Friction Surfacing of Mild Steel by Copper: A Feasibility Study

This work reports on the feasibility of deposition of copper on the mild steel using friction surfacing method. Commercial mild steel was chosen as the substrate and commercial pure copper as the consumable rod. Friction surfacing was attempted by varying the parameters, namely, rotational speed as 1250, 1500 and 1750 rpm and scan speed as 20, 30 and 40 mm/minute. A constant, 2 kN load was used as axial load. Good deposition was obtained under certain combination of process parameters. Deposition was characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray diffractometry. Formation of copper deposit on the mild steel substrate is discussed.