Damping Behavior of Al/SiC Composites Fabricated by Powder Metallurgy

In this article, Al/SiC composites with varying reinforcement of 5, 10 and 15 % by weight were produced using powder metallurgy route. The samples were sintered at 550 °C ± 5 °C in a microwave furnace. Damping capacity (tanδ) and storage modulus (E’) of the fabricated samples were measured using dynamic mechanical analyzer at frequencies such as 0.1, 1 and 10 Hz using 3-point bending mode at constant strain amplitude and 10 N as dynamic load. The microstructural analysis is effectively studied using FESEM. Results confirmed that the tanδ and E’ increases with the increase in the percentage of SiC particulates. E’ was found to increase by a maximum of 44.7 % whereas tanδ increased by 2.48 times when compared with pure aluminium. Related mechanisms responsible for this behavior are analyzed and presented.