Development of Alumina-fiber/Aluminum Composite Impeller

Abstract

Recently, fiber-reinforced metal (FRM) has called much attention in various fields of industry where high strength-to-weight ratios are requied, such as jet-engine parts and structure members of aircraft. In order to fabricate alumina-fiber/aluminum composite, we tried to develop a method to incorporate molten aluminum alloy into reinforcing fibers by pressurized casting method. This method was applied to investment moulds for precision castings, and consequently complex and large composite products, such as impellers, were produced more easily than conventional method.
In this paper we investigated desired properties of alumina-fiber/aluminum a composite impeller for gas turbine engines and manufacturing method. Prototype impeller had good composite structure and improved tensile strength. But the results were not satisfactory enough.