Al-Based surface composites and strengthening of welded joints through multi-pass FSP technique: A Review

Abstract

Friction stir processing (FSP) is a microstructural modifying technique that uses the same principles as the friction stir welding technique. FSP technique can be employed on the same surface repeatedly as desired and this repetition is called multi-pass friction stir processing (MFSP). The recent developments have shown that MFSP technique is very useful towards uniform dispersion of reinforcement particles during fabrication of surface composites. Some studies have also demonstrated that MFSP technique can be employed on welded joints as a way of improving the mechanical properties of the welded joints. This paper reports on the progress made in using the multi-pass friction stir processing (MFSP) technique in producing aluminium-based surface composites. It further looks at the progress made in using the MFSP on aluminium-based welded joints. An effort is made to identify the gap that requires some exploration for the better utilization and understanding of this technique.