Effects of Friction Stir Processing on Mechanical, Tribological and Corrosion Resistance of Low Carbon Steel

In the present work, the effect of friction stir processing (FSP) on tribological and mechanical properties as well as the corrosion resistance of a low carbon steel (AISI 1010 (CK10)) is studied. FSP was successfully applied with different rotating speeds of 800- 1600 rpm. Optimum properties was gained for the sample which was processed with the minimum rotating speed of 800 rpm. Metallographic study of this sample showed that dynamic recrystallization has decreased the average grain size to about 0.5 μm, while the initial value was ~10 μm. The tensile strength of the optimal specimen increased for about 50 MPa. Also, the hardness of the processed samples was about 2.5 times that of the raw material. As the result of grain refinement and the improvement of mechanical properties, the tribological properties of the sample were also improved such that a 28% reduction in the wear rate was observed. Finally, corrosion tests (according to ASTM G5) showed that FSP has no considerable influence on the corrosion resistance of the studied steel.