Effect of Shaping Methods on the Mechanical Properties of Al-SiC Composite

Al-SiC composites were successfully produced with improved mechanical properties. Effect of SiC content, its particles size and shaping method were investigated. Three shaping methods of conventional powder metallurgy (PM), hot press (HP) and hot extrusion (EX) were used. The hardness of the samples was measured by Vickers method. Tensile and compression tests were performed for the characterization of mechanical properties. Microstructure was monitored by optical microscopy. Maximum relative density (RD) was obtained for hot pressed samples. Higher SiC content with smaller particles size had the best effect on the mechanical properties such as yielding point (YP), ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and hardness. Maximum hardness (6.57 GPa) and UTS (212 MPa) were obtained for Al-20%SiC with SiC mesh size of 1000. Maximum YP was obtained for Al-20%SiC in compression test (143.64 MPa) that is larger than it in tensile test (117.96 MPa). Remarkable difference exists between HP and extrusion methods at higher SiC contents. The YP of EX samples are larger than HP samples. Strains at known stress (562 MPa) of EX samples are smaller than HP samples.