Materials Science Forum, Vol.475-479, 873-876, 2005
Effect of Cu content on microstructure and properties of Al2O3-SiO2 fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites
In this paper, pure aluminum and Al-Cu (1%, 3% and 5% mass.) alloy matrix composites reinforced with 40Vol% Al2O3-SiO2 sort fiber were fabricated by Squeeze-casting technique. Microstructure and tensile properties of the composites were investigated by means of SEM, EPMA, TEM and tensile tests. It was found from the experimental results that when pure aluminum, which was added into Cu. elements, is used as matrix, chemical reaction occurred at the interface between amorphous SiO2 and matrix due to the Cu. element diffusion and enrichment towards the sort fiber surface. Results indicated that with the increasing of Cu content the ultimate tensile strength decreased firstly then increased continuously.