Fabrication of Cu-adhered silicon carbide particles and its effect on properties of Fe-based matrix composites

Abstract

Abstract In present study, copper powders (Cu) and silicon carbide (SiC) particles were used to produce Cu-adhered SiC particles (Cu/SiC), which were used to reinforce Fe-based matrix materials to modify properties. The orthogonal experimental design was used to investigate the relationship between ball mill parameters and particle size. Next, the mixed powders were pressed at 500 MPa using a hydraulic press. Then, the green compacts were wrapped in graphite powders, and sintered using a resistance furnace. Metallurgical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffraction were employed to investigate the microstructures, element distribution, and phase of SiC-reinforced Fe-based matrix composites. The properties of the SiC-reinforced metal matrix composites were determined using the Microhardness test and Charpy pendulum impact test. The orthogonal experimental results indicated that the influence degree of milling parameters on particle size was the powder to ball ratio>milling time>milling speed. The milling parameters to obtain the smallest Cu/SiC particle were powder to ball ratio of 20:1, milling time of 15 h, and milling speed of 300 r min−1. However, the adhesive effect was bad. The properties test results indicated that Cu/SiC particles reinforced with Fe matrix composites had better properties. Furthermore, the hardness and impact toughness improved up to 239.97 HV0.5 and 12.1 KJ·m−2, respectively. Moreover, compared to raw SiC particles, the hardness and impact toughness increased by 12% and 15%, respectively. The improvement in properties was attributed to the Cu adhesion to the SiC surface, which effectively alleviated the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between SiC and Fe, and formed a chemical bond at the interface to improve the interfacial binding