijay, Mater. Charact. 84, 16(2013)
[30]	C.J. Lee, J.C. Huang, P.J. Hsieh, Scr. Mater. 54, 1415(2006)
[31]	S. Muthukumaran, S.K. Mukherjee, Int. J. Adv. Manuf. Technol. 38, 68(2008)
[32]	H. Rana, V. Badheka, J. Mater. Process.Technol. 255, 795(2018)
[33]	I. Dinaharan, N. Murugan, A. Thangarasu, Eng. Sci. Technol. Int. J. 19, 1132(2016)
[34]	E.R.I. Mahmoud, K. Ikeuchi, M. Takahashi, Sci. Technol. Weld. Joining 13, 607 (2008)
[35]	A. Mostafapour Asl, S.T. Khandani, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 559, 549 (2013)
[36]	S. Emami, T. Saeid, Acta Metall. Sin. (Engl. Lett.) 28, 766(2015)
[37]	R.G. Guan, D. Tie, Acta Metall. Sin. (Engl. Lett.) 30, 409(2017)
[38]	O. Matvienko, O. Daneyko, T. Kovalevskaya, Acta Metall. Sin. (Engl.Lett.)
[39]	Z. Zhang, D.L. Chen, Mater. Sci. Eng. A 483-484, 148-152 (2008)

Microstructural Characterization and Tensile Behavior of Rutile (TiO₂)-Reinforced AA6063 Aluminum Matrix Composites Prepared by Friction Stir Processing

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

Figures/Tables 13

References

Related Articles 15

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments

[1]	Shang Zhao, Zhaolin Wang, Mingliang Wang, Zeyu Ding, Yiping Lu. A critical review of advances and application prospects of soft magnetic high entropy alloys [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 40(2): 1-7.
[2]	Wei-Peng Chen, Jia-Qi Pei, Hua Hou, Yu-Hong Zhao. Phase-field simulation of α-Mg dendrite growth in magnesium alloys: A review [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 40(2): 48-61.
[3]	Xinqi Ji, Yue Zhang, Wenhan Jin, Xin Qi. A strategy on the consistency of tensile strength of friction stir lap welding joint based on the same peak temperature [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 40(2): 78-87.
[4]	Peng Han, Wen Wang, Jun Cai, Jia Lin, Hubin Yang, Qianzhi Ma, Feng Gao, Ke Qiao, Fengming Qiang, Kuaishe Wang. Excellent superplasticity for lamellar microstructure in nugget of a double-sided friction stir welded Ti-4.5Al-3V-2Mo-2Fe alloy joint [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 40(2): 110-123.
[5]	Lei Qin, Shengfeng Zhou, Jianbo Jin, Huan Yang, Kunmao Li, Cheng Deng, Yujie Yuan, Seyed Reza Elmi Hosseini, Lai-Chang Zhang. Effect of molybdenum content on the microstructure and tribological properties of Ti-Nb-Cu alloys produced by LPBF additive manufacturing [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 39(1): 13-25.
[6]	X.L. Wang, J.Y. Li, Q.S. Mei. Recent progress in Zn matrix composites for biomedical applications [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 39(1): 26-37.
[7]	Kunmao Li, Shengfeng Zhou, Jing Liu, Feng Yang, Chengliang Yang. A review on the biomedical Ti-Cu alloys: Design, preparation, microstructure and properties [J]. Metals Advances, 2026, 39(1): 47-67.
[8]	B. M. Shi, Y. T. Pang, B. H. Shan, B. B. Wang, Y. Liu, P. Xue, J. F. Zhang, Y. N. Zan, Q. Z. Wang, B. L. Xiao, Z. Y. Ma. Microstructure Evolution and Fracture Behavior of (B₄C+Al₂O₃)/Al Friction Stir Welded Joints [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(9): 1513-1526.
[9]	H. Q. Dai, N. Li, L. H. Wu, J. Wang, P. Xue, F. C. Liu, D. R. Ni, B. L. Xiao, Z. Y. Ma. Low-Temperature Superplastic Deformation Behavior of Bimodal Microstructure of Friction Stir Processed Ti-6Al-4V Alloy [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(9): 1559-1569.
[10]	Shuyi Ren, Jiao Li, Kai Wu, Xiaoge Li, Yaqiang Wang, Jinyu Zhang, Gang Liu, Jun Sun. Thermal Stability and Mechanical Properties of Nanotwinned Ni-W Alloyed Films [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(9): 1570-1582.
[11]	F. S. Li, L. H. Wu, Y. Kan, H. B. Zhao, D. R. Ni, P. Xue, B. L. Xiao, Z. Y. Ma. Microstructure Evolution and Fracture Mechanisms in Electron Beam Welded Joint of Ti-6Al-4V ELI Alloy Ultra-thick Plates [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(8): 1317-1330.
[12]	Haoran Pang, Liwei Lu, Gongji Yang, Xiaojun Wang, Wen Wang, Hua Zhang, Yujuan Wu. Amelioration of Mechanical Properties of Rolled Mg-4.5Al-2.5Zn Alloy by Cryogenic Cycling Treatment [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(8): 1436-1452.
[13]	Qi Zhou, Yufeng Xia, Yu Duan, Baihao Zhang, Yuqiu Ye, Peitao Guo, Lu Li. Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Yb-Containing AZ80 Cast Alloys [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(7): 1095-1108.
[14]	Mengjun Chen, Tingping Hou, Shi Cheng, Feng Hu, Tao Yu, Xianming Pan, Yuanyuan Li, Kaiming Wu. A Comprehensive Exploration of the Relationship between Microstructure Optimization and Strength Enhancement in Low-Density 5Al-5Mn Steel [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(7): 1219-1236.
[15]	Wangjian Yu, Rui Hu, Guoqiang Shang, Xian Luo, Hong Wang. Correlation Mechanism Between Microstructure and Fatigue Crack Propagation Behavior of Ti-Mo-Cr-V-Nb-Al Titanium Alloys [J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2025, 38(6): 981-1002.