EFFECT OF MULTI-PASS FRICTION STIR PROCESSING ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF AA6061-T6

Samples with one through five passes with 100% overlap were produced using friction stir processing (FSP) technique to study the effect of multi-pass FSP on the microstructure and mechanical properties of AA6061-T6 alloy. The evolving microstructure and mechanical properties after each successive FSP pass were studied in detail. Constant traverse and rotational speeds were used for processing. The resulting microstructural evolution and the grain sizes after each FSP pass was seen to be strongly dependent on the processing parameters, the thermal cycle and the presence of second-phase precipitates. The base material was found to have better mechanical properties than all processed samples.