1994 Volume 58 Issue 12 Pages 1436-1443
In order to make the infiltration mechanism clear, pressure changes and ram speeds were measured when SiC whisker reinforced JIS-AC8A (Al-12%Si-1%Cu-1%Mg-1%Ni) alloy composites were fabricated by squeeze casting. The deformation of SiC whiskers preforms occurred due to compressive stress during infiltration by the aluminum alloy. To analyze the correlation between applied pressure and the location of infiltration front in the preform, the hardness along the infiltration direction in the composite was measured and the distribution of SiC whisker volume fraction was calculated by the distribution of hardness.
A theoretical expression including solidification is derived to describe the fluid flow in the preform during the infiltration on the assumption that the pressure on the preform surface starts to rise from zero and when the applied pressure exceeds the compressive strength of preform, deformation starts. The starting point of deformation of preform and the distribution of volume fraction in the composites can be calculated by the theory.
