Synthesis and Characterization of In Situ (Al2O3-Si)/Al Composites by Reaction Hot Pressing

doi:10.1007/s40195-014-0147-y

Abstract

Abstract:

In situ (Al₂O₃-Si)/Al composites with a reinforcement volume fraction of 10% were synthesized from the Al-SiO₂ system using low energy ball milling and reaction hot pressing. Differential thermal analysis was used to investigate the reaction mechanisms between SiO₂ and Al. X-ray diffraction results revealed that the reaction between Al and SiO₂ took place completely at 900°C with a holding time of 2 h, thereby forming Al₂O₃ and Si. Scanning electron microscopic, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopic, and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) results showed that the in situ synthesized Al₂O₃ and Si particles, whose sizes are less than 2 µm, were polygonal in shape and dispersed uniformly in the matrix. Moreover, Al₂O₃ particle size showed a tendency to increase from ~2 to ~6 µm when the synthesis temperature was increased. Furthermore, TEM observation showed that the interface between the reinforcements and Al matrix is clean. The yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and Brinell hardness of the in situ (Al₂O₃-Si)/Al composite was significantly higher than the aluminum matrix. Mechanisms governing the tensile fracture process are discussed.

Key words: Al composites, Microstructure, Al2O3, Silicon

Oualid Mokhnache El, Wang Guisong, Geng Lin, Kaveendran Balasubramaniam, Huang Lujun. Synthesis and Characterization of In Situ (Al₂O₃-Si)/Al Composites by Reaction Hot Pressing[J]. Acta Metallurgica Sinica (English Letters), 2014, 27(5): 930-936.

Figures/Tables 7

Table 1 Composites nomenclature and their processing fabrication steps

Composite	Step 1	Step 2	Step 3
As sintered SiO₂/Al	600°C,1 h, 25 MPa	-	-
C1	600°C, 1 h, 25 MPa	800°C, 2 h, 0 MPa	-
C2	600°C, 1 h, 25 MPa	900°C, 2 h, 0 MPa	-
C3	600°C, 1 h, 25 MPa	1050°C, 2 h, 0 MPa	-
C4	600°C, 1 h, 25 MPa	900°C, 2 h, 0 MPa	580°C, 1 h, 25 MPa

Fig. 1 DTA curve of as-sintered SiO2/Al as heated at 10°C/min

Fig. 2 XRD patterns of the composites

Fig. 3 SEM images and EDX results of the composites: (a) SEM image of as-sintered SiO2/Al; (b) EDX result of point A in a; (c) SEM image composite C1; (d) EDX result of point B in c; (e) EDX result of point C in c; (f) SEM image of composite C2; (g), (h) SEM images of composite C3; (i) SEM image of composite C4

Fig. 4 TEM images, diffraction patterns, and EDX results of composite C4 showing (a) the in situ synthesized Al2O3 (b) Si particle

Table 2 Mechanical properties of fabricated composites under various processing conditions

Material	YS (MPa)	UTS (MPa)	Hardness (HB)	Elongation (%)	Relative density (%)
Pure Al	15 ± 3	40 ± 2	20 ± 0.3	20 ± 0.3	99.1
As sintered SiO₂/Al	44 ± 2	69 ± 2	30.1 ± 0.2	4.2 ± 0.1	93.1
C1	45 ± 2	87 ± 2	39.4 ± 0.2	3.3 ± 0.15	90.2
C2	50 ± 2	85 ± 3	39 ± 0.3	3.1 ± 0.2	88.3
C3	42 ± 3	83 ± 2	32.2 ± 0.1	2.9 ± 0.1	85.4
C4	59 ± 2	121 ± 2	45 ± 0.1	12.4 ± 0.15	98.9

Fig. 5 Tensile fracture surfaces of (a, b) as sintered SiO2/Al (c, d) composite C4

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Synthesis and Characterization of In Situ (Al₂O₃-Si)/Al Composites by Reaction Hot Pressing

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