EXTRUSION AND MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES OF MIXED POWDER AND SPRAY CO-DEPOSITED AL 2014/SIC METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES

Al 2014/SiCp metal matrix composites have been produced by a powder metallurgy route that included mixing, canning, degassing and hot extrusion (300-degrees-C, 16:1 ). Two types of SiC (12 and 4-mu-m), two SiC contents ( approximately 10 vol. % and approximately 15 vol. %) and three different degassing temperatures (350, 400, 500-degrees-C) were used. The degassing temperature was found to have no significant effect on the final properties, which were affected by remnant porosity. Porosity was mostly attributed to SiC clustering, which was related to the relative reinforcement/aluminium powder size distributions and volume fractions. The best mechanical properties were obtained for the composite with approximately 10 vol. % SiCp and these were very similar to the properties of a spray co-deposited metal matrix composite billet of approximately the same composition, also extruded at 300-degrees-C, 16:1.