PARTICULATE SIZE EFFECTS IN THE PARTICLE-REINFORCED METAL-MATRIX COMPOSITES

The influences of I,article size on the mechanical properties of the particulate metal matrix composite;are obviously displayed in the experimental observations. However, the phenomenon can not be predicted directly using the conventional elastic-plastic theory. It is because that no length scale parameters are involved in the conventional theory. In the present research, using the strain gradient plasticity theory, a systematic research of the particle size effect in the particulate metal matrix composite is carried out. The roles of many composite factors, such as: the particle size, the Young's modulus of the particle, the particle aspect ratio and volume fraction, as well as the plastic strain hardening exponent of the matrix material, are studied in detail. In order to obtain a general understanding for the composite behavior, two kinds of particle shapes, ellipsoid and cylinder, are considered to check the strength dependence of the smooth or non-smooth particle surface. Finally, the prediction results will be applied to the several experiments about the ceramic particle-reinforced metal-matrix composites. The material length scale parameter is predicted.

Computer Simulation of the Indentation Creep Tests on Particle-Reinforced Composites

A systematical simulation has been carried out on the indentation creep test on particle-reinforced composites. The deformation, failure mechanisms and life are analyzed by three reasonable models. The following five factors have been considered simultaneously: creep property of the particle, creep property of the matrix, the shape of the particle, the volume fraction of the particle and the size (relative size to the particle) of the indentation indenter. For all the cases, the power law respecting to the applied stress can be used to model the steady indentation creep depth rate of the indenter, and the detail expressions have been presented. The computer simulation precision is analyzed by the two-phase model and the three-phase model. Two places of the stress concentration are found in the composites. One is ahead of the indentation indenter, where the high stress state is deduced by the edge of the indenter and will decrease rapidly near to a steady value with the creep time. The other one is at the interface, where the high stress state is deduced by the misfit of material properties between the particles and matrix. It has been found that the creep dissipation energy density other than a stress parameter can be used to be the criterion to model the debonding of the interfaces. With the criterion of the critical creep dissipation energy density, a power law to the applied stress with negative exponent can be used to model the failure life deduced by the debonding of interfaces. The influences of the shape of the particles and the matching of creep properties of particle and matrix can be discussed for the failure. With a crack model, the further growth of interface crack is analyzed, and some important experimental phenomena can be predicted. The failure mechanism which the particle will be punched into matrix has been also discussed. The critical differences between the creep properties of the particles and matrix have been calculated, after a parameter has been defined. In the view of competition of failure mechanisms, the best matching of the creep properties of the two phases and the best shape of the particles are discussed for the composite design.

Experimental Investigation into Shaping Particle-reinforced Material by WEDM-H

Al 2O 3 particle-reinforced material (6061 alloy ), which is one of new composites and characterized by high strength and small spe cific gravity, good wear resistance and corrosion resistance, has been widel y used in industry. But it is difficult to machine. Because of electric conducti vity, it can be shaped and processed by electro-machining means. However, this kind of material is mixed with the electrically conductive substances and the di electrically conductive substances, its machining process shows substantially di fferent from the machining of ordinary metal materials. This paper, based on a c ontrast experiment, investigates the machining mechanism and technique by WEDM t o shape the material and gives the optimum selection for the electric paramete rs in operation. The technologic index of shaping the new material by WEDM includes the cutting r ate and the surface roughness. There are a lot of factors that affect the techno logic index of WEDM, in which the electric parameters such as the machining volt age and current as well as the pulse duration, interval and frequency, play an i mportant part. In this experiment, the study focus mainly on the effect of the e lectric parameters on machining process and an orthogonal design is employed to select the proper electric parameters. By experiment, we find how the voltage and current affect machining process and study the removal mechanism by WEDM-HS to machine Al 2O 3 particle-reinforce d material. Besides the machining current and voltage, there are still other fac tors that can affect machining process and state. In order to find out which is the most important factor and to optimize the electric parameters, the orthogona l design has been adopted to perform the experiment. By the analysis to the rela tive differences among different factor levels, the rank of significance for fou r factors is in turn the pulse duration, the voltage, the machining current and the pulse interval. At last we can draw a conclusion that 6061 alloy can be shaped by WEDM-HS, and give the suitable electric parameters to obtain good surface roughness and high machining efficiency.

Microstructure and wear characteristics of ATZ ceramic particle reinforced gray iron matrix surface composites

The alumina toughened zirconia(ATZ) ceramic particle reinforced gray iron matrix surface composite was successfully manufactured by pressureless infi ltration. The porous preform played a key role in the infi ltrating progress. The microstructure was observed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM); the phase constitutions was analyzed by X-ray diffraction(XRD); and the hardness and wear resistance of selected specimens were tested by hardness testing machine and abrasion testing machine, respectively. The addition of high carbon ferrochromium powders leads to the formation of white iron during solidifi cation. The wear volume loss rates of ATZ ceramic particle reinforced gray iron matrix surface composite decreases fi rst, and then tends to be stable. The wear resistance of the composite is 2.7 times higher than that of gray iron matrix. The reason is a combination of the surface hardness increase of gray iron matrix and ATZ ceramic particles and alloy carbides protecting effect on gray iron matrix.

Thermal Expansion and Mechanical Properties of Middle Reinforcement Content SiCp/Al Composites Fabricated by PM Technology

Middle reinforcement content SiCp/Al composites（Vp=30%, 35% and 40%） for precision optical systems applications were fabricated by powder metallurgy technology. The composites were free of porosity and SiC particles distributed uniformly in the composites. The mean linear coefficients of thermal expansion（20-100 ℃） of SiCp/Al composites ranged from 11.6×10-6 to 13.3×10-6 K-1 and decreased with an increase in volume fraction of SiC content. The experimental coeffi cients of thermal expansion agreed well with predicted values based on Kerner＇s model. The Brinell hardness increased from 116 to 147, and the modulus increased from 99 to 112 GPa for the corresponding composites. The tensile strengths were higher than 320 MPa, but no signifi cant increasing trend between tensile strength and SiC content was observed.

CuCr bulk alloy produced by mechanical alloying and explosive compaction

CuCr bulk alloy was produced by mechanical alloying and explosive compaction technology. Four kinds of milling time were used to analyze the function and influence on mechanical alloying. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and optical microscope, and the density and hardness of the four samples were detected. The results show that the CuCr grain size is decreased with the milling time increasing, and nano-crystalline is observed in both Cu and Cr phase after 20 h milling. The density and hardness of samples are also increased with the increase of the milling time, so that the sample relative density reaches 96.6% and hardness reaches HV 217. The results indicate that high quality of CuCr bulk alloy can be manufactured using explosive compaction method when mechanical alloying and explosive compaction process parameters are reasonably selected.

Pseudo-in-situ stir casting: a new method for production of aluminum matrix composites with bimodal-sized B_4C reinforcement

A new method was applied to produce an Al-0.5wt%Ti-0.3wt%Zr/5vol%B_4C composite via stir casting with the aim of characterizing the microstructure of the resulting composite. For the production of the composite, large B4 C particles（larger than 75 μm） with no pre-heating were added to the stirred melt. Reflected-light microscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, laser particle size analysis, and image analysis using the Clemex software were performed on the cast samples for microstructural analysis and phase detection. The results revealed that as a consequence of thermal shock, B_4 C particle breakage occurred in the melt. The mechanism proposed for this phenomenon is that the exerted thermal shock in combination with the low thermal shock resistance of B_4 C and large size of the added B_4 C particles were the three key parameters responsible for B_4 C particle breakage. This breakage introduced small particles with sizes less than 10 μm and with no contamination on their surfaces into the melt. The mean particle distance measured via image analysis was approximately 60 μm. The coefficient of variation index, which was used as a measure of particle distribution homogeneity, showed some variations, indicating a relatively homogeneous distribution.

Microstructure and high-temperature wear properties of in situ TiC composite coatings by plasma transferred arc surface alloying on gray cast iron

In this work, an in situ synthesized TiC-reinforced metal matrix composite （MMC） coating of approximately 350-400μm thickness was fabricated on a gray cast iron （GCI） substrate by plasma transferred arc （PTA） surface alloying of Ti-Fe alloy powder. Microhard- ness tests showed that the surface hardness increased approximately four-fold after the alloying treatment. The microstructure of the MMC coating was mainly composed of residual austenite, acicular martensite, and eutectic ledeburite. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction analyzes revealed that the in situ TiC particles, which were formed by direct reaction of Ti with carbon originally contained in the GCI, was uniformly distributed at the boundary of residual anstenite in the alloying zone. Pin-on-disc high-temperature wear tests were performed on samples both with and without the MMC coating at room temperature and at elevated temperatures （473 K and 623 K）, and the wear behavior and mechanism were investigated. The results showed that, after the PTA alloying treatment, the wear resistance of the sam- ples improved significantly. On the basis of our analysis of the composite coatings by optical microscopy, SEM with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and microhardness measurements, we attributed this improvement of wear resistance to the transformation of the microstruc- ture and to the presence of TiC particles.

ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS FOR ELASTOSTATIC PROBLEMS OF PARTICLE-AND FIBER-REINFORCED COMPOSITES WITH INHOMOGENEOUS INTERPHASES

By transforming the governing equations for displacement components into Riccati equations, analytical solutions for displacements, strains and stresses for Representive Volume Elements (RVEs) of particle_ and fiber_reinforced composites containing inhomo geneous interphases were obtained. The analytical solutions derived here are new and general for power_law variations of the elastic moduli of the inhomogeneous interphases. Given a power exponent, analytical expressions for the bulk moduli of the composites with inho mogeneous interphases can be obtained. By changing the power exponent and the coefficients of the power terms, the solutions derived here can be applied to inhomogeneous interphases with many different property profiles. The results show that the modulus variation and the thickness of the inhomogeneous interphase have great effect on the bulk moduli of the composites. The particle will exhibit a sort of “size effect”, if there is an interphase.

Interaction behaviors between Zn-Al alloy and Al_2O_3p/6061Al composite with aid of ultrasonic vibration

Interactions between Zn-Al alloy and Al2O 3p/6061Al composite with the aid of ultrasonic vibration in air were investigated. For the composite without degassed treatment, the molten Zn-Al alloy cannot spread along the surface of the composite when the ultrasonic vibration amplitude is lower than 10μm. Instead, it undermines the substrate oxide layer and propagates along the substrate metal-substrate oxide interface, and penetrates into the composite at the same time. The penetration of the Zn-Al alloy into the composite makes the microstructure of the penetration zone unconsolidated. As the ultrasonic vibration amplitude increases, the spreading area of the molten Zn-Al alloy increases and the mass transfer at the interaction interface between the Zn-Al alloy and the composite intensifies. The porosity at the interaction interface results from the gas escaping from the base material by which the undermining phenomenon and the penetration of elements Zn, Cu into the composite is favoured. When the composite is degassed, the undermining zone and the penetration zone become significantly limited and the penetration zone remains consolidated. Only limited base metal melts during interaction, which is accompanied with fewer reinforcements and primary α-Al dendrites in the solidified Zn-Al alloy.

PROPERTIES OF THERMO-MOLDED GLUTEN/GLYCEROL/SILICA COMPOSITES

Environmentally friendly thermosetting composites were successfully prepared by conventional blending wheat gluten as matrix,glycerol as plasticizer and silica as filler followed by thermo-molding of the mixture at 120℃.The strong interfacial interaction between silica particles and gluten proteins leaded to an increase in storage modulus and a decrease in loss factor as revealed by dynamic mechanical analysis.The moisture absorption and elongation at break decrease while Young s modulus and tensile strengt...

A MICROMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF THE NONLINEAR ELASTIC AND VISCOELASTIC CONSTITUTIVE RELATION OF A POLYMER FILLED WITH RIGID PARTICLES

Micromechanical theory is applied to study the nonlinear elastic and viscoelastic constitutive relations of polymeric matrix filled with high rigidity solid particles. It is shown that Eshelby's method can be extended to the case of nonlinear matrix and Eshelby's tensor still exists provided that Poisson's ratio of the nonlinear matrix assumes constant value in deforming process and the rigidity of elastic filling particles is much higher than that of the matrix. A new method for averaging process is proposed to overcome the difficulty that occured in applying the ordinary equivalent inclusion method or the seff-consistant method to nonlinear matrices. A rather simple constitutive equation is obtained finally and the strengthening effect of solid particles to composites is investigated.

A thermo-viscoelastic model for particle-reinforced composites based on micromechanical modeling

Micromechanics-based constitutive models offer superior ability to estimate the effective mechanical properties for the composites,which greatly promote the computational efficiency in the multiscale analysis for composite structures.In this work,a thermo-viscoelastic model for particle-reinforced composites is proposed to estimate their thermal-mechanical coupling behaviors in terms of a micromechanics-based homogenization method in the time domain.The matrix and particles of the composites are modeled as“thermo-rheologically complex”viscoelastic materials.The temperature-dependent effective elastic strain energy ratios of particle to composite are proposed to evaluate the contributions of the matrix and particles.The thermo-viscoelastic model for the composites is then formulated by superposing the matrix and particle’s contributions.Finite element simulations based on the representative volume element models are employed to validate the constitutive model under various thermal-mechanical coupling loads.The effects of the loading rate,viscous parameter and particle content on the effective thermal-mechanical responses of the composites are also comprehensively discussed.The experimental data from literature are also employed to verify the constitutive model.The findings show that the proposed thermo-viscoelastic model can accurately predict the thermal-mechanical coupling behaviors for the particle-reinforced composites.

Microstructure evolution of TiB_（2） particle-reinforced 7075 Al alloy slurry in semisolid state with different holding time

TiB_2particle-reinforced 7075 Al alloy was synthesized to investigate the effect of TiB_2 particles on microstructure of semisolid 7075 Al alloy slurry. The mean grain size and shape factor of 3 wt% TiB_2/7075 composite could reach 92 lm and 0.64 at 630 ℃ for 23 min,respectively, and for 6 wt% TiB_2/7075 composite, they are100 lm and 0.64 at 630 ℃ for 33 min. The microstructure evolution for TiB_2/7075 composites in semisolid state includes three-stage process. a-Al begins to nucleate and grow up into rosette grains due to a low degree of supercooling at first. Then rosette grains begin to fuse or grow up at different rates. Finally, the dissolution rate and the growth rate of α-Al reach equilibrium.

Damping of Particle-Reinforced Composites Due to Interfacial Sliding

Mechanical damping of composites reinforced by randomly distributed particles due to interfacial sliding is analyzed. The matrix is elastically isotropic, and the particles are assumed rigid and of identical radii. An auxiliary problem is solved at first for the steady-state response of an infinite matrix containing a single inclusion to a harmonic external load. The result is then used to derive the explicit expression of the specific damping capability of the composite by using Mori-Tanaka＇s mean-field method. Numerical results are given and discussed in detail. It is concluded that the overall damping of the composite depends on several factors, including volume fraction of particles, Poisson＇s ratio of matrix and a dimensionless parameter that incorporates the combined effects of particle size, matrix stiffness, interracial viscosity and vibration frequency. The result is expected to be helpful in tailoring the damping performance of particle-reinforced composites.

Topographical Parameter Characteristics of Dry Sliding Surfaces of Particle-Reinforced Aluminum Composites

Generally, friction and wear occur on the surface of the materials. It is necessary to investigate the dry sliding friction and wear behavior of surface. In this paper, 3-D topographical parameters were used to investigate the topographical characteristics of dry sliding surfaces for particle-reinforced alu-minum composites on semi-metallic friction material. The experimental results indicate that the surface topography of the particle-reinforced aluminum composites can be divided into two types, the flaking-off pit type and the groove type. The composites whose surface topography is the flaking-off pit type possess superior heat conductivity and bearing area, lower wear rate, and higher friction coefficient than the groove type. Consequently, the flaking-off pit type surface topography is much better than the groove type for particle-reinforced aluminum composites on semi-metallic friction materials in dry sliding.

Developing a novel radial ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding device and evaluating its performance in machining PTMCs

Particle-reinforcing titanium matrix composites(PTMCs)exhibit the sharp raising applications in modern industries owing to its extraordinary physical and mechanical properties.However,the poor grindability and unstable grinding processes due to the existence of TiC particles and TiB short fibres inside PTMCs,leading to the sudden grinding burn and low material removal rate.In this work,a novel radial ultrasonic vibration-assisted grinding(RUVAG)device with a special cross structure was developed to improve machining efficiency and avoid grinding burns.Meanwhile,the resonant modal and transient dynamic characteristics of radial ultrasonic vibration system were discussed.Comparative grinding performance experiments were then conducted under the conventional grinding(CG)and RUVAG using mono-layer cubic boron nitride abrasive wheels,in views of the grinding forces and force ratio,grinding temperature,and ground surface morphology.Results show that the ultrasonic vibration direction can be transformed effectively using the special cross structure of vibration converter,and better vibration homogeneity can be obtained.RUVAG has a smaller tangential grinding force by 5.0%–17.2%than that of CG,but a higher normal grinding force of 6.5%–14.9%,owing to the periodic impact of grinding wheels.In addition,RUVAG possesses a remarkable lower grinding temperature in range of 24.2%–51.8%and a higher material removal rate by 2.8 times compared with CG,resulting from the intermittent cutting behavior between the grinding wheel and workpiece.In this case,the sudden burn can be avoided during high-speed grinding processes.Moreover,the proportion of micro-fracture defects on machined surface is slightly increased once the ultrasonic vibration mode is employed because of the periodic impact on reinforced particles,whereas the pull-out defects of reinforced particles are reduced significantly.

Influence of Features of Interphase Boundaries on Mechanical Properties and Fracture Pattern in Metal-Ceramic Composites

The results of a theoretical study on the influence of strength of interphase boundaries in metal-ceramic composite on macroscopical characteristics of composite response such as strength, deformation capacity, fracture energy and fracture pattern are presented. The study was conducted by means of computer-aided simulation by means of movable cellular automaton method taking account of a developed ＂mesoscopical＂ structural model of particle-reinforced composite. The strength of interphase boundaries is found to be a key structural factor determining not only the strength properties of metal-ceramic composite, but also the pattern and rate of fracture. The principles for achievement of the high-strength values of particle/binder interfaces in the metal-ceramic composition due to the formation of the wide transition zones （areas of variable chemical composition） at the interphase boundaries are discussed. Simulation results confirm that such transition zones provide a change in fracture mechanism and make the achievement of a high-strength and a high deformation capacity of metal-ceramic composite possible.

The dynamic compressive properties of magnetorheological plastomers: enhanced magnetic-induced stresses by non-magnetic particles

In this research, a series of hollow glass powder(HGP) reinforced magnetorheological plastomers(MRPs)were prepared to improve the impact resistance of the materials, and the dynamic compressive properties of MRPs under high strain rate were investigated by using a split Hopkinson pressure bar(SHPB)system equipped with a customized magnetic device. Experimental results showed the HGPs greatly enhanced the yield stresses of the MRPs. Especially, for MRPs with 9 vol.% carbonyl iron powders(CIPs), the magnetic-induced yield stress increased from 7.3 MPa to 17.1 MPa(134% increased) by adding 18 vol.%HGPs. The particle structures in MRPs were further simulated and the corresponding intergranular stress was calculated to study the enhancement effect of HGPs. The simulated results showed that more compact structures were formed with the excluded volume caused by secondary HGPs, so the yield stresses of the MRPs increased under a magnetic field. However, when the mass ratio of HGP to CIP was larger than 0.67, HGPs would hinder the formation of chain-like structures and reduce the magneto-mechanical properties. As a result, the replacing of CIPs by HGPs was proven to be an excellent strategy to improve the dynamic properties of MRPs.

Effect of Surface Layer Structural-Phase Modification on Tribological and Strength Properties of a TiC–(Ni–Cr) Metal Ceramic Alloy

This paper reports TiC–（Ni–Cr） metal ceramic alloy（ratio of components 50：50） with nanoscaled components formed in the surface layer and smoothly transformed into the initial inner structure throughout the material under pulsed electron irradiation of the alloy surface. Principal changes in the surface layer are ascribed to the formation of gradient structure leading to the increase in wear resistance of the surface layer, drop of friction coefficient and improvement of specimen bending resistance when stressing on the irradiated surface side. The above changes of tribological and strength properties in the surface layer under pulsed electron irradiation become more apparent with increasing atomic mass of a plasma-forming inert gas.