Investigation on microstructure, mechanical and tribological properties of friction stir processing of AZ31/AlFeCrMoNb surface composite

In this study, the influence of vibration and AlFeCrMoNb refractory high-entropy alloy (RHEA) particles during friction stir processing (FSP) for the fabrication of a novel AZ31/AlFeCrMoNb surface composite on microstructure and tribological characteristics is elucidated. It was found that the utilization of friction stir vibration processing (FSVP) has been recognized as a successful secondary processing method for obtaining desired mechanical and tribological properties of AlFeCrMoNb particles in magnesium substrate, with superior results compared to the conventional FSP approach. Furthermore, the results revealed that the amount of RHEA particle agglomeration, material flow, and wear performance of the samples were improved by applying vibration. Furthermore, it was found that using vibration can indeed increase the hardness value and shear punch strength of the AZ31/AlFeCrMoNb surface composite by about 20% and 33%, respectively. The average friction coefficient was diminished to 0.32, which is about 37% lower than that of the FSPed sample.