Abstract
One of the greate advantages of the diffusion welding is that large movement of material does not occur at bonding surface which is usually seen in the case of the friction welding and the explosive welding. This means the easiness of the geometical control at the weld section, because the large deformation is not caused at this section. So, in this paper, considering the merit mentioned above, the diffusion welding process was applied to fabricate FRM (Fiber Reinforced Metals). To produce the FRM, the uniform distribution of the reinforcing fibers and the perfect consolidation between the matrix and the fibers are necessary. To sastisfy these conditions, the combined process of the filament winding method and diffusion welding was studied. In this case, SiC fibers were used as reinforcing fibers and A6061 aluminum alloy foils were used as the matrix metal. After fabrication of the FRM by this process, various tests were conducted on this material
The results are summarized as follows.
1) The fabrication of the FRM by the combined process of the filament winding method and diffusion welding is applicable. The fibers in this material can be arranged uniformly.
2) The fabricated FRM consisting of the SiC fibers and A6061 aluminum alloy exhibits the maximum strength greater than 200 kg/mm2, which is nearly equal to the theoretical value derived from the rule of mixture. And the strength-to-weight ratio of this material is twice as high as that of the highest strength alloys such as the maraging steel.
3) Ultrasonic testing using reflector plate in the water is applicable for the nondestructive testing of the FRM plate.
