Silicon carbide whisker reinforced aluminium composites–fabrication and properties
- 1 January 1987
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Maney Publishing in Materials Science and Technology
- Vol. 3 (1) , 57-60
- https://doi.org/10.1179/026708387790123061
Abstract
A fabrication process for SiC whisker reinforced aluminium composites is being developed. Theftrst step involves preforming the SiC whisker and squeeze-infiltrating the molten metal into the preform. Secondary fabrication can involve a conventional hot metal working practice such as extrusion. Microscopic observations indicate that the distribution of whiskers is very homogeneous. In an aluminium alloy (AA 6061) matrix composite containing 17 vol.-% SiC whiskers, the Young's modulus is > 100 GPa and the tensile strength increases by ~ 50–70% above that of the matrix to 460 and 529 MN m−2 in the cast and extruded products, respectively. The strength at elevated temperature and the wear resistance are also improved. These enhanced properties make the composite potentially suitable for a number of automotive applications. MST/574Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Hot-rolled silicon carbide-aluminium compositesJournal of Materials Science Letters, 1983
- A probabilistic theory of the strength of short-fibre composites with variable fibre length and orientationJournal of Materials Science, 1982