PROCESSING OF CERAMIC MATRIX SIC-AL COMPOSITES

Silicon carbide-aluminum composites have the potential for offering a combination of high hardness, high strength and toughness in a lightweight structure. These materials provide advantages for applications in fusion reactors, aerospace industry, armor plates and tool materials. The sensitivity of silicon carbide to brittle fracture can be significantly reduced by infiltration of molten aluminum into sintered porous sponges of SiC. This study is concerned with factors which can reduce the interfacial reactions in SiC-Al ceramic matrix composites. Using XRD and TEM, it has been shown that Al4C3 formation is favorably suppressed by systematic addition of Si to Al and decreasing the carbon content of the initial SiC powders.