Evaluation of Hardness Properties of Al7475/B4C/Fly Ash Hybrid Composites Using Friction Stir Process

Nowadays, Advanced composite materials along with good properties are playing a significant role in many industries. Researchers and scientists use many methods for making composite material. Friction stir process (FSP) is one of the unconventional processes for producing surface composites. In this study, Al7475/B4C/fly ash hybrid composites are formed by FSP by changing the level of the processing parameters such as Tool rotation speed (750, 1000 and 1250 rpm), Tool travel speed (20, 30 and 40 mm/min) and percentage of reinforcements (B4C -4, 6, 8 wt% and constant Fly ash 5%). Boron carbide and Fly ash are used as primary and secondary supporting elements on Al 7475. A Hardness test has been conducted for 15 prepared samples. Design expert software is employed to perform the optimization process to identify the best parameters to improve the hardness value of prepared composites. From the ANOVA result, the tool rotational speed is the best parameter to increase the hardness (88HV). The prediction of Hardness values can also be found by varying the input process parameter values through the ramp diagram. The optimized value of Hardness 70.9 is obtained for input process parameters of TRS-1232.72 rpm, TTS-33.96 mm/min and RE 12.4 wt%.