Thermal Expansion Behavior and Characteristic of SiCp/Al Composites

Abstract

SiCp/Al composites were fabricated by ceramic mold freedom infiltration and pressureless infiltration, respectively. The microstructure and phases are analyzed by metallurgical microscope and coefficient of thermal expansion of SiCp/Al composites were tested by thermal dilatometer. The results show that SiCp/Al composites are compact and uniform. SiC particles were dispersed uniformly in Al matrix, and SiCp segregation was not found in composites. Under a certain SiCp size range, space between SiCp decreases with decreasing of SiCp size, and CTE of SiCp/Al composites also decreases with decreasing of particles size. Compared with CTE of composite with pure aluminum as matrix, CTE of composite with ZL101 as matrix is less. Under the annealing process, CTE of SiCp/Al composites with ZL101 as matrix is less than that with the solution and aging, which indicated that its dimensional stability of resisting to temperature fluctuation is better, and thermal expansion behavior and characteristic of SiCp/Al composites are also better.