Effect of Friction Stir Processing on the Dry Sliding Wear Behaviour of AA6082-5TiB₂ Composite

AA6082 alloy reinforced with TiB₂ particles was synthesized through stir casting method to yield the AA6082-5(wt%)TiB₂ metal matrix composite. Dry sliding wear behaviour was studied to understand the effect of friction stir processing (FSP) on the composite with the design of experiment software, which was used to plan the experiments and was conducted at 15–50 N applied load and 300–1200 rpm rotational speed. It was compared with the same set experiments performed on the sample without FSP. Experiments were conducted by preparing the samples according to specific dimensions on pin-on-disc tribometer at room temperature. Effect of applied load and rotational speed on the wear or mass loss was plotted. It was observed that the mass loss on both the composites is found to be different. Optical microscopy studies were conducted. Abrasive and adhesive wear mechanisms were observed due to the presence of hard TiB₂ reinforcement particles.