Mechanical and Corrosion Studies of Friction Stir Welded Nano Al2O3 Reinforced Al-Mg Matrix Composites: RSM-ANN Modelling Approach

Abstract

Nano aluminum oxide was prepared by the combustion method using aluminum nitrate as the oxidizer and urea as a fuel. Characterization of synthesized materials was performed using SEM (scanning electron microscope), powder XRD (X-ray diffraction), FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), and TEM (transmission electron microscope). Al-Mg/Al2O3 (2, 4, 6, and 8 wt%) metal matrix nanocomposites were prepared by liquid metallurgy route-vertex technique. The homogeneous dispersion of nano Al2O3 particles in Al-Mg/Al2O3 metal matrix nanocomposites (MMNCs) was revealed from the field emission SEM analysis. The reinforcement particles present in the matrix were analyzed through energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy method. The properties (corrosion and mechanical) of the fabricated composites were evaluated. The mechanical and corrosion properties of the prepared nanocomposites initially increased and then decreased with the addition of nano Al2O3 particles in Al-Mg Matrix. The studies show that, the presence of 6 wt% of nano Al2O3 particles in the matrix improved the properties of other combinations of nano Al2O3 in the Al-Mg matrix material. Further, the Al-Mg/Al2O3 (6 wt%) MMNCs are joined by friction stir welding and evaluated for microstructural, mechanical, and corrosion properties. Al-Mg/Al2O3 MMNCs may find applications in the marine field. The response surface method (RSM) was used for the optimization of tensile strength, Young’s modulus, and microhardness of the synthesized material which resulted in a 95% of statistical confidence level. Artificial neural network (ANN) analysis was also carried out which perfectly predicted these two properties. The ANN model is optimized to obtain 99.9% accurate predictions by changing the number of neurons in the hidden layer.

Influence of the Fly Ash Material Inoculants on the Tensile and Impact Characteristics of the Aluminum AA 5083/7.5SiC Composites

“…These compounds have been identified in the composites with 76-100 µm and 101-125 µm, 2 wt. % fly ash inoculants thereby ascertaining the stronger bonding between the atoms; this is also seen in the EDS of the samples, wherein the distinct elemental peaks corresponding to Al, Si, Mg, and O atoms are also evident, thereby validating the phase identifications corresponding to the peaks in the XRD and more or less the uniform precipitation of SiC brought about by the fly ash inoculants [37][38][39][40].…”

Experimental Investigation of the Friction Stir Weldability of AA8006 with Zirconia Particle Reinforcement and Optimized Process Parameters

“…Across the whole immersion time period, the sample for which a 1100 rpm tool rotational speed was used attained an excellent corrosion resistance. Microstructure alteration increases the corrosion resistance, suggesting that tool speed is the major factor in FSP [23][24][25][26][27][28]. The highest corrosion rate was obtained at the start of the test.…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Mechanical Properties and Wire Cut EDM Process Parameters Analysis in AZ61 Magnesium Alloy + B4C + SiC

“…The other three factors were influenced; compared to process temperature, they contributed a small amount. The second, third and fourth parameter influences are reinforcement %, stirring speed and time of stirring, respectively [43][44][45][46][47]. Figure 16 shows the main effect plot for SN ratios of micro hardness test; in this test, the four parameters partaking were discernibly presented.…”