the effects of rotational and traveling speeds on grain size, cavities and precipitations of sic-az31 nano-composites fabricated via fsw method

the solid-state nature of the friction stir welding (fsw) process leads to several advantages over fusion welding methods as problems associated with cooling from the liquid phase are avoided. in this study, friction stir welding (fsw) technique was employed for joining az31 magnesium plates. since sic particles had been injected along the joint line, az31/sic nano-composite was developed in the stir zone (sz) and the effects of rotational and traveling speeds on grain size, cavities and precipitations of stir zone were investigated. three rotational speeds 600,800, 1000 round per minute and four traveling speeds 25, 75, 125 and 175 millimeter per minute were used for welding of specimens. microstructural studies showed that increase of traveling and rotational speeds, generally deceased grain size of composites. also, cavities and al3mn precipitations were identified as main precipitations of composite. due to apply plastic deformation during fsw, magnesium grains at tmaz were observed in long shape. moreover, al3mn precipitations at tmaz were finer than those at bm.