Microstructure and thermophysical properties of SiC/Al composites mixed with diamond

The thermophysical properties of the SiC /Al composites mixed with diamond（SiC-Dia/Al） were studied through theoretical calculation and experiments. The thermal conductivity and the thermal expansion coefficient of the SiC-Dia/Al were calculated by differential effective medium（DEM） theoretical model and extended Turner model, respectively. The microstructure of the SiC-Dia/Al shows that the combination between SiC particles and Al is close, while that between diamond particles and Al is not close. The experimental results of the thermophysical properties of the SiC-Dia/Al are consistent with the calculated ones. The calculation results show that when the volume ratio of the diamond particles to the SiC particles is 3：7, the thermal conductivity and the thermal expansion coefficient can be improved by 39% and 30% compared to SiC/Al composites, respectively. In other words, by adding a small amount of diamond particles, the thermophysical properties of the composites can be improved effectively, while the cost increases little.

Effects of volume fraction of SiC particles on mechanical properties of SiC/Al composites

SiC particle reinforced pure aluminum composites were fabricated using a powder metallurgy method.The effect of the volume fraction of the SiC particles on the mechanical properties of the composites was studied by both model simulation and experiment.The results indicate that the yield strength and tensile strength increase,but the elongation decreases with the increase in the volume fraction of the SiC particles.Both the modified shear lag model and the multi-scale model predicted yield strength and normalized elongation show similar evolution trends with the experimental data.However,the modified shear lag model underestimates the yield strength due to the ignorance of the strengthening mechanisms caused by grain refinement and dislocations interaction by the introduction of the SiC particles,and the multi-scale model overestimates the normalized elongation due to the ignorance of the pores distributed in the matrix.

Wetting of molten Sn-3.5Ag-0.5Cu on Ni-P(-SiC) coatings deposited on high volume faction SiC/Al composite

The wetting of molten Sn-3.5Ag-0.5Cu alloy on the Ni-P(-SiC)coated SiCp/Al substrates was investigated by electroless Ni plating process,and the microstructures of the coating and the interfacial behavior of wetting systems were analyzed.The SiC particles are evenly distributed in the coating and enveloped with Ni.No reaction layer is observed at the coating/SiCp/Al composite interfaces.The contact angle increases from^19°with the Ni-P coating to 29°,43°and 113°with the corresponding Ni-P-3SiC,Ni-P-6SiC and Ni-P-9SiC coatings,respectively.An interaction layer containing Cu,Ni,Sn and P forms at the Sn-Ag-Cu/Ni-P-(0,3,6)SiC coated SiCp/Al interfaces,and the Cu-Ni-Sn and Ni-Sn-P phases are detected in the interaction layer.Moreover,the molten Sn-Ag-Cu can penetrate into the Ni-P(-SiC)coatings through the Ni-P/SiC interface and dissolve them to contact the SiCp/Al substrate.

Numerical simulations of stress wave propagation and attenuation at arc-shaped interface inlayered SiC/Al composite

The effects of interface shape on stress wave distribution and attenuation were investiga- ted using finite element method （ FEM ）. The simulation results indicate that when the stress wave propagates from SiC ceramic to A1 alloy, the tensile stress decreases and the attenuation coefficient of the stress wave increases with increasing central angle of the concave interface between SiC and A1. But for the convex interface, the tensile stress increases and attenuation coefficient decreases with increasing central angle. As the stress wave propagates from A1 alloy to SiC ceramic, the atten- uation coefficient of stress wave decreases with increasing the central angle of the concave interface. For the convex interface, the attenuation coefficient increases with increasing central angle.

Effect of Ni content on the wear behavior of Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Ni/SiC particles composites

In recent years,the addition of Ni has been widely acknowledged to be capable of enhancing the mechanical properties of Al-Si alloys.However,the effect of Ni on the wear behaviors of Al-Si alloys and Al matrix composites,particularly at elevated temperat-ures,remains an understudied area.In this study,Al-Si-Cu-Mg-Ni/20wt%SiC particles(SiCp)composites with varying Ni contents were prepared by using a semisolid stir casting method.The effect of Ni content on the dry sliding wear behavior of the prepared compos-ites was investigated through sliding tests at 25 and 350℃.Results indicated that theθ-Al_(2)Cu phase gradually diminished and eventually disappeared as the Ni content increased from 0wt%to 3wt%.This change was accompanied by the formation and increase inδ-Al_(3)CuNi andε-Al_(3)Ni phases in microstructures.The hardness and ultimate tensile strength of the as-cast composites improved,and the wear rates of the composites decreased from 5.29×10^(−4)to 1.94×10^(−4)mm^(3)/(N∙m)at 25℃and from 20.2×10^(−4)to 7×10^(−4)mm^(3)/(N∙m)at 350℃with the increase in Ni content from 0wt%to 2wt%.The enhancement in performance was due to the presence of strengthening network structures and additional Ni-containing phases in the composites.However,the wear rate of the 3Ni composite was approximately two times higher than that of the 2Ni composite due to the fracture and debonding of theε-Al_(3)Ni phase.Abrasive wear,delamination wear,and oxidation wear were the predominant wear mechanisms of the investigated composites at 25℃,whereas delamination wear and oxid-ation wear were dominant during sliding at 350℃.

Multi-scale Modeling and Finite Element Analyses of Thermal Conductivity of 3D C/SiC Composites Fabricating by Flexible-Oriented Woven Process

Thermal conductivity is one of the most significant criterion of three-dimensional carbon fiber-reinforced SiC matrix composites(3D C/SiC).Represent volume element(RVE)models of microscale,void/matrix and mesoscale proposed in this work are used to simulate the thermal conductivity behaviors of the 3D C/SiC composites.An entirely new process is introduced to weave the preform with three-dimensional orthogonal architecture.The 3D steady-state analysis step is created for assessing the thermal conductivity behaviors of the composites by applying periodic temperature boundary conditions.Three RVE models of cuboid,hexagonal and fiber random distribution are respectively developed to comparatively study the influence of fiber package pattern on the thermal conductivities at the microscale.Besides,the effect of void morphology on the thermal conductivity of the matrix is analyzed by the void/matrix models.The prediction results at the mesoscale correspond closely to the experimental values.The effect of the porosities and fiber volume fractions on the thermal conductivities is also taken into consideration.The multi-scale models mentioned in this paper can be used to predict the thermal conductivity behaviors of other composites with complex structures.

Fabrication and evaluation of high-performance 3D interpenetrated network structures SiC/Al composites with high-purity plate-like a-SiC framework

To reinforce compatibility with the thermophysical and mechanical properties of SiC/Al composites for electronic packaging to improve the stability and reduce fatigue failure of electronic integrated devices,a novel 3D SiC reinforced framework with interpenetrated plate-like a-SiC grains was synthesized.A small amount of doped a-SiC was seeded to induce the transformation of b-SiC to plate-like a-SiC at 2,300℃,forming a high-purity a-SiC strongly bonded framework.Vacuum/gas pressure infiltration of Al alloy was subsequently used to manufacture the 3D interpenetrated network structure SiC/Al(SiC3D/Al)composite.Characterization results showed that 15%(in mass)seeds provided the composite with the optimal comprehensive performance,including a low coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE)of 5.54×10^(-6)K^(-1),a high thermal conductivity(l)of 239.08 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1),the highest flexural strength of 326.84 MPa,and a low thermal deformation parameter(TDP)of 0.023.High-purity plate-like grains enhanced the purity of the framework promoting a significant improvement in l.As the seed content increased to 20%(in mass),both CTE and l reached optimal values of 5.22×10^(-6)K^(-1)and 243.14 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1),but the mechanical properties declined by 10.30%.The synergistic effect of the well-bonded interface and the high-purity 3D SiC framework balanced excellent mechanical properties and multiple thermal functions.

Tensile Mechanical Behavior and Failure Mechanism of a Plain-Woven SiCf/SiC Composites at Room and Elevated Temperatures

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are the preferred materials for solving advanced aerospace high-temperature structural components;it has the comprehensive advantages of higher temperature (~1500˚C) and low density. In service environments, CMCs exhibit complex damage mechanisms and failure modes, which are affected by constituent materials, meso-architecture and inhere defects. In this paper, the in-plane tensile mechanical behavior of a plain-woven SiCf/SiC composite at room and elevated temperatures was investigated, and the factors affecting the tensile strength of the material were discussed in depth. The results show that the tensile modulus and strength of SiCf/SiC composites at high temperature are lower, but the fracture strain increases and the toughness of the composites is enhanced;the stitching holes significantly weaken the tensile strength of the material, resulting in the material is easy to break at the cross-section with stitching holes.

Microstructure and properties of Al/Si/SiC composites for electronic packaging

The Al/Si/SiC composites with medium volume fraction for electronic packaging were fabricated by gas pressure infiltration.On the premise of keeping the machinability of the composites,the silicon carbide particles,which have the similar size with silicon particles（average 13 μm）,were added to replace silicon particles of same volume fraction,and microstructure and properties of the composites were investigated.The results show that reinforcing particles are distributed uniformly and no apparent pores are observed in the composites.It is also observed that higher thermal conductivity（TC） and flexural strength will be obtained with the addition of SiC particles.Meanwhile,coefficient of thermal expansion（CTE） changes smaller than TC.Models for predicting thermal properties were also discussed.Equivalent effective conductivity（EEC） was proposed to make H-J model suitable for hybrid particles and multimodal particle size distribution.

Microstructures and properties of Al-50%SiC composites for electronic packaging applications

Al？50%SiC （volume fraction） composites containing different sizesofSiC particles （average sizesof 23, 38 and 75 μm） were prepared by powder metallurgy. The influences of SiC particle sizes and annealing on the propertiesof the compositeswere investigated. The results show that SiC particles are distributed uniformly in the Al matrix. The coarse SiC particles result in higher coefficient of thermal expansion （CTE） and higher thermal conductivity （TC）, while fine SiC particles decrease CTE and improve flexural strength of the composites. The morphology and size of SiC particles in the composite are not influenced by the annealing treatment at 400℃for 6h. However, the CTE and the flexural strength of annealed composites are decreased slightly, and the TCis improved. The TC, CTE and flexural strength of the Al/SiC composite with averageSiC particlesize of75 μm are 156 W/（m·K）, 11.6×10^-6K^-1 and 229 MPa, respectively.

Thermal analysis for brake disks of SiC/6061 Al alloy co-continuous composite for CRH3 during emergency braking considering airflow cooling

The mass of high-speed trains can be reduced using the brake disk prepared with SiC network ceramic frame reinforced 6061 aluminum alloy composite （SiCn/Al）. The thermal and stress analyses of SiCn/Al brake disk during emergency braking at a speed of 300 km/h considering airflow cooling were investigated using finite element （FE） and computational fluid dynamics （CFD） methods. All three modes of heat transfer （conduction, convection and radiation） were analyzed along with the design features of the brake assembly and their interfaces. The results suggested that the higher convection coefficients achieved with airflow cooling will not only reduce the maximum temperature in the braking but also reduce the thermal gradients, since heat will be removed faster from hotter parts of the disk. Airflow cooling should be effective to reduce the risk of hot spot formation and disc thermal distortion. The highest temperature after emergency braking was 461 °C and 359 °C without and with considering airflow cooling, respectively. The equivalent stress could reach 269 MPa and 164 MPa without and with considering airflow cooling, respectively. However, the maximum surface stress may exceed the material yield strength during an emergency braking, which may cause a plastic damage accumulation in a brake disk without cooling. The simulation results are consistent with the experimental results well.

Characterization and evaluation of interface in SiC_p/2024 Al composite

35% SiCp/2024 Al（volume fraction） composite was prepared by powder metallurgy method. The microstructures of Si Cp/Al interfaces and precipitate phase/Al interfaces were characterized by HRTEM, and the interface conditions were evaluated by tensile modules of elasticity and Brinell hardness measurement. The results show that the overall Si Cp/Al interface condition in this experiment is good and three kinds of Si Cp/Al interfaces are present in the composites, which include vast majority of clean planer interfaces, few slight reaction interfaces and tiny amorphous interfaces. The combination mechanism of Si C and Al in the clean planer interface is the formation of a semi-coherent interface by closely matching of atoms and there are no fixed or preferential crystallographic orientation relationships between Si C and Al. MgAl2O4 spinel particles act as an intermediate to form semi-coherent interface with SiC and Al respectively at the slight reaction interfaces. When the composite is aged at 190 °C for 9 h after being solution-treated at 510 °C for 2 h, numerous discoid-shaped and needle-shaped nanosized precipitates dispersively exist in the composite and are semi-coherent of low mismatch with Al matrix. The Brinell hardness of composites arrives peak value at this time.

Effect of heat treatment on microstructure and thermophysical properties of diamond/2024 Al composites

50%diamond particle （5μm） reinforced 2024 aluminum matrix （diamond/2024 Al） composites were prepared by pressure infiltration method. Diamond particles were distributed uniformly without any particle clustering, and no apparent porosities or significant casting defects were observed in the composites. The diamond-Al interfaces of as-cast and annealed diamond/2024 Al composites were clean, smooth and free from interfacial reaction product. However, a large number of Al2Cu precipitates were found at diamond-Al interface after aging treatment. Moreover, needle-shaped Al2MgCu precipitates in Al matrix were observed after aging treatment. The coefficient of thermal expansion （CTE） of diamond/2024 Al composites was about 8.5×10-6 °C-1 between 20 and 100 °C, which was compatible with that with chip materials. Annealing treatment showed little effect on thermal expansion behavior, and aging treatment could further decrease the CTE of the composites. The thermal conductivity of obtained diamond/2024 Al composites was about 100 W/（m？K）, and it was slightly increased after annealing while decreased after aging treatment.

Microstructure and interface thermal stability of C/Mo double-coated SiC fiber reinforced γ-TiAl matrix composites

C/Mo duplex coating interfacially modified SiC fiber-reinforced γ-TiAl matrix composite （SiCf/C/Mo/γ-TiA1） was prepared by foil-fiber-foil method to investigate its interfacial modification effect. SiCf/C/TiAl composites were also prepared under the same processing condition for comparision. Both kinds of the composites were thermally exposed in vacuum at 800 and 900℃ for different durations in order to study thermal stability of the interfacial zone. With the aids of scanning electron microscope （SEM） and energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）, the interracial microstructures of the composites were investigated. The results reveal that, although adding the Mo coating, the interfacial reaction product of the SiCf/C/Mo/TiAl composite is the same with that of the SiCf/C/TiA1 composite, which is TiC/Ti2AlC between the coating and the matrix. However, C/Mo duplex coating is more efficient in hindering interfacial reaction than C single coating at 900 ℃ and below. In addition, a new layer of interfacial reaction product was found between Ti2AlC and the matrix after 900 ℃, 200 h thermal exposure, which is rich in V and close to the chemical composition of B2 phase.

Characterization of SiC nanowires prepared on C/C composite without catalyst by CVD

SiC nanowires were prepared on C/C composite surface without catalyst by chemical vapor deposition（CVD） using CH3 SiCl3 as precursor.SEM images of the CVD-product reveal that some long nanowires have grown to tens of micrometers with some gathered as a ball.Some short nanowires agglomerate like chestnut shell with many thorns accompanied by some deposited nano-particles.XRD,Raman-spectrum and FTIR patterns indicate that the product is a typical β-SiC.TEM images show that the nanowires have a wide diameter range from 10 to 100 nm,and some thin nanowires are bonded to the thick one by amorphous CVD-SiC.A SiC branch generates from an amorphous section of a thick one with an angle of 70° between them,which is consistent with the [111] axis stacking angle of the crystal.SAED and fast Fourier transform（FFT） patterns reveal that the nanowires can grow along with different axes,and the bamboo-nodes section is full of stacking faults and twin crystal.The twisted SiC lattice planes reveal that the screw dislocation growth is the main mechanism for the CVD-SiC nanowires.

Effect of wear conditions on tribological properties of electrolessly-deposited Ni-P-Gr-SiC hybrid composite coating

The friction and wear properties of the electrolessly-deposited Ni-P-Gr-SiC composites were investigated. The effects of graphite content, load and rotation speed on the friction coefficient and wear resistance of the composite coatings were mainly investigated. The worn surface and cross section of the coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. The results show that the composite coatings reveal good antifriction and wear resistance due to the synergic effect of graphite and SiC particles. The formation of graphite-rich mechanically mixed layer （GRMML） on the surface of Ni-P-Gr-SiC coating contributes to the good tribological behavior of the wear counterparts and SiC particles play a load bearing role in protecting GRMML from shearing easily.

Experimental study and numerical analysis on dry friction and wear performance of co-continuous SiC/Fe-40Cr against SiC/2618 Al alloy composites

The dry friction and wear behaviors of co-continuous composites SiC/Fe–40Cr against SiC/Al 2618 alloy were investigated on a ring-on-ring friction and wear tester at sliding speed of 30-105 m/s under the load of 1.0-2.5 MPa. The experimental result reveals that the characteristic of two body abrasive wear and oxidation wear mechanisms are present for SiCn/2618 Al composite under higher load and sliding speed. SiC ceramic continuous network as the reinforcement can avoid composite from the third body wear that usually occurs in traditional particle reinforced composite. The mechanically mixed layer (MML) controls greatly the wear rate and friction coefficient of the composites. The composites tested at higher sliding speed exhibit higher value of friction coefficient and fluctuation, which is associated with the intermittent formation and removal of the MML. The wear and stress—strain behaviors of SiCn/Fe–40Cr against SiCn/Al 2168 at 30-105 m/s under 1.0-2.5 MPa were analyzed by finite element method with the software Solidwork2012 Simulation, respectively. The wear and stress–strain behavior of the composite predicted by the FEM correlated well with the experimental results.

Effects of thermal oxidation on microwave-absorbing and mechanical properties of SiC_f/SiC composites with PyC interphase

The SiCf/SiC composites containing PyC interphase were prepared by chemical vapor infiltration process. The influences of thermal oxidation on the complex permittivity and microwave absorption properties of Si Cf/Si C composites were investigated in the frequency range of 8.2-12.4 GHz. Both the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity decreased after thermal oxidation. The composites after 100 h thermal oxidation showed that reflection loss exceeded-10 d B in the frequency of 9.7-11.9 GHz and the minimum value was-11.4 d B at 11.0 GHz. The flexural strength of composites decreased but fracture behavior was improved obviously after thermal oxidation. These results indicate that the SiCf/SiC composites containing PyC interphase after thermal oxidation possess good microwave absorbing property and fracture behavior.

Wear behavior of SiC/PyC composite materials prepared by electromagnetic-field-assisted CVI

Silicon carbide/pyrolytic carbon (SiC/PyC) composite materials with excellent performance of self-lubrication and wear resistance were prepared on SiC substrates by electromagnetic-field-assisted chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). The composition and microstructure of the SiC/PyC materials were investigated in detail by XRD, SEM and EDS, etc. The effects of the deposition temperature on the section features and wear resistance of the SiC/PyC were studied. The results show that the PyC layers were deposited onto SiC substrates spontaneously at a lower deposition temperature. The SiC substrates deposited with PyC can significantly reduce the wear rate of the self-dual composite materials under dry sliding condition. The wear tests suggest that the SiC/PyC composite materials own a better wear resistance property when the deposition temperature is 800 °C, and the wear rate is about 64.6% of that without the deposition of PyC.

Effect of heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical property of extruded 7090/SiC_p composite

The ultra high strength SiC particles （SiCp） reinforced Al-10%Zn-3.6%Mg-1.8%Cu-0.36%Zr-0.15% Ni composite was prepared by spray co-deposition. Microstructures of the extruded and different heat-treated bars were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and energy dispersive spectrometry （EDS）. Grain size of the composites prepared by two-stage solution is smaller than that by single-stage solution. After single-stage solution aging treatment, fine precipitates of both η and AlZnMgCu-rich phase can be found both intragranularly and intergranularly. While after the two-stage solution, an amorphous Si-Cu-Al-O （5 nm） layer appears at the interface. The addition of Ni and Zr modified the influence of the two-stage solution and inhibited the growth of the 7090/SiCp composite grain size. Heat treatments can significantly improve the fracture toughness of the composite. The fracture toughness first decreases then increases with the elongation of the aging time.