Friction stir welding of Al-Al2O3 nanocomposite with bimodal size of alumina reinforcement produced by spark plasma sintering

Solid state joining of powder metallurgy (P/M) processed and sintered by spark plasma sintering through friction stir welding (FSW) was studied. The nanocomposites were prepared via mechanical milling followed by spark plasma sintering. The microstructural and mechanical of the joints were evaluated as a function of the different processing parameters such as rotating and advancing speeds of the tool. The achieved finding revelled that the FSW of the nanocomposites produced by P/M containing bimodal sized Al2O3 reinforcement have a working window are affected by the heat input. The joint evolution revelled that the microstructure and mechanical properties of those was related to the generated heat input during the welding. It is known that dynamic recrystallization (DRX) caused grain size refinement of aluminium into stir zone. Meanwhile, it was revealed that the pinning effect of Al2O3 nanoparticles retarded grain growth of the recrystallized grains caused by dynamic recrystallization (DRX).