Abstract
Potassium titanate whisker reinforced pure aluminum and 6061 aluminum matrix composites were fabricated both by powder metallurgy and squeeze casting and their reaction microstructures were evaluated by transmission electron microscopy. No differences in the basic reaction microstructures were observed between the two fabrication methods and between the two different whiskers. The whiskers reacted with pure aluminum and 6061 alloys in the temperature range between 600 and 800°C to form γ-alumina and TiO. TiO was formed inside the whiskers and the whiskers gradually changed their phase from potassium titanate to TiO as the reaction proceeded. γ-alumina was formed on the whiskers as a thin layer. Between the γ-alumina layer and whiskers, a thin inhomogeneous TiO layer with gaps was found. There are the following crystallographic orientation relationships among the whiskers and the reaction products:
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