Effect of graphite powder as a forming filler on the mechanical properties of SiCp/Al composites by pressure infiltration

• Published in: International journal of minerals, metallurgy and materials Vol. 23; no. 5; pp. 601 - 607
• Main Authors: Cui, Wei, Xu, Hui, Chen, Jian-hao, Ren, Shu-bin, He, Xin-bo, Qu, Xuan-hui
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beijing University of Science and Technology Beijing 01.05.2016; Springer Nature B.V; Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, China
• Subjects: Ceramics; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Composite materials; Composites; Corrosion and Coatings; Elongation; Failure modes; Fillers; Glass; Graphite; Infiltration; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Metallic Materials; Microstructure; Modulus of elasticity; Natural Materials; Surfaces and Interfaces; Tensile strength; Thin Films; Tribology; pressure infiltration; aluminum; metal matrix composites; graphite; silicon carbide; mechanical properties; preparation
• ISSN: 1674-4799; 1869-103X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12613-016-1272-6

(38vol% SiCp + 2vol% Al 2 O 3f )/2024 Al composites were fabricated by pressure infiltration. Graphite powder was introduced as a forming filler in preform preparation, and the effects of the powder size on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the final composites were investigated. The results showed that the composite with 15 μm graphite powder as a forming filler had the maximum tensile strength of 506 MPa, maximum yield strength of 489 MPa, and maximum elongation of 1.2%, which decreased to 490 MPa, 430 MPa, and 0.4%, respectively, on increasing the graphite powder size from 15 to 60 μm. The composite with 60 μm graphite powder showed the highest elastic modulus, and the value decreased from 129 to 113 GPa on decreasing the graphite powder size from 60 to 15 μm. The differences between these properties are related to the different microstructures of the corresponding composites, which determine their failure modes.