Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 37 (1993) 52!

~541 529
Elsevier
Metal -matri x composites: Materi al s aspects.
Part II
D. Huda, M. A. E1 Baradi e and M. S. J. Hashmi
Advanced Materials Processing Centre, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing
Engineering, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
I n d u s t r i a l S u m m a r y
In Part I (Metal matrix composites: Manufacturing aspects) six different fabrication routes
were discussed for manufacturing MMC materials, these being: PM, diffusion bonding,
liquid-metal infiltration, squeeze casting, spray codeposition and compocasting. Amongst
them, the squeeze-casting technique is used widely for the continuous production of MMC
materials. MMC materials are produced with a mixture of matrix and reinforcement mater-
ials. In this paper an analysis of the matrix and the reinforcement is given and a potential
solution is enumerated for selecting the proper matrix and reinforcement materials to form
the MMC.
1. I n t r o d u c t i o n
MMC mat eri al s have a combi nat i on of different, superi or propert i es to an
unr ei nf or ced mat ri x, whi ch can resul t in a number of servi ce benefits, among
whi ch are: i ncreased st rengt h, hi gher elastic modul us, hi gher servi ce temper-
at ure, i mproved wear resi st ance, decreased weight, bet t er fat i gue resi st ance,
hi gh el ect ri cal and t her mal conduct i vi t y, and low coefficient of t her mal expan-
sion and hi gh vacuum envi r onment al resi st ance. These propert i es can be
at t ai ned wi t h t he proper choi ce of mat r i x and rei nforcement , consi der i ng ot her
factors. Tabl e I shows t he superi or propert i es of al umi ni um-based MMC mat er-
ials over t hose of unr ei nf or ced al umi ni um [1].
2. The ma t r i x
Composi t e mat eri al s consi st of mat r i x and rei nforcement . Met al act s as t he
mat ri x, i.e., t he bondi ng element. Its mai n f unct i on is to t r ansf er and di st ri but e
t he load to t he r ei nf or cement s or fibres. This t r ansf er of l oad depends on t he
Correspondence to: Prof. M.S.J. Hashmi. School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineer-
ing, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland.
0924-0136/93/$06.00 ~" 1993 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. All rights reserved.
530 D. Huda et al./MMCs: Materials aspects. II
Table 1
Comparison of properties of aluminium lithium (8090)-based metal-matrix composite with
those of unreinforced matrix material [1]
Property Matrix alloy MMC
(8090) (8090 + 20 wt %SiC
a7 (MN m 2) 360 450 50(~525
UTS (MN m 2) 460 520 550 570
elongation (%) ~ 4 ~ 3
K k (MN m -3i2) 20 40 10 25
E (GN m- 2) 80 104
bonding i nt erface bet ween the mat ri x and the rei nforcement : however, bond-
ing depends on the type of mat ri x and rei nforcement and the fabri cat i on
technique.
The mat ri x can be' selected on the basis of oxi dat i on and corrosi on resi st ance
or ot her properties [2]. General l y A1, Ti, Mg, Ni, Cu, Pb, Fe, Ag, Zn, Sn and Si
are used as the mat ri x materials, but A1, Ti and Mg are used widely.
Nowadays the main focus is given to aluminium [3] because of its unique
combi nat i on of good corrosi on resistance, low density and excellent mechan-
ical properties. Ti t ani um [4] has been used in aero-engines, mainly for com-
pressor blades and discs, due to its hi gher el evat ed-t emperat ure resi st ance
property. Magnesi um is the pot ent i al material to fabri cat e composite for
maki ng reci procat i ng components in motors and for making pistons~
gudgeon pins, spring caps [5]. It is also used in aerospace due to its low
coefficient of t hermal expansi on and high-stiffness properties combined with
low density.
For the rei nforcement , charact eri st i cs such as the chemistry, morphology,
mi crost ruct ure, mechani cal and physical properties and cost have been con-
sidered, whilst for the mat ri x factors such as density, st rengt h potential.
st rengt h ret ent i on at el evat ed t emperat ure and duct i l i t y/ t oughness are con-
sidered important. Again, mat ri x selection involves not only desired properties
but also which mat eri al is best suited for composite manufact uri ng. For
example 7xxx al umi ni um alloy r at her t han 2xxx aluminium alloy exhibits the
best combi nat i on of st rengt h and t oughness for aerospace application~ but
despite this, 2xxx al umi ni um alloy composite is used widely for aerospace
application. This is because if 7xxx aluminium alloy composite is used, an
i nt erface is developed bet ween the 7xxx aluminium alloy and the rein~brce~
ment, which degrades the st rengt h of the composites [6].
The 2xxx, 6xxx and 7xxx aluminium alloys have been used widely as matrix
mat eri al for maki ng composites. Recent l y al umi ni um lithium alloy (8xxx) has
been at t ract i ng the at t ent i on of researchers due to its good wet t abi l i t y charac-
teristics. For good bonding and st rengt h in the composite, metal alloys are
used as the mat ri x el ement instead of pure metal.
D. Huda et al./MMCs: Materials aspects. II 531
3. Re i n f o r c e me n t
Rei nforcement i ncreases t he st rengt h, stiffness, and the t emper at ur e resis-
t ance capaci t y and lowers the densi t y of MMC. The prime role of the fibres
(reinforcements) is to car r y t he load. The rei nforcement s can be divided i nt o t wo
maj or groups, cont i nuous and di scont i nuous. The MMCs produced by t hem are
called cont i nuousl y (fibre) rei nforced composi t es and di scont i nuousl y rei nforced
composites. However, t hey can be subdivided broadl y i nt o five maj or cat egori es:
cont i nuous fibres, short fibres (chopped fibres, not necessari l y t he same length),
whiskers, part i cul at e (or platelate) and wire (only for metal).
Wi t h t he except i on of wires, r ei nf or cement s are general l y cerami cs, typi-
cal l y t hese cerami cs bei ng oxides, carbi des and nitrides. These are used be-
cause of t hei r combi nat i ons of hi gh st r engt h and stiffness at bot h room and
el evat ed t emperat ures. Common r ei nf or cement el ement s are SiC, A1203, TiB2,
bor on and graphi t e.
4. Co n t i n u o u s fi bre r e i n f o r c e me n t
Accor di ng to ASTM [7], t he t erm fibre may be used for any mat er i al in an
el ongat ed form such as has a mi ni mum l engt h to a maxi mum aver age trans-
verse di mensi on of 10:1, a maxi mum cross-sect i onal area of 5.1 10 . 4 cm z and
a maxi mum t r ansver se di mensi on of 0.0254 cm. Cont i nuous fibres in composi t e
are usual l y called filaments, t he mai n cont i nuous fibres i ncl udi ng boron,
graphi t e, al umi na and silicon carbide. The char act er i st i cs of fibre are gi ven in
Tabl e 2 [8]. This t abl e shows t he mul t i fi l ament fami l y whi ch i ncl udes carbon,
si l i con carbi de and al umi na fibres, while t he monof i l ament fami l y is based on
bor on only. The mul t i fi l ament s are avai l abl e in t he form of single yar ns or two-
or t hree-di mensi onal weaves.
Table 2
Characteristics of continuous fibres [8]
Composition Filaments Mean Specific Young's Failure
per yarn diameter gravity modulus strength
(pm) (GPa) (GPa)
B (CVD on W) 1 140 2.6 410 4.1
A120 3 (~ 98%) 900 10 13 3.9 350 2.1
A120 3 20SiO 2 960 10 3.1 160 1.6
A1203-15SIO 2 1000 17 3.25 210 1.8
C 1000 12000 7 1.76 230 3.5
C 1000 6000 6.5 1.81 390 2.7
[~-SiC coated C dependent on C fibre used
SiC (+ O) 500 15 2.55 200 2.8
SiC (+O+Ti) 200 1600 8 9 2.3 2.5 200 2.8
532 D. Huda et al ./MMCs: Materi al s aspects. H
Boron fibres are general l y made by chemi cal vapour deposi ti on (cvd) on
a tungsten core. To retard reacti ons bet ween the boron and the metal at high
temperature, someti mes fibre coati ngs of si l i con carbide or boron carbide have
been used. Table 3 shows the typi cal properties of B/A1 composites.
Carbon fibres are not sui tabl e to form Al-based MMC due to the fibre
degradati on during processi ng, but especi al l y T 300 is used successful l y to ibrm
the cheapest magnesi um composi te [8]. Someti mes cvd coati ng of carbon fibre~
usi ng ei ther ni ckel or si l i con, has been used to improve the wettabitity.
A summary of some of the tensi l e properties of carbon fibre MMC is shown in
Table 4 [8].
Conti nuous fibres based on A1203 are produced by Du Pont (FP fibrelt and
Sumi tomo [9]. The FP fibre has a hi gh purity and large grain size, whi ch means
that the fibre is extremel y brittle and difficult to handl e but may offer better
MMC properties. Sumi tomo' s A1203 reinforced al umi ni um composi te made by
squeeze casti ng shows i mpressi ve strength-retenti on properties at el evated
temperatures and is used wi del y in the automoti ve industry~
Tabl e 3
Typi cal t ensi l e and compressi on properties of B/A1 composi te [8]
Fibre Fibre vol ume Test Tensi l e properties Compr es s l
di recti on fracti on di recti on strength
( %) strength modul us ( GPa) ( MPa )
( MPa )
0 '~ 38.3
0 38.;3
0 / 9 0 39.5
0 / 9 0 39.5
l ong 1500 210 150 4300
trans 160 140
l ong 650 ~60 104 ! 600
trans 400 130
Tabl e 4
Some cont i nuous carbon fibre MMC t ensi l e properties [ 8 1
Fibre di recti on Matrix
Fibre vol ume Tensi l e properties
fl'action
( %) s t r e n g t h E~ modul us
( MPa ) ( GPa)
0 A1 42 95{) 120
0 : / 9 0 A1 ;38 ~50 60
0: A1 70 1450 250
cl oth ( 0' / 90) A1 55 170 90
0 Mg 70 1500 150
D. Huda et al. /MMCs: Materials aspects. H 533
Si l i c on- c a r bi de mo n o f i l a me n t is ma d e by t he CVD pr oc e s s us i ng a t ungs t e n-
or c a r bon- c or e . Two s i l i c on- c a r bi de fi bres, n a me l y Ni c a l o n a nd Ty r a n n o (con-
t a i n i n g t i t a n i u m addi t i ons ) , a r e us ed wi de l y due t o t h e i r a t t r a c t i v e c ombi na -
t i on of s t r e ngt h, s t i f f nes s a nd h a n d l i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . MMC ma t e r i a l s r ei n-
f or c e d wi t h Ty r a n n o e xhi bi t hi gh t r a n s v e r s e s t r e n g t h a nd a r e us ed ma i n l y i n
t he a e r o s p a c e i ndus t r y. Typi c a l t e ns i l e p r o p e r t i e s of Ni c a l o n a nd Ty r a n n o
r e i nf or c e d MMC ar e s h o wn i n Ta bl e 5 [8].
Bo r o n f i br es ( t he fi ft h l i ght e s t e l e me nt ) s how t he g r e a t e s t s t r e n g t h i n com-
p a r i s o n wi t h o t h e r f i br es and MMCs a r e r e l a t i v e l y e a s y t o ma k e wi t h t he s e
fi bres. Ho we v e r , t he g r e a t d r a wb a c k is t he i r hi gh pr i ce. Ca r b o n is t he s i xt h
l i ght e s t e l e me n t and PAN ( pol ya c r yl oni t r i l e ) ba s e d f i br es h a v e be e n us ed i n
a e r o s p a c e s t r uc t ur e s . Si C and a l u mi n a ar e us ed t o ma n u f a c t u r e hi gh- t e mpe r -
a t u r e compos i t es .
The f i br e is uni que f or u n i d i r e c t i o n a l l oad wh e n i t is or i e nt e d i n t he s a me
di r e c t i on as t h a t of l oadi ng, but i t ha s l ow s t r e n g t h i n t he di r e c t i on pe r pe ndi c u-
l a r t o t he f i br e or i e nt a t i on. As r e g a r d s cost , c o n t i n u o u s f i br es a r e a b o u t
4500/ kg, wh e r e a s d i s c o n t i n u o u s f i br es ar e onl y 25 35/kg: i t is f or speci f i c
p u r p o s e s onl y, t h a t c o n t i n u o u s f i br es ar e used. Th u s t he ma i n f ocus of r e s e a r c h
at p r e s e n t is on d i s c o n t i n u o u s r e i nf or c e me nt . One of t he a d v a n t a g e s of di scon-
t i n u o u s - r e i n f o r c e d c ompos i t e s is t h a t t he y c a n be s ha pe d by a n y s t a n d a r d
me t a l l u r g i c a l pr oc e s s e s s uc h as f or gi ng, r ol l i ng, e xt r us i on, et c.
5. S h o r t f i b r e s
Sh o r t f i br es a r e l ong c o mp a r e d t o t he c r i t i c a l l e ngt h (lc = d S f / S m, whe r e d is
t he f i br e di a me t e r , Sf is t he r e i n f o r c e me n t s t r e ngt h, a nd Sm is t he ma t r i x
s t r e ngt h) and h e n c e s how hi gh s t r e n g t h i n c ompos i t e s , c ons i de r i ng a l i gne d
fi bres. Ne ve r t he l e s s , mi s o r i e n t e d s hor t f i br es h a v e be e n us ed wi t h s ome s uc c e s s
Table 5
Typical tensile properties of silicon carbide multifilament reinforced MMC [8]
Fibre Matrix Fibre volume Fibre Tensile properties
fraction direction
(%) strength modulus
(MPa) (GPa)
Nicalon A1 35 0 850 100
Nicalon A1 35 90 80 65
Nicalon A1 35 0 c/90 30 80
Nicalon A1-6061 35 0 700 120
Nicalon A1-6061 35 90 ~ 110 100
Nicalon A1-6061 35 0' /90' 200 110
Tyranno A1 50 0 1200
Tyranno A1 50 90 350
534 D. Huda et al./MMCs: Materials aspects. II
as AMC ( a l umi ni um ma t r i x compos i t e) r e i n f o r c e me n t [10-19]. The oxi de fi bres,
Saffil and Ka owool , a r e us ed ma i nl y f or t he r e i n f o r c e me n t of a ut omobi l e e ngi ne
c ompone nt s . Zi r c oni a f i br es a r e not s ui t a bl e f or a l umi ni um MMCs . Sh o r t f i br es
ar e st i l l us ed ma i nl y f or r e f r a c t o r y i n s u l a t i o n pur pos e s due t o t he i r l ow
s t r e n g t h c ompa r e d wi t h ot her s , but t h e y ar e c h e a p e r t h a n f i br e and whi s ker .
Ta bl e 6 [20] gi ves t he c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of s hor t f i br es ma de of c a r bon, a l u mi n a
and s i l i con car bi de.
6. Wh i s k e r s
Whi s ke r s a r e c h a r a c t e r i z e d by t h e i r f i br ous, s i ngl e- cr ys t al s t r u c t u r e s whi ch
h a v e a l mos t no c r ys t a l l i ne def ect s. Nu me r o u s ma t e r i a l s , i nc l udi ng met, als.
oxi des, car bi des , hal i des a nd or ga ni c compounds , ha ve be e n pr e pa r e d u n d e r
c o n t r o l l e d c ondi t i ons i n t he f or m of whi s ker s . Ge ne r a l l y, a whi s ke r has a si ngl e
di s l ocat i on, whi c h r uns a l ong t he c e nt r a l axi s. Thi s r e l a t i ve f r e e dom f r om
di s l oc a t i ons me a ns t h a t t he yi el d s t r e n g t h of a whi s ke r is cl ose t o t he t he or e t -
i cal s t r e n g t h of t he ma t e r i a l [21].
The me t h o d of v a p o u r de pos i t i on is wi del y us ed i n whi s ke r p r e p a r a t i o n The
p e r f o r ma n c e of whi s ke r s at e l e va t e d t e mp e r a t u r e s is f ar be t t e r t h a n t h a t of a ny
o t h e r f i br es [21]. Due t o t h e i r o u t s t a n d i n g speci f i c me c h a n i c a l char act er i s t i cs ~
mu c h wor k ha s be e n c a r r i e d out on f a b r i c a t i n g MMC us i ng whi s ke r s [22 30].
The s mal l d i a me t e r of t he whi s ke r s ( d = 0 . 1 2 pm) me a ns t h a t t he i r l engt hs ([)
ar e suf f i ci ent ( l / d~ 50-100) t o pe r mi t l oad t r a n s f e r [20].
Si l i con car bi de, s i l i con ni t r i de, c a r bon and pot a s s i um t i t a n a t e whi s ke r s ar e
a va i l a bl e al r eady. Among t hes e, s i l i con c a r bi de whi s ke r s seem t o of f er t he best
o p p o r t u n i t i e s f or MMC r e i nf or c e me nt . Pr e s e nt l y, s i l i con car bi de whi s ke r r ei n-
f o r c e me n t is pr oduc e d f r om r i ce hus k, whi c h is a l ow- cost ma t e r i a l .
Si l i con c a r bi de whi s ke r - r e i nf or c e d a l umi ni um has been us ed wi del y in aer o-
s pace vehi cl es . J a p a n l eads t he wor l d i n whi s ke r pr oduc t i on.
The phys i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of whi s ke r s ar e r es pons i bl e f or di f f er ent chem-
i cal r e a c t i v i t y wi t h t he ma t r i x al l oy [20]. Fo r i ns t ance, hi gh- s t r e ngt h c a r bon
f i br es e xhi bi t a muc h hi ghe r c he mi c a l r e a c t i v i t y t owa r d l i qui d a l umi ni um t ha n
Table 6
Characteristics of ceramic short fibres 1201
Fibre Size
Density UTS E
length 1 diameter d
(mm) (pro)
(gem 3) (GPa) 'GPa~
carbon T300 2.5 7.8 1.75 3.45 230
SiC Nicalon 1 6 10 15 2.55 3 195
A120 3 FP 3 6 15 25 3.96 1.7 380
A120 3 Saffil 0.1 l 1 5 3.30 '2 :~00
D. Huda et al./MMCs: Materials aspects. H 535
do high modulus carbon fibres owing to t hei r different states of crystallization.
Table 7 [21] shows the properties of some whiskers.
However, initial i nt erest in whiskers rei nforcement has declined because of
the heal t h hazard posed in t hei r handling.
7. P a r t i c u l a t e
Part i cul at es are the most common and cheapest rei nforcement materials.
These produce the isotropic propert y of MMCs, which shows a promising
application in st ruct ural fields. Initially, attempts were made to produce rein-
forced aluminium alloys with graphi t e powder [31-38], but only low volume
fractions of rei nforcement had been i ncorporat ed (< 10%). Present l y hi gher
volume fractions of rei nforcement s have been achieved for various kinds of
ceramic particles (oxide, carbide, nitride). Thei r main charact eri st i cs are re-
ported in Table 8 [20].
The USA leads the world in particulate production, with Alcan having made
the greatest progress in research with particulates. It is observed from research
t hat 20% silicon carbide in particulate form has shown improvements in yield
and tensile strength of a similar percentage. There is especially no change in
density, but stiffness has improved by up to 50% [4], which breaks the general
"rul e" t hat the specific thickness of all engineering metals, regardless of their
density, is roughly the same. Kohara [39] has worked on SiCp-A1 and SiCw A1
composite materials, showing t hat the SiC-particulate-reinforced aluminium-
matrix composites are not as strong as the SiC-whisker-reinforced composites.
However, the SiC-particulate-reinforced aluminium-matrix composites have
a good pot ent i al for use as wear-resistant materials. Actually, part i cul at es lead
to a favourabl e effect on properties such as hardness, wear resi st ance and
compressive strength.
A number of part i cul at e reinforced systems have been in use i ndust ri al l y for
many years, these including cermets, used in the electronics i ndust ry for the
t racks of precision vari abl e resistors, and high-speed cutting-tool tips.
Table 7
Properties of some whiskers [21]
Material Tensile Density Young's Specific Specific
strength (g cm- 3) modulus strength modulus
(kN mm 2) (kN mm 2) (kN mm -2) (kN m m 2 )
alumina 21 3.96 430 5.3 110
silicon carbide 21 3.21 490 6.5 150
graphite 20 1.66 710 12.0 430
boron carbide 14 2.52 490 5.6 190
silicon nitride 14 3.18 380 4.4 120
536 D. Huda et al./MMCs: Materials aspects, l I
Table 8
Characteristics of ceramic particles [20]
Particle Size
(~tm)
Density UTS E
(gem ~) (GPa) (GPa}
graphite 40 250 1.6 2.2 20 910
SiC 15- 340 3.2 5 480
SiO 2 53 2.3 4.7 70
MgO 40 2.7 3.6
Si3N 4 46 3.2 3 (i 360
TiC 46 4.9 320
BN 46 2.25 0.8 100 500
mica 180 170
ZrO 2 75 180 5.65 6.]5 (}.14 210
B4C 40 340 2.5 6.5 480
TiO 2 20 3.9 4.3
A120 3 40 340 3.97 8 460
glass 30 120 2.55 3.5 110
8. Wi r e
Me t a l l i c f i l ament s ar e cal l ed wi re, and t hey ar e c ha r a c t e r i z e d by t hei r hi gh
el as t i c modul i . Among t hem, mol ybde num and t ungs t e n ar e t he mos t oul -
s t a ndi ng. Pr e s e nt l y s t ai nl es s st eel wi r e is c r e a t i ng i nt er es t . Howe ve r t he ma i n
di s a dva nt a ge of me t a l f i l ament s is t ha t t he i r de ns i t y is hi ghe r t ha n t ha t of
cer ami c whi s ker s , wi t h t he pr oba bl e except i on of Ber yl l i um.
Thes e fi bres ar e ge ne r a l l y mor e duct i l e t ha n any ot her fi bres, so now t he
effort is t o use me t a l l i c f i l ament s t o f a br i c a t e compos i t es for c a r r yi ng t ens i l e
l oad wi t h hi gh t oughnes s . Ta bl e 9 [7] shows t he phys i cal pr oper t i es of met al
f i l ament s .
Table 9
Physical properties of metallic wire [7]
Material Specific Melting Tensile Young' s Coef. of thermal
gravity point strength modulus expansion
(C) (106 N/m 2) (10 ~ N/m 2) (10 "cm/cm C)
aluminium 2.71 660 290 68.9 23.6
beryllium 1.85 1350 1100 310 11.6
copper 8.90 1083 414 124 16.5
t ungst en 19.3 3410 2900 345 4.6
austenitic 7.9 1539 2400 200 8.5
stainless steel
molybdenum 10.2 2625 2200 331
D. Huda et al ./MMCs: Materi al s aspects. H 537
H o n d a h a s b e e n u s i n g 45% by v o l u me f i ne s t a i n l e s s s t e e l f i bres i n a l u mi n i u m
ma t r i x a l l o y t o ma k e a c o n n e c t i n g r o d u s i n g t h e s q u e e z e - c a s t i n g me t h o d . Th e s e
c o mp o s i t e r ods ar e a p p r o x i ma t e l y 40% l i g h t e r t h a n t h e e q u i v a l e n t f o r g e d
d e s i g n a n d c o n t r i b u t e t o s u b s t a n t i a l i mp r o v e me n t s i n e n g i n e p o we r a n d f ue l
e c o n o my .
At h i g h t e mp e r a t u r e , t h e r e i s t o o mu c h me t a l - t o - me t a l r e a c t i o n , c r e a t i n g
f a b r i c a t i o n p r o b l e ms [40]. N o t mu c h wo r k h a s b e e n d o n e at t h e p r e s e n t t i me t o
u s e me t a l l i c wi r e r e i n f o r c e me n t t o f a b r i c a t e MMC ma t e r i a l s .
9. P r o p e r t i e s o f c o m p o s i t e m a t e r i a l s
Th e p r o p e r t i e s o f MMC ma t e r i a l s d e p e n d o n t h e f o l l o wi n g .
(1) The pr ope r t i e s o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l c o mpo ne nt s : f or e xampl e , s i n c e t h e s t r e ng t h
of me t al a l l o y i s gr e at e r t h a n pur e me t al , i t i s n o w us e d i n s t e a d o f pur e met al .
(2) Th e r e l a t i v e a mo u n t s o f t h e c o mp o n e n t s : wi t h i n c r e a s i n g v o l u me frac-
t i o n o f r e i n f o r c e me n t e l e me n t , t h e s t r e n g t h i n c r e a s e s , as s h o w n i n Fi g. 1 [7].
60
f7
c.~ 30
} )
>.
i
I , ~( H) 0
. . . . . j ~ ~ l I 6(1()0
, 4 , , , , , ' ;
1 2 0 [ ) 0
10
j - -
:z
1 [ ) 0 0 0
8( H) O
6 0 0 0
1 0 2 0 3 0
Vol ume Fract i on o f Whi s ke r s ( % )
Fig. l. Effect of the volume fraction on the tensile properties of SiC whisker/606l AL-FRM
(billet-T6) [8].
538 D. Huda et al . / MMCs : Mat eri al s aspects. 11
(3) The size, shape and di stri buti on of the reinforcement: cont i nuous fibres
exhi bi t the hi ghest strength when ori ented uni di recti onal l y, whi sker and
parti cul ate gi vi ng better strength when distributed uni forml y in the matrix, as
shown in Figs. 2 and 3 [3, 7].
(4) The degree of bonding between components: this is the most i mportam
parameter for updating the strength. It is advisable to choose the proper metal
and rei nforcement wi th thei r sui tabl e combi nati on of CTE (coefficient of.
thermal expansion).
( 5 ) The sel ect i on o f a n appropriate fabri cati on method: di scussed in P a r t i
(Metal-matrix composites: Manufacturi ng aspects) [41].
lO. Appl i c at i ons
P r e s e n t l y , M M C s a r e u s e d n o t o n l y in the aerospace industry but a r e a l s o
u s e d w i d e l y in the automoti ve industry, in leisure items, in sports goods a n d i n
s t r u c t u r a l design. Al umi ni um oxi de reinforced al umi ni um has been u s e d i n
v
V.
ca
30o
2 0 0
1 O0
i
i
/ j 1 . 1 , = 1 6 L c
- - S i C - A I I 7 . . . . ; > ~ L = S L c
( C o n t i n i o u s F i l a me d i ) _ i ~ 7 :
/ / f / " ! 1 = 4 1 c
- - I - - ~ . V t [
/ I i / / t / I " i
[ I / z / , , i
. . . . . 7_; ~z____! . . . . . . . . .
/ / ' i i I = k
i / , ' / . . - i i - -
/ / .
i I / t i .-i
f -
. 4
J t J
! i
' i
L
6 ~ 1,0
V o l u m e F r a c t i o n o f F i b r e
F i g . 2. Composite strength a s a f f e c t e d by fibre length a n d v o l u me fraction of the f i br e l' , ;I
D. Huda et al./MMCs: Materials aspects. I I 539
3 5 0
E
E
_3
Z
Z 1 5 0
[ . -
1 O0
50
\ \ \ i
\ \ \
\ \
\
\ \
\
CAI20' ~
\
\
95A1~O,.5S 0 ~
\
~80A1~)~.20S O2
\ \
2 3 4 5 6 7
DIAMETER OF ALUMINA FIBERS (pm)
Fig. 3. Tensile strength of alumina fibres [8].
automoti ve connect i ng rods to provide stiffness and fatigue resi stance wi th
l i ghter wei ght. Al umi ni um reinforced wi th SiC whi skers has been fabric-
ated i nto aircraft wi ng panels, producing 20-40% wei ght savings. In air-
frames, by usi ng MMCs, the wei ght savings can be up to 60% [42]. SiCp
reinforced al umi ni um is now used wi del y as a mi crowave packagi ng unit.
Compressor discs, blades, vanes, rotors of jet engi nes and gui del i ne com-
ponents for Trident mi ssi l es have been made successful l y by MMC. In the
near future, MMC and CMC (ceramic-matrix composite) wi l l occupy the
posi ti on of conventi onal metal al l oys in manufacturi ng jet engi nes [4] and
in air-frames [43]. SiCp/A1 composi tes are now used to make tenni s rackets
and the heads of gol f clubs [44] and engi ne components and pistons are made
of SiCw/A1 composi te [45]. Carbon fibre reinforced composi te is used to
fabricate fishing rods and squash rackets. MMCs are attracti ve for satel l i te
constructi on due to their hi gher mechani cal damping properties [46] than
those of other common structural materials.
540 D. Huda et al . / MMCs: Materials aspects. It
1 1 . C o n c l u s i o n s
P a r t i c u l a t e - r e i n f o r c e d c o mp o s i t e s h a v e g o o d s t i f f n e s s a n d e x c e l l e n t l a b s ' , : : ,
b i l i t y a n d i s o t r o p y a n d a r e t h e c h e a p e s t t y p e s . Me t a l - ma t r i x c o mp o s i t e - - , ~ ,
g a i n i n g i mp o r t a n c e d u e t o t h e t a i l o r a b i l i t y o f t h e i r me c h a n i c a l a n d ph3 ~i c~i
p r o p e r t i e s t o me e t a s p e c i f i c d e s i g n c r i t e r i a a n d a r e t h e h i g h - s t r e n g ~ } , a>~J
h i g h - t e mp e r a t u r e ma t e r i a l s o f t h e f u t u r e .
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