Comparison of the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of As-Cast A356/SiC MMC Processed by ARB and CAR Methods

• Published in: Journal of materials engineering and performance Vol. 21; no. 7; pp. 1249 - 1253
• Main Authors: Jamaati, Roohollah, Amirkhanlou, Sajjad, Toroghinejad, Mohammad Reza, Niroumand, Behzad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01-07-2012; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aluminum; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Corrosion and Coatings; Engineering Design; Materials Science; Mechanical properties; Metal matrix composites; Microstructure; Quality Control; Reliability; Roll bonding; Safety and Risk; Semi-solid processing; Silicon; Silicon carbide; Tribology; Weight reduction; joining; rolling; metal matrix composites; mechanical testing
• ISSN: 1059-9495; 1544-1024
• DOI: 10.1007/s11665-011-0045-7

Accumulative roll bonding (ARB) and continual annealing and roll-bonding (CAR) processes were used in this study for improving the microstructure and mechanical properties of the A356/10 vol.% SiC metal matrix composite (MMC) produced by semi-solid metal processing (SSM). The results showed that using the ARB and CAR processes led to the following points: (a) the uniformity of the silicon and silicon carbide in the aluminum matrix improved, (b) the Si particles became finer and more spheroidal in appearance, (c) the porosity disappeared, (d) the bonding quality between the reinforcement and the matrix improved, (e) the particle-free zone disappeared, and therefore (f) the tensile strength (TS), elongation, and formability index of the MMC samples improved. However, it was found that the CAR process is a better method for improvement of microstructure and mechanical properties of as-cast MMC compared to ARB process.