Surface Modification of pure magnesium and magnesium alloy AZ91 by Friction Stir Processing

In recent years an interest in magnesium and magnesium alloys not only for the automotive industry but also for medical applications was increasing due to the low density and good specific strength. Magnesium alloys show good castability but lower ductility and strength than wrought materials. For this reason, refinement of grains and homogenous distribution of intermetallic phases are needed to improve formability and mechanical properties. On the other hand, the degradation of the material by corrosion is influenced by the grain size and phase distribution. This work investigates the microstructure evolution of pure Mg and magnesium alloy AZ91 by friction stir processing (FSP) technique. FSP experiments are carried out by constant force, optimizing the rotation and feed rate to obtain a homogenous microstructure, free of defects stir zone, good surface finishing and stable conditions during the process. The results show that the grain size is affected by the spindle speed. Increasing the number of passes reduces also the size of the grains and the intermetallic phases in the AZ91 alloy. The overlapping of passes between overlapping ratio 0.5 to 1 determines an uniform depth of the stir zone over a larger surface area.Hardness measurements are performed to evaluate the influence of FSP parameters on the mechanical properties. The degradation rate of the studied FSP Mg alloys is determined by hydrogen evolution in corrosion immersion tests, which depend strongly on the phase distribution and grain size.