Improvement of mechanical properties of AA5083 in shipbuilding applications by adding nano ceramic powders of silicon dioxide Si2O3 via friction stir processing technique

Abstract Innovation of nano-composites with extraordinary characterizations for different industries is a challenge. Although shipbuilding industry is an important, it had been taken least attention. The aim of this article is to study the mechanical properties such as strength, ductility, toughness and hardness of AA5083 base metal (BM) reinforced with nano ceramic powders of silicon dioxide (Si2O3) by using friction stir processing (FSP) technique for the purpose of shipbuilding industry. Parametric analyses of both travel tool (25, 50, 100, and 150 mm/min) and rotational speed (400, 600 and1000 rpm) on nano composite alloy of (AA5083/Si2O3) have been performed. The analyses are carried out on both the unreinforced AA5083 and the reinforced AA5083 with Si2O3. It is elucidated that FSP technique plays a vital role in achieving homogenous microstructures of AA5083/Si2O3 nano-composites with 22 vol. % nano Si2O3 at optimum manufacturing conditions of 50 mm/min and 600 rpm. Furthermore, the uniform distribution of Si2O3 reinforcement and grain refinement of Al matrix enhances the mechanical properties such as ultimate tensile strength, elongation and microhardness compared to the BM. Additionally, the strength has been enhanced due to the refinement, dispersion of the grain, and sufficient time for recrystallization. Thus, the study elaborated that the nano particles of Si2O3 improved the ductility due to its perfect diffusion on the grain boundaries, and in turn increase the deformability. On the other hand, toughness of nano-composite (AA5083 with nano Si2O3) fabricated by FSP is slightly lower than that of the stand-alone BM, due to the fact that ceramic reinforcements are non-deformable.