Preparation of SiC Fiber Reinforced Nickel Matrix Composite

A method of preparing continuous (Al+Al2O3)-coated SiC fiber reinforced nickel matrix composite was presented, in which the diffusion between SiC fiber and nickel matrix could be prevented. Magnetron sputtering is used to deposit Ni coating on the surface of the (Al+Al2O3)-coated SiC fiber in preparation of the precursor wires. It is shown that the deposited Ni coating combines well with the (Al+Al2O3) coating and has little negative effect on the tensile strength of (Al+Al2O3)-coated SiC fiber. Solid-state diffusion bonding process is employed to prepare the (Al+Al2O3)-coated SiC fiber reinforced nickel matrix with 37% fibers in volume. The solid-state diffusion bonding process is optimized and the optimum parameters are temperature of 870 degrees, pressure of 50 MPa and holding time of 2 h. Under this condition, the precursor wires can diffuse well, composite of full density can be formed and the (Al+Al2O3) coating is effective to restrict the reaction between SiC fiber and nickel matrix.