Preparation and wear properties of TiB_2/Al-30Si composites via in-situ melt reactions under high-energy ultrasonic field

TiB2/Al-30Si composites were fabricated via in-situ melt reaction under high-energy ultrasonic field. The microstructure and wear properties of the composite were investigated by XRD, SEM and dry sliding testing. The results indicate that TiB2 reinforcement particles are uniformly distributed in the aluminum matrix under high-energy ultrasonic field. The morphology of the TiB2 particles is in circle-shape or quadrangle-shape, and the size of the particles is 0.1-1.5μm. The primary silicon particles are in quadrangle-shape and the average size of them is about 10μm. Hardness values of the Al-30Si matrix alloy and the TiB2/Al-30Si composites considerably increase as the high energy ultrasonic power increases. In particular, the maximum hardness value of the in-situ composites is about 1.3 times as high as that of the matrix alloy when the ultrasonic power is 1.2 kW, reaching 412 MPa. Meanwhile, the wear resistance of the in-situ TiB2/Al-30Si composites prepared under high-energy ultrasonic field is obviously improved and is insensitive to the applied loads of the dry sliding testing.

Microstructures and mechanical properties of in-situ TiB2/Al−xSi−0.3Mg composites

In-situ 2 vol.%TiB2 particle reinforced Al−xSi−0.3Mg(x=7,9,12,15 wt.%)composites were prepared by the salt−metal reaction,and the microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated.The results show that the TiB2 particles with a diameter of 20−80 nm and the eutectic Si with a length of 1−10μm are the main strengthening phases in the TiB2/Al−xSi−0.3Mg composites.The TiB2 particles promote grain refinement and modify the eutectic Si from needle-like to short-rod shape.However,the strengthening effect of TiB2 particles is weakened as the Si content exceeds the eutectic composition,which can be attributed to the formation of large and irregular primary Si.The axial tensile test results and fractography observations indicate that these composites show more brittle fracture characteristics than the corresponding alloy matrixes.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Mg_2Si composite fabricated in-situ by vibrating cooling slope

An innovative semisolid technique termed as vibrating cooling slope(VCS)has been applied to producing in-situ Al-25%Mg2Si(mass fraction)composite.The molten Al-16.5Mg-9.4%Si(mass fraction)alloy with 100°C superheat was poured on the surface of an inclined copper plate(set at 45°inclined angle)while it was vibrated at a frequency of 40 Hz and an amplitude of 400μm.After travelling the length of 40 cm on the slope,the resultant semisolid alloy was cast into a steel mold.For the purpose of comparison,reference composite samples were made by gravity casting(GC)and conventionally still cooling slope casting(CS)methods using the same alloy under identical conditions.The samples were hot extruded at 500°C.It was concluded that the size of Mg2Si particles was decreased by about 50%and 70%for the CS and VCS produced samples respectively when compared to that of the GC produced sample.Despite of their higher porosity contents,both the as-cast and hot-extruded VCS processed samples exhibited higher hardness,shear yield stress(SYS)and ultimate shear strength(USS)values as compared with their GC produced counterparts.These results were attributed to the refined and modified microstructure obtained via this newly developed technique.

Effect of Fe-impurity on tribological properties of Al-15Mg_2Si composite

The effect of Fe-impurity（0.2%-2%, mass fraction） on the microstructure, dry sliding wear, and friction properties of Al-15 Mg2 Si composite was investigated using a pin-on-disk tester under the applied pressures of 0.25, 0.5 and 1 MPa at a constant sliding speed of 0.13 m/s. According to the results, Fe modified the primary Mg2 Si particles from irregular dendritic form to smaller particles with polyhedral shapes, refined the pseudo-eutectic structure, and led to the formation of hard b-Al5 Fe Si platelets in the matrix. In spite of hardness improvement by these microstructural changes, the resistance of the composite against dry sliding wear was impaired. SEM examination of the worn surfaces, wear debris, and subsurface regions confirmed the negative effect of b-phase on the tribological properties. It was found that b-particles were fractured easily, thereby decreasing the potential of the substrate to resist against sliding stresses and giving rise to the instability and easy detachment of tribolayer as large delaminated debris. The friction results also revealed that Fe slightly decreased the average friction coefficient, but increased the fluctuation in friction.

Fabrication of Fine-Grained Si_3N_4-Si_2N_2O Composites by Sintering Amorphous Nano-sized Silicon Nitride Powders

Si3N4-Si2N2O composites were fabricated with amorphous nano-sized silicon nitride powders by the liquid phase sintering （ LPS ）. The Si2 N2O phase was generated by an in-situ reaction 2 Si3 N4 （ s ） ＋ 1.5 02 （ g ） = 3 Si2 N2O （ s ） ＋ N2 （ g ） . The content of Si2 N2 O phase up to 60% in the volume was obtained at a sintering temperature of 1 650℃ and reduced when the sintering temperature increased or decreased, indicating the reaction is reversible. The mass loss, relative density and average grain size increased with increasing the sintering temperature. The average grain size was less than 500 nm when the sintering temperature was below 1 700 ℃. The sintering procedure contains a complex crystallization and a phase transition ： amorphous silicon nitride→equiaxial α- Si3 N4→ equiaxial β- Si3 N4→ rod- like Si2 N2O→ needle- like β- Si3N4 . Small round-shaped β→ Si3 N4 particles were entrapped in the Si2 N2O grains and a high density of staking faults was situated in the middle of Si2 N2O grains at a sintering temperature of 1 650 ℃. The toughness inereased from 3.5 MPa·m^1/2 at 1 600 ℃ to 7.2 MPa· m^1/2 at 1 800 ℃ . The hardness was as high as 21.5 GPa （Vickers） at 1 600 ℃ .

硅低温热解活化包覆超细金刚石及其抗氧化和分散稳定性

超细金刚石(UFD)粉体高温易氧化、分散稳定性差使其在高温、溶液等环境中的应用受到极大限制。采用硅低温热解-活化-包覆复合工艺实现了超细金刚石表面包覆改性,成功制备了具有纳米尺度核-壳结构的UFD/Si复合粉体。用拉曼和透谢电镜分别表征了包覆粉末石墨化程度,探究包覆前后粉体的相成分,复合粉体形貌及包覆层厚度;用热重分析仪和傅里叶红外光谱结合粉体在10%硫酸悬浮液中的稳定静置时间分别测定UFD包覆前后的抗氧化性和分散稳定性。结果表明,850℃时的原位热解反应使Si活化量充足,无定型硅层均匀包裹着金刚石颗粒呈椭球形,包覆层厚度为10~30 nm,物相主要为金刚石和无定型硅。核-壳结构的UFD/Si复合粉体具有抗高温氧化性,硅层阻隔了金刚石与氧气直接接触,其初始氧化温度较纯UFD从500℃提高到780℃,945℃时才被彻底氧化。包覆减少了金刚石表面的官能团,减弱了颗粒之间的吸附,包覆Si后的UFD粉体在10%稀硫酸悬浮液中的沉降时间较纯UFD提升了12 h以上。