Development of Intermetallic Compounds Reinforced Al Alloy Composites Using Reaction of Porous Nickel and Aluminum

Abstract

A new process is proposed to fabricate an intermetallic compound reinforced aluminum alloy matrix composite using the reaction between porous nickel and molten aluminum. The intermetallic compound reinforced aluminum alloy composite was manufactured with the infiltration process method. Porous nickel reacted with molten aluminum at 1023 K, and the intermetallic compound of Al₃Ni was generated on the surface of the porous nickel. The generated intermetallic compound Al₃Ni, was delaminated according to the difference of thermal expiation coefficient with nickel, and moves in the direction of aluminum matrix. The effects of processing variables, such as processing temperature, applied pressure and specific surface area of porous nickel on the formation and dispersion behavior of Al₃Ni were investigated.