Study on microstructural evolution and strengthening-toughening mechanisms of aluminum matrix composites fabricated by hot rolling and friction stir processing
摘要
Friction stir processing (FSP) was employed on as-cast (AC-FSP) and hot-rolled (HR-FSP) aluminum matrix composites (AMCs) at 800, 1000, and 1200 rpm to elucidate the impact of pre-deformation on microstructural refinement and mechanical properties. Grain size decreased progressively with rotational speed in both conditions, but HR-FSP consistently yielded finer structures (e.g., 3.78 µm vs. larger AC-FSP grains at 1200 rpm, a 45.21% reduction). EBSD (electron back scattering diffraction) analysis indicated that discontinuous dynamic recrystallization (DDRX), supplemented by continuous dynamic recrystallization (CDRX), governed recrystallization. The dislocation substructure introduced by hot rolling significantly promoted recrystallization during subsequent FSP in HR-FSP. This superior microstructural control led to enhanced mechanical performance in HR-FSP: average hardness of 59.78 HV (11.8% higher) and a strength-ductility product of 12.89 GPa% (64.6% greater) at 1200 rpm compared to AC-FSP. The improvement is mechanistically linked to increased intragranular dislocation density providing strengthening and recrystallization eliminating grain boundary defects, thereby reducing interfacial fracture tendency. The study demonstrates that hot rolling pretreatment effectively optimizes FSP for superior mechanical properties in AMCs.