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Freeform fabrication of aluminum metal-matrix composites

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Abstract

A series of metal-matrix composites were formed by extrusion freeform fabrication of a sinterable aluminum alloy in combination with silicon carbide particles and whiskers, carbon fibers, alumina particles, and hollow flyash cenospheres. Silicon carbide particles were most successful in that the composites retained high density with up to 20 vol% of reinforcement and the strength approximately doubles over the strength of the metal matrix alone. Comparison with simple models suggests that this unexpectedly high degree of reinforcement can be attributed to the concentration of small silicon carbide particles around the larger metal powder. This fabrication method also allows composites to be formed with hollow spheres that cannot be formed by other powder or melt methods.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85721, Arizona, USA

    C. W. Souvignier

  2. Department of Mining, Minerals and Materials Engineering, The University of Queensland, 4072, Qld, Australia

    T. B. Sercombe & P. Calvert

  3. Department of Mining, Minerals and Materials Engineering, The University of Queensland, 4072, Qld, Australia

    S. H. Huo & G. B. Schaffer

  4. Interdisciplinary Research Center (IRC) in Advanced Materials, The University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Edgbaston, United Kingdom

    T. B. Sercombe & P. Calvert

Authors
  1. C. W. Souvignier
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  2. T. B. Sercombe
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  3. S. H. Huo
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  4. P. Calvert
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  5. G. B. Schaffer
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Souvignier, C.W., Sercombe, T.B., Huo, S.H. et al. Freeform fabrication of aluminum metal-matrix composites. Journal of Materials Research 16, 2613–2618 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2001.0359

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/JMR.2001.0359

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