Achieving high mechanical and wear properties in the AZ31/(CeO2+ZrO2)p surface composite using friction stir processing: Application of vibration

In this study, the friction stir vibration processing (FSVP) have been devoted to the study the impact of the vibration frequency on the metallurgical and mechanical behavior of the AZ31/CeO2–ZrO2 surface composite. The structure, local shear punching test (SPT), hardness, and wear performance of the produced surface composite were studied. The results showed that with the use of vibration during FSP, the stir zone area broadened and resulted in eradication of the flow voids and enhanced the materials flow and the (ZrO2+CeO2)p powders dispersion in the matrix. It was also found that vibrating motion acted as an auxiliary energy and resulted in the enhancement of the shear punching strength and wear resistance by about 29% and 48% in comparison to that of the FSPed sample. This is attributed to the absence of stress concentration sites and better particle dispersion-strengthening. •The flow-related defects including voids and tunnel can be omitted with the application of vibration during friction stir processing.•Using vibration resulted in the enlargement of the stir zone and proper scattering of the reinforcing particles.•The assistance of vibration can alter the dispersion and increase the dislocation density of the composites.•Vibrating motion acted as an auxiliary energy and resulted in the enhancement of the shear punching strength by 29% (from 142 MPa to 183 MPa).