Abstract
The present paper describes development of active fiber-reinforced metals utilizing their thermal deformation caused by non-uniform distribution or combination of continuous and discontinuous fibers. These types of SiC/Al composites, that is, a laminate of continuous-fiber layer and unreinforced one, that of discontinuous-flber layer and unreinforced one, and that of continuous-fiber layer and discontinuous-flber one were fabricated, and their thermal deformation characteristics were investigated. As the results, all of the composites curve unidirectionally in the flber direction by cooling from the hot pressing temperature. Though the curvature of the composite reinforced on one side decreases by reducing the fiber length, the curvature change during thermal cycles between room temperature and 813 K can be clearly observed even in the case of the discontinuous flber type. The tensile strength of the composite reinforced with continuous flber on one side successfully increases by lamination of the continuous-fiber layer and the discontinuous one. The curvature of this type of active composite can also reproducibly change during the thermal cycles due to the difference of the fiber lengths, and exists between the continuous-flber type and the discontinuous-fiber type ones.
