Manufacturing and mechanical characterization of square bar made of aluminium scraps through friction stir back extrusion process

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to manufacture an aluminium square cross-sectional bar by using conventional lathe machine from aluminium scraps through friction stir back extrusion (FSBE) process and study the viability of the process to produce the square bar.

Design/methodology/approach

The important tasks involved in this work are as follows: designing and manufacturing the chamber and plunger components used for experimental work, experimentally studying the thermo-mechanical progression of FSBE process on adapted conventional lathe machine and analyzing the relation between controlled parameter (like rotational speed and consolidation time) and response parameter (like extrusion time, extrusion rate, grain structure and hardness).

Findings

Preliminary results show that increasing or decreasing rotational speeds results in defects. Cold crack and twisting defect were shown on square bar fabricated using low rotational speed, and hot crack defects were observed on surface of the bars produced by higher rotational speed. The manufactured square bars were tested using optical microscope and Vickers hardness tester. Microstructural studies reveal that initial grains of aluminium wire undergo significant refinement and result in equiaxed and recrystallized grains in the square bar fabricated through FSBE method. The hardness tests show almost even distribution of hardness in the specimen, but hardness was lower than parent aluminium; in comparison, uneven distribution of hardness was seen in parent aluminium.

Originality/value

FSBE process is the new method to produce the bars and rods with better mechanical properties. The ambition of this work is to convert the existing scrap materials to useful products. Based on the literature review, the work has planned to perform extrusion process with the minimum effort and limited sources. In this manner, the work is highly original and under scientific mandate.

Citation

Gelaw, M., Ramulu, P.J., Hailu, D. and Desta, T. (2018), "Manufacturing and mechanical characterization of square bar made of aluminium scraps through friction stir back extrusion process", Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, Vol. 16 No. 4, pp. 596-615. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-02-2018-0030