Fabrication and heat treatment of ceramic-reinforced aluminium matrix composites - a review

Abstract

Abstract Ceramic-reinforced aluminium matrix composites have attracted considerable attention in engineering applications as a result of their relatively low costs and characteristic isotropic properties. Reinforcement materials include carbides, nitrides and oxides. In an effort to achieve optimality in structure and properties of ceramic-reinforced metal matrix composites (MMCs), various fabrication and heat treatment techniques have evolved over the last 20 years. In this paper, the status of the research and development in fabrication and heat treatment techniques of ceramic-reinforced aluminium matrix composites is reviewed, with a major focus on material systems in terms of chemical compositions, weight or volume fraction, particle size of reinforcement, fabrication methods and heat treatment procedures. Various optical measurement techniques used by the researchers are highlighted. Also, limitations and needs of the technique in composite fabrication are presented in the literature. The full potential of various methods for fabricating ceramic-reinforced aluminium matrix composites is yet to be explored.