Investigation of the microstructure of Al/SiC(Ni)p composites

Al/SiC composites are used especially in automotive and aerospace industry due to the numerous advantageous mechanical properties. These end-products can be produced by casting or powder metallurgical techniques. High strength with high toughness can be reached only by perfect interfacial bonds between the matrix and reinforcing phase. To improve the interfacial bond, one of the methods is the surface coating of the SiC particles. But the metal layer of the reinforcing phase reacts with the matrix due to the high sintering temperature and long sintering time. In our research work the formation of Al-Ni intermetallic phase was investigated by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction measurements (XRD).