Thermomechanical Fatigue Behavior of Spray-Deposited SiCp/Al-Si Composite Applied in the High-Speed Railway Brake Disc

Abstract

The thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) behaviors of spray-deposited SiCp-reinforced Al-Si alloy were investigated in terms of the size of Si particles and the Si content. Thermomechanical fatigue experiments were conducted in the temperature range of 150-400°C. The cyclic response behavior indicated that the continuous cyclic softening was exhibited for all materials, and the increase in SiC particles size and Si content aggravated the softening degree, which was attributed to dislocation generation due to differential thermal contraction at the Al matrix/Si phase interface or Al matrix/SiC particle interface. Meanwhile, the TMF life and stress amplitude of SiCp/Al-7Si composites were greater than those of Al-7Si alloy, and increased with the increasing SiC particle size, which was associated with “load sharing” of the direct strengthening mechanism. The stress amplitude of 4.5μmSiCp/Al-Si composite increased as the Si content increased; however, the influence of Si content on the TMF life was not so significant. The TMF failure mechanism revealed that the crack mainly initiated at the agglomeration of small-particulate SiC and the breakage of large-particulate SiC, and the broken primary Si and the exfoliated eutectic Si accelerated the crack propagation.