Evaluation of an original use of spark plasma sintering to laminate carbon fibres reinforced aluminium

Abstract

An alternative route for producing aluminium matrix reinforced with continuous carbon fibres is proposed in this paper. On the one hand, liquid aluminium does not wet carbon; on the other hand, however, the two form a reactive system leading to carbide formation. A novel way to obtain continuous carbon fibre-reinforced aluminium was investigated, using spark plasma sintering with aluminium foils as raw material. Sintering parameters were adjusted to achieve the effective welding of aluminium foils and penetration of the metal between the filaments. A quality assessment of the fibre/aluminium coupling is presented. Interfaces were then investigated by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive ray spectroscopy. An effective cohesion of fibres with the matrix was shown. The manageable fibre positioning could result in unidirectional architecture and reinforcement rate should be handled through foil thickness and yarn properties. Using tensile tests, cohesion between aluminium and carbon fibres can be quantified.