Microstructure, Hardness and Impact Toughness of Heat-Treated Nanodispersed Surface and Friction Stir-Processed Aluminum Alloy AA7075

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a recent surface engineering processing technique that is gaining wide recognition for manufacturing nanodispersed surface composites, which are of high specific strength, hardness and resistance to wear and corrosion. Herein, four-pass FSP was applied on aluminum alloy 7075 (AA7075-O) with and without the addition of alumina nanoparticles (Al₂O₃) of average size ~40 nm. All FSP parameters were constant at 40 mm/min transverse speed, 500 rpm and tilt angle of 3°. FSP rotation direction was reversed every other pass. The friction stir-processed materials were sectioned and solution treated at 515 °C for 1.5 h, followed by age hardening at 120 °C for 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 h. The effect of heat treatment regimes on microstructure, hardness and toughness was examined, as well as the fracture mode. The new friction stir-processed surfaces without and with nanodispersion showed enhancement in the hardness of the surface of the AA7075-O material (65 HV) to almost a double (100 and 140 HV) after four-pass FSP (before heat treatment) without and with incorporating nanoalumina particles, respectively. After 48-h aging at 120 °C, a significant enhancement in impact toughness was achieved for both the friction stir-processed without and with nanodispersion (181 and 134 J, respectively), compared to the reference material AA7075 in T6 condition (104 J).