Fabrication of St37 Steel Surface Composites Reinforced by ZrO2 Nano Particles via Friction Stir Processing

Herein, Friction Stir Processing (FSP) is used to disperseZrO2 Nanoparticles into a matrix of St37 steel to formreinforced composites. The effect of Nanoparticles onmicrostructural modification and corrosion resistance ofFSPed St37 is studied. The microstructural analysis iscarried out by using optical and electron microscopes. It isobserved that reinforcements are well dispersed inside thenugget zone (NZ), and remarkable grain refinement isachieved. Composite corrosion resistance is evaluated andcompared with the Base Metal (BM). The maximumhardness is achieved for ZrO2 composite, whereas asignificant increase in pitting resistance of the BM isobtained. The corrosion behavior of the samples isinvestigated by potentiodynamic polarization tests andassessed in term of pitting potential and passivation range.

Keywords:

St37 Steel , Friction Stir Processing , ZrO2 NanoParticles , Pitting resistance , Corrosion Resistance