On the Pressure and Rate of Infiltration Made by a Carbon Fiber Yarn with an Aluminum Melt during Ultrasonic Treatment

Abstract

The effect of the infiltration time of a carbon fiber yarn in the range of 6 to 13.6 s on the infiltrated volume under the cavitation of an aluminum melt has been studied. When the infiltration time was more than 10 s, the carbon fiber was completely infiltrated with the matrix melt, and a decrease in the infiltration time led to a monotonous decrease in the fraction of the infiltrated volume. Based on the experimental data, the infiltration rate and the pressure necessary to infiltrate a carbon fiber yarn with an aluminum melt were estimated. The infiltration rate was 20.9 cm3/s and was independent of the infiltration depth. The calculated pressure necessary for the complete infiltration of a carbon fiber yarn at this rate was about 270 Pa. A comparison of the pressure values calculated according to Darcy’s and Forchheimer’s laws showed that the difference between them did not exceed 0.01%. This indicates that a simpler Darcy’s law could be used to estimate pressure.

Keywords

• aluminum matrix
• carbon fiber
• infiltration
• infiltration rate
• infiltration pressure