A novel technique has been developed for fabricating
in situ formed TiC
p/Al composites. In this process, fairly stable TiC particles were
in situ synthesized in liquid aluminum by the interfacial reaction between an Al-Ti melt and SiC, which is a comparatively unstable carbide from the view-point of thermodynamics. It is possible in the present process to generate TiC particles of nearly 1μm in diameter, even utilizing SiC of 14μm as raw material. However, the dispersion behavior of TiC particles in the matrix depends on the size of the raw material SiC. Decomposing finer SiC makes the dispersion of_TiC particles more uniform and the mechanical properties of composites are improved accordingly. The structure of
in situ composites and their mechanical properties are affected by the fabrication temperature and the stirring time. It has been found that the most suitable condition for fabrication should be applied depending on the size of the raw material, even if the same kinds of carbide are used. Furthermore, although Al-Ti-Si system intermetallic compounds were detected in a TiC
p/Al-Si composite which was fabricated by conventional melt stirring method, these compounds can not be observed in a TiC
p/Al-Si composite made by this
in situ production method. Hence, the mechanical properties of the
in situ TiC
p/Al-Si composite are superior to those of the conventional TiC
p/Al-Si composite.
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