Synergistic improvement of mechanical performance, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance in Al–Mg hybrid composites reinforced with ceramic particles via WAAM-FSP processing

High-performance Al–Mg hybrid composites reinforced with SiC–ZrO 2 particles were fabricated using an integrated wire-arc additive manufacturing and friction stir processing route (WAAM + FSP). A three-pass FSP schedule promoted uniform dispersion of SiC–ZrO 2 particles, while concurrent grain refinement improved overall microstructural homogeneity. The repeated FSP passes fragmented particle clusters and eliminated or significantly reduced interlayer and interfacial porosity, thereby mitigating common agglomeration- and porosity-related defects in additively manufactured composites. Microstructural characterization revealed a 91.9% reduction in grain size accompanied by a highly uniform particle distribution. These features led to pronounced improvements in mechanical performance, wear behavior, and corrosion resistance. The enhancements are attributed to the combined effects of load-transfer strengthening, grain-boundary strengthening, and Orowan strengthening. Compared with the WAAM condition, the FSP-processed SiC–ZrO 2 hybrid composites exhibited an 84.71% increase in ultimate tensile strength and a 111.30% increase in yield strength, while maintaining nearly unchanged ductility. In addition, the wear rate decreased by 34.1%, and corrosion resistance improved substantially, as indicated by a reduction in corrosion current density to 0.7 μA/cm 2 . Overall, the proposed WAAM + FSP strategy provides a practical route for microstructural engineering and for the achievement of multifunctional property enhancement in aluminum-based hybrid composites, offering a promising solution to address performance limitations in advanced, application-specific industrial sectors.