Investigation of Thermal and Microstructural Properties of Al-4.5Cu/SiC Composite Produced by Mechanical Alloying Method

Abstract

In this study, different ratios of SiC reinforced Al4.5Cu alloy matrix composites were produced by mechanical alloying method at different grinding times. The effect of reinforcement amount and grinding time on thermal and structural properties of the composite was investigated. The microstructure properties of the composites were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and their thermal behavior was investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA). The produced powder composites were subjected to sintering process after pressing. Surface analyzes of the sintered samples were examined by optical microscope, and surface hardness was also measured. XRD and SEM results showed that as the grinding time increased, the grain size decreased and a more homogeneous structure was formed. According to DTA results, a series of endothermic peaks indicating phase transformation were observed in the temperature range 550-650 C during continuous heating. The results of the optical microscope were found to be in agreement with the SEM analysis, and also the surface hardness increased as the amount of reinforcement and grinding time increased.

Keywords

• metal matrix composites
• mechanical alloying
• thermal properties
• microstructure
• microhardness