Effects of diamond particle size on microstructure and properties of diamond/Al-12Si composites prepared by vacuum-assisted pressure infiltration

Diamond/aluminium composites have attracted attention in the field of thermal management of electronic packaging for their excellent properties.In order to solve the interfacial problem between diamond and aluminium,a novel process combining pressure infiltration with vacuum-assisted technology was proposed to prepare diamond/aluminum composites.The effect of diamond particle size on the microstructure and properties of the diamond/Al-12Si composites was investigated.The results show that the diamond/Al-12Si composites exhibit high relative density and a uniform microstructure.Both thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion increase with increasing particle size,while the bending strength exhibits the opposite trend.When the average diamond particle size increases from 45μm to 425μm,the thermal conductivity of the composites increases from 455 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)to 713 W·m^(-1)·K^(-1)and the coefficient of thermal expansion increases from 4.97×10^(-6)K^(-1)to 6.72×10^(-6)K^(-1),while the bending strength decreases from 353 MPa to 246 MPa.This research demonstrates that high-quality composites can be prepared by the vacuum-assisted pressure infiltration process and the thermal conductivity of the composites can be effectively improved by increasing the diamond particle size.

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.

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 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.

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.

Electromagnetic wave absorption and mechanical properties of SiC nanowire/low-melting-point glass composites sintered at 580°C in air

Si C nanowires are excellent high-temperature electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorbing materials. However, their polymer matrix composites are difficult to work at temperatures above 300℃, while their ceramic matrix composites must be prepared above 1000℃ in an inert atmosphere. Thus, for addressing the abovementioned problems, SiC/low-melting-point glass composites were well designed and prepared at 580℃ in an air atmosphere. Based on the X-ray diffraction results, SiC nanowires were not oxidized during air atmosphere sintering because of the low sintering temperature. Additionally, SiC nanowires were uniformly distributed in the glass matrix material. The composites exhibited good mechanical and EMW absorption properties. As the filling ratio of SiC nanowires increased from 5wt%to 20wt%, the Vickers hardness and flexural strength of the composite reached HV 564 and 213 MPa, which were improved by 27.7%and 72.8%, respectively, compared with the low-melting-point glass. Meanwhile, the dielectric loss and EMW absorption ability of SiC nanowires at 8.2–12.4 GHz were also gradually improved. The dielectric loss ability of low-melting-point glass was close to 0. However, when the filling ratio of SiC nanowires was 20wt%, the composite showed a minimum reflection loss (RL) of-20.2 dB and an effective absorption (RL≤-10 dB) bandwidth of2.3 GHz at an absorber layer thickness of 2.3 mm. The synergistic effect of polarization loss and conductivity loss in SiC nanowires was responsible for this improvement.

Damping performance of SiC nanoparticles reinforced magnesium matrix composites processed by cyclic extrusion and compression

This work dealt with the damping performance and its underlying mechanism in SiC nanoparticles reinforced AZ91D composite(SiC_(np)/AZ91D)processed by cyclic extrusion and compression(CEC).It was found that the CEC process significantly affects the damping performance of the composite due to alterations in the density of dislocations and grain boundaries in the matrix alloy.Although there would be dynamic precipitation of the Mg17Al12 phase during processing which increases the phase interface and limits the mobility of dislocations and grain boundaries.The results also showed that the damping capacity of 1%SiC_(np)/AZ91D composite continuously decreases with adding CEC pass number and it consistently increases with rising the applied temperature.Considering the first derivative of the tanδ-T curve,the dominant damping mechanism based on test temperature can be divided into three regions.These three regions are as follows(i)dislocation vibration of the weak pinning points(≤T_(cr)),(ii)dislocation vibration of the strong pinning points(T_(cr)∼T_(V)),and(iii)grain boundary/interface sliding(≥T_(V))

Effects of Co_(2)O_(3)Addition on Microstructure and Properties of SiC Composite Ceramics for Solar Absorber and Storage

SiC composite ceramics for solar absorber and storage integration are new concentrating solar power materials.SiC composite ceramics for solar absorber and storage integration were fabricated using SiC,black corundum and kaolin as the raw materials,Co_(2)O_(3)as the additive via pressureless graphite-buried sintering method in this study.Influences of Co_(2)O_(3)on the microstructure and properties of SiC composite ceramics for solar absorber and storage integration were studied.The results indicate that sample D2(5wt%Co_(2)O_(3))sintered at 1480℃exhibits optimal performances for 119.91 MPa bending strength,93%solar absorption,981.5 kJ/kg(25-800℃)thermal storage density.The weight gain ratio is 12.58 mg/cm2after 100 h oxidation at 1000℃.The Co_(2)O_(3)can decrease the liquid phase formation temperature and reduce the viscosity of liquid phase during sintering.The liquid with low viscosity not only promotes the elimination of pores to achieve densification,but also increases bending strength,solar absorption,thermal storage density and oxidation resistance.A dense SiO_(2) layer was formed on the surface of SiC after 100 h oxidation at 1000℃,which protects the sample from further oxidation.However,excessive Co_(2)O_(3)will make the microstructure loose,which is disadvantageous to the performances of samples.

Microstructure and thermal conductivity of copper matrix composites reinforced with mixtures of diamond and SiC particles

The thermal conductivity of diamond hybrid SiC/Cu,diamond/Cu and SiC/Cu composite were calculated by using the extended differential effective medium (DEM) theoretical model in this paper.The effects of the particle volume fraction,the particle size and the volume ratio of the diamond particles to the total particles on the thermal conductivity of the composite were studied.The DEM theoretical calculation results show that,for the diamond hybrid SiC/Cu composite,when the particle volume fraction is above 46% and the volume ratio of the diamond particles to the SiC particles is above 13:12,the thermal conductivity of the composite can reach 500 W·m-1·K-1.The thermal conduc-tivity of the composite has little change when the particle size is above 200μm.The experimental results show that Ti can improve the wettability of the SiC and Cu.The thermal conductivity of the diamond hybrid SiCTi/Cu is almost two times better than that of the diamond hybrid SiC/Cu.It is feasible to predict the thermal conductivity of the composite by DEM theoretical model.

Particle Removal Mechanism of High Volume Fraction SiCp/Al Composites by Single Diamond Grit Tool

Particle removal mechanism was presented during machining particle SiC/Al composites with diamond grinding tool. The relevant removal modes and their mechanisms were discussed considering the impact and squeezing effect of diamond grit on the SiC particle. The experimental results show that the aluminum matrix has larger plastic deformation, so the aluminum mixed with the surplus SiC particles is cut from the surface. The SiC particles can be removed in multiple ways, such as broken/fractured, micro cracks, shearing and pulled out, etc. More particles removed by shearing, and less particles removed by fractured during material removal progress can produce a better machined surface.

Graphite addition for SiC formation in diamond/SiC/Si composite preparation

Herein, graphite was used in the Si-vapor reactive infiltration of diamond/SiC/Si composites to produce composites with various Si C contents. X-ray diffraction was used to determine the phases of the composite, whereas scanning electron microscopy was used to confirm the Si–C reaction between the silicon, graphite, and diamond and to observe the SiC morphology. Various SiC contents in the composite were observed with graphite addition. Furthermore, the reaction between silicon and graphite(diamond) produced coarse(fine) SiC particles. The generation of a 10-μm-diameter Si–C area on the surface of the diamond was observed. The thermal conductivity(TC) and coefficient of thermal expansion(CTE) of the composite was investigated, where the TC varied from 317–426 W·m^-1·K^-1 with the increase of the SiC volume fraction from 38% to 76% and the corresponding CTE increased from 1.7 × 10^-6 to 3.7 × 10^-6 K^-1, respectively. Furthermore, a critical point for the CTE was found to exist at approximately 250℃, where the composite was under a hydrostatic condition. Finally, the bending strength was found to range from 241 to 341 MPa.

Properties and microstructure of Cu/diamond composites prepared by spark plasma sintering method

Cu/diamond composites have been considered as the next generation of thermal management material for electronic packages and heat sinks applications. Cu/diamond composites with different volume fractions of diamond were successfully prepared by spark plasma sintering（SPS） method. The sintering temperatures and volume fractions（50%, 60% and 70%） of diamond were changed to investigate their effects on the relative density, homogeneity of the microstructure and thermal conductivity of the composites. The results show that the relative density, homogeneity of the microstructure and thermal conductivity of the composites increase with decreasing the diamond volume fraction; the relative density and thermal conductivity of the composites increase with increasing the sintering temperature. The thermal conductivity of the composites is a result of the combined effect of the volume fraction of diamond, the homogeneity and relative density of the composites.

Preparation and oxidation property of ZrB_2-MoSi_2/SiC coating on carbon/carbon composites

To improve the oxidation resistance of carbon/carbon composites,ZrB2-MoSi2/SiC coating on the carbon/carbon substrate was prepared.The inner coating of SiC was prepared by pack cementation and the outer coating of ZrB2-MoSi2 was prepared by slurry painting.The phase compositions and microstructures of the coating were characterized by XRD and SEM,respectively.The preparation and the high temperature oxidation property of the coated composites were investigated.The results show that the outer coating of carbon/carbon composites is composed of ZrB2,MoSi2 and SiC phases.The mass losses of the ZrB2-MoSi2/SiC coated samples with SiC nano-whiskers after 30 h and 10 h of oxidation at 1 273 K and 1 773 K were,respectively,5.3% and 3.0%.The ZrB2-MoSi2/SiC coated samples exhibit self-sealing performance and good oxidation resistance at high temperature.

C/SiC/MoSi_2-SiC-Si multilayer coating for oxidation protection of carbon/carbon composites

C/SiC/MoSi2-SiC-Si oxidation protective multilayer coating for carbon/carbon （C/C） composites was prepared by pack cementation and slurry method. The microstructure, element distribution and phase composition of the as-received coating were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy （EDS） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The results show that the multilayer coating was composed of MoSi2, SiC and Si. It could effectively protect C/C composites against oxidation for 200 h with the mass loss of 3.25% at 1873 K in static air. The mass loss of the coated C/C composites results from the volatilization of SiO2 and the formation of cracks and bubble holes in the coating.

Double SiC coating on carbon/carbon composites against oxidation by a two-step method

To improve the oxidation resistance of C/C composites, a double SiC protective coating was prepared by a two-step technique. Firstly, the inner SiC layer was prepared by a pack cementation technique, and then an outer uniform and compact SiC coating was obtained by low pressure chemical vapor deposition. The microstructures and phase compositions of the coatings were characterized by SEM, EDS and XRD analyses. Oxidation behaviour of the SiC coated C/C composites was also investigated. It was found that the double SiC coating could protect C/C composites against oxidation at 1773 K in air for 178 h with a mass loss of 1.25%. The coated samples also underwent thermal shocks between 1773 K and room temperature 16 times. The mass loss of the coated C/C composites was only 2.74%. Double SiC layer structures were uniform and dense, and can suppress the generation of thermal stresses, facilitating an excellent anti-oxidation coating.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Effect of ZrC-SiC content on microstructure and ablation properties of C/C composites

C/C-ZrC-SiC composites with different ZrC-SiC contents were fabricated by precursor infiltration and pyrolysis. The effect of ceramic content on the microstructure and ablation resistance was investigated. Both the C/C-SiC and C/C-ZrC-SiC composites exhibited good ablation resistance under the plasma flame above 2300℃. Withtheincreaseof ZrC content, a continuous oxide layer and a solid Zr-Si-O mesophase were formed during the ablation. And the structure of the formed oxides layer closely linked with the contents of ZrC-SiC ceramics. The solid ZrO2-ZrC and Zr-Si-O mesophase could increase the viscosity of SiO2 moderately and improve the anti-scouring ability. The continuous SiO2-ZrO2-ZrC-SiC layer would serve as a thermal and oxygen barrier for preventing the substratefrom further ablation. The C/C-ZrC-SiC composites with 27.2%ZrC and 7.56%SiC shows superior ablation resistance, and the mass and linear ablation rates are-3.51 mg/s and-1.88 μm/s, respectively.