Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A

, Volume 40, Issue 8, pp 1911–1922 | Cite as

Modeling the Effect of Active Fiber Cooling on the Microstructure of Fiber-Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites

  • Nguyen Q. Nguyen
  • Sean D. Peterson
  • Nikhil Gupta
  • Pradeep K. Rohatgi
Article

Abstract

A modified pressure infiltration process was recently developed to synthesize carbon-fiber-reinforced aluminum matrix composites. In the modified process, the ends of carbon fibers are extended out of the crucible to induce selective cooling. The process is found to be effective in improving the quality of composites. The present work is focused on determining the effect of the induced conductive heat transfer on the composite system through numerical methods. Due to the axisymmetry of the system, a two-dimensional (2-D) model is studied that can be expanded into three dimensions. The variables in this transient analysis include the fiber radius, fiber length, and melt superheat temperature. The results show that the composite system can be tailored to have a temperature on the fiber surface that is lower than the melt, to promote nucleation on the fiber surface. It is also observed that there is a point of inflection in the temperature profile along the particle/melt interface at which there is no temperature gradient in the radial direction. The information about the inflection point can be used to control the diffusion of solute atoms in the system. The result can be used in determining the optimum fiber volume fraction in metal matrix composite (MMC) materials to obtain the desired microstructure.

Keywords

Carbon Fiber Inflection Point Rayleigh Number Solute Atom Aluminum Matrix Composite 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Nomenclature

R

radius

k

thermal conductivity

r

radial variable

z

axial variable

L

length of the mold

T

temperature

\( \dot{q} \)

rate of heat transferred from the system

t

time

g

gravitational acceleration

β

volumetric thermal expansion

ρ

density

Cp

specific heat capacity

f

subscript for fiber

i

subscript for initial

ν

viscosity

α

thermal diffusivity

Re

Reynolds number

Gr

Grashof number

Pr

Prandtl number

Ra

Rayleigh number

θ

nondimensional temperature

Fo

nondimensional time

AR

aspect ratio

\( \overline{{R_{f} }} \)

nondimensional fiber radius

\( \overline{r} \)

nondimensional radial variable

\( \overline{z} \)

nondimensional axial variable

a

subscript for aluminum

o

subscript for outer boundary

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the National Science Foundation for their support through Grant Nos. CBET 0809240 and CMMI 0726723. The authors thank the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, Polytechnic Institute of New York University (Brooklyn, NY), for the facilities and support provided.

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Copyright information

© The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Nguyen Q. Nguyen
    • 1
  • Sean D. Peterson
    • 2
    • 3
  • Nikhil Gupta
    • 1
  • Pradeep K. Rohatgi
    • 4
  1. 1.Composite Materials and Mechanics Laboratory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering DepartmentPolytechnic Institute of New York UniversityBrooklynUSA
  2. 2.Unsteady Flow Physics Laboratory, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering DepartmentPolytechnic Institute of New York UniversityBrooklynUSA
  3. 3.Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering DepartmentUniversity of WaterlooWaterlooCanada
  4. 4.Materials Engineering DepartmentUniversity of WisconsinMilwaukeeUSA

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