Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al–2Mg alloy base short steel fiber reinforced composites prepared by vortex method

Fabrication and characterization of cast Al–2Mg alloy matrix composites reinforced with short steel fibers are dealt with in the present study. Three types of steel fiber were used: uncoated, copper coated and nickel coated. All the composites were prepared by the liquid metal route using vortex methods. When tested in tension, all composites exhibited improvement in strength due to high relative strength of steel fibers. The ductility was lowered except for the composite with copper coated fibers. Copper coated fiber reinforced composites gave the highest strength. Higher strength accompanied with appreciable ductility demonstrated by composites with copper coated fibers is attributed to the solid solution and fiber strengthening as well as good bonding at the interface. Composites reinforced with uncoated and Ni coated steel fibers did not exhibit strengthening to the level exhibited with copper coated fibers because brittle intermetallic phases are formed at the interface. These phases promote initiation and facilitate propagation of cracks. The observed fracture mechanism of composites was dimple formation, fiber breakage and pullout of fibers. Fracture surface of uncoated and Ni coated composites showed extensive pull out of fibers as well as fiber breakage confirming the above inference. In case of the copper coated composites dimple formation and coalescence was more extensive. EDX analysis showed a build up Cu, Ni, and Fe at the interface.     

Effect of copper and nickel coating on short steel fiber reinforcement on microstructure and mechanical properties of aluminium matrix composites

Commercially pure Al base short steel fiber reinforced composites were prepared by stir casting method and poured into a cast iron mould. Steel fibers were coated with copper and nickel by electroless deposition method. The density, hardness and strength of composites increased as compared to matrix alloy. The mechanical properties of these composites were measured and the results were correlated with the microstructure observation. It was found that copper-coated short steel fiber reinforced composites show considerable improvement in strength with good ductility because copper form a good interface between Al matrix and short steel fiber. Nickel-coated steel fiber reinforced composites showed improvement in strength to a lower extent possibly because of formation of intermetallic compound at the interface. The improvement in strength with uncoated fibers and nickel-coated fibers is on the lower side because of formation of brittle intermetallic compounds like Fe₂Al₅ and FeAl₃. Fracture surface of tensile specimen was examined under SEM, which revealed a ductile fracture. Copper coating on steel fiber improved the strength properties while retaining a high level of ductility due to better interface bonding.     

Dry sliding wear behavior of stir cast aluminium base short steel fiber reinforced composites

Dry sliding wears behavior of die cast aluminium alloy composites reinforced with copper-coated short steel fibers were investigated using a pin-on-disk wear-testing machine. The composites were prepared by liquid metal route using vortex method. The weight percentage of copper-coated steel fibers was varied from 2.5 to 10. The density and hardness of the composite increased linearly with increasing wt% of steel fibers. The wear rate decreased by 40% with addition of 10% weight percentage of fibers. A linear dependence of wear rate on fiber content and hardness of MMC is observed. The unreinforced aluminium and composites containing upto 5-wt% of fibers exhibited a sliding distance dependent transition from severe to mild wear. However, composites containing 10-wt% fiber showed only mild wear for all sliding distance. It was also observed that with increase in the fiber content to 10-wt% the coefficient of friction decreased by 22%. The duration of occurrence of the severe wear regime and the wear rate decreased with increasing fiber content. For the composite the wear rate in the mild wear regime decreased with increase in fiber content reaching a minimum. From the analysis of wear data and detail examination of (a) wear surface and (b) wear debris two modes of wear have been identified to be operative, in these materials. These are (i) adhesive wear in the case of unreinforced matrix and in MMC with low wt% (upto 5-wt%) fibers (ii) abrasive wear in case of MMC with high wt% of fibers.     

Influence of coating on short steel fiber reinforcements on corrosion behavior of aluminium base short steel fiber reinforced composites

Steel fiber reinforced aluminium composites are attractive materials of high specific strength but exhibit poor resistance against electrochemical corrosion. The study discusses the electrochemical corrosion behavior of uncoated, copper and nickel coated short steel fiber reinforced aluminium and Al–2Mg matrix composites in 1 (N) NaCl solution. Galvanic corrosion between the steel fiber and aluminium governs the corrosion behavior of these composites. It has been observed that open circuit potential (OCP) is shifted to more negative side with copper coating on the fibers and to the more positive side on coating the fibers with nickel. Compared to the uncoated fiber higher corrosion current density indicates corrosion rate was observed for the copper coated fiber reinforced composites where as a lower current density was noted for the nickel coated fiber reinforced composites was observed. Addition of 2 wt% magnesium to aluminium alloy matrix increased the corrosion current density. The corrosion mechanism in these composites is dominated by galvanic cell formation that is evident from the dissolution of Al matrix near the peripheral region of steel fibers.     

Flexural performance of fiber-reinforced ultra lightweight cement composites with low fiber content

This paper presents an experimental study on flexural performance of ultra lightweight cement composites (ULCC) with 0.5 vol% fibers. Low density of the ULCC is achieved by using cenospheres from coal-fired power plants as micro aggregates. Effects of shrinkage reducing admixture (SRA) and fiber types on compressive strength and flexural performance of the ULCC are investigated. ULCC with density of 1474 kg/m³, compressive strengths of 68.2 MPa, flexural strength of 8 MPa, and deflection hardening behavior can be produced. Such good performance could be attributed primarily to the SRA which reduced entrapped air in paste matrix and densified fiber–matrix interface. The improvement on the flexural performance of the ULCC depends on fibers used and bond between fibers and matrix. Improvement of the flexural performance of the steel fiber (coated with brass) reinforced ULCC due to the densification effect by SRA was more significant than that of the PE fiber reinforced ULCC.     

PROCESSING AND FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF SINTERED FIBER REINFORCED CERAMIC MATRIX COMPOSITES

ABSTRACT

The paper discusses the processing and the resulting mechanical properties of sintered fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites. In situ observations of the sintering process revealed that stresses which develop due to the differential shrinkage between the fibers and the matrix initiate already during the heating cycle and are of sufficient magnitude and duration that crack like damage forms. Successful methods were employed for reducing and avoiding these stresses during the sintering process. Coarse grained alumina coatings deposited onto the fibers with a coating thickness of up to 10 µm delayed and reduced the stress development. Polymer coated fibers produced fully dense composites on which fracture toughness measurements were performed. Crack propagation and crack/fiber interaction was observed in situ inside a scanning electron microscope. The importance of studying both the crack front and the crack wake phenomena in fiber reinforced composites is illustrated. In specimens where the cracks are already bridged by 10% area fraction of fibers a toughness of 7 MPa √m was obtained. However, in samples where the cracks are not bridged yet by fibers, the crack becomes unstable before reaching the fiber positions and the fibers had no effect in resisting the crack propagation.     

PROCESSING AND FRACTURE TOUGHNESS OF SINTERED FIBER REINFORCED CERAMIC MATRIX COMPOSITES

The paper discusses the processing and the resulting mechanical properties of sintered fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites. In situ observations of the sintering process revealed that stresses which develop due to the differential shrinkage between the fibers and the matrix initiate already during the heating cycle and are of sufficient magnitude and duration that crack like damage forms. Successful methods were employed for reducing and avoiding these stresses during the sintering process. Coarse grained alumina coatings deposited onto the fibers with a coating thickness of up to 10 µm delayed and reduced the stress development. Polymer coated fibers produced fully dense composites on which fracture toughness measurements were performed. Crack propagation and crack/fiber interaction was observed in situ inside a scanning electron microscope. The importance of studying both the crack front and the crack wake phenomena in fiber reinforced composites is illustrated. In specimens where the cracks are already bridged by 10% area fraction of fibers a toughness of 7 MPa √m was obtained. However, in samples where the cracks are not bridged yet by fibers, the crack becomes unstable before reaching the fiber positions and the fibers had no effect in resisting the crack propagation.     

Crack/fiber interaction and crack growth resistance behavior in microfiber reinforced mortar specimens

Performance enhancement due to microfibers is well known. However, fracture processes that lead to strain hardening behavior in microfiber reinforced composites are not well understood. Crack growth resistance behavior of mortar reinforced with steel microfibers and polypropylene microfibers was investigated in-situ during load application. The polypropylene fibers were inter-ground in the cement mill to enhance the fiber/matrix interfacial frictional stress. A more homogeneous fiber distribution was observed in the inter-ground polypropylene composites compared to the steel microfiber reinforced composites. In steel microfiber reinforced composites the dominant toughening mechanisms were multiple microcracking and successive debonding along the fiber/matrix interface. Fiber pullout, the dominant mechanism in conventional macrofiber reinforced composites was rarely observed. In-situ observation of crack/fiber interaction in the inter-ground polymer fibers also revealed multiple microcracking along the length of the fibers followed by fiber pullout.     

Development of vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCF) reinforced carbon/carbon composites

C/C composites are developed using vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCF) with two types of pitches as matrix precursor. The composites are carbonized at 1000°C by applying the isostatic pressure throughout the carbonization process and further heat treated at different temperatures up to 2500°C in the inert atmosphere. By applying iso-static pressure one can able to developed VGCF based C/C composites possessing the very high bulk density (1.80 g/cm³) and apparent density (2.01 g/cm³) only by heat treatment up to 2500°C without any densification cycle. This high value of density is due to the extremely strong fiber-matrix interactions and self sintering between the VGCF fibers during carbonization process under iso-static pressure. From the SEM study it reveals that, fiber-matrix interactions are strong and fiber boundaries merges with each other, also there is not a evidence of matrix shrinkage cracks in case 1500°C heat treated composites. On the other hand, in 2500°C heat treated composites, there is evidence of uniform fiber-matrix interfacial cracks and porosity in nanometer dimensions. This is due to the change in fiber morphology above HTT 1500°C. But the formation of nano width cracks does not affect on the mechanical properties of composites. The compressive strength increases from 95MPa of 1500°C to 105 MPa of 2500°C heat treated composites. However, hardness decreases due to the increase in the degree of graphitization of composites on 2500°C. The study reveals that by controlling processing condition and the uniform dispersion of VGCF fibers in the matrix phase, it can be possible to developed nano porosity at fiber-matrix interface.     

Multiple effects of nano-SiO2 and hybrid fibers on properties of high toughness fiber reinforced cementitious composites with high-volume fly ash

This article explores multiple effects of nano-SiO₂ and hybrid fibers on the flowability, microstructure and flexural properties of high toughness fiber reinforced cementitious composites. Only a little negative influences of nano-SiO₂ and hybrid fibers on the flowability are observed. SEM and MIP analysis reveal that nano-SiO₂ results in much smaller pore size in the composites. However, the porosity increases gradually with nano-SiO₂ addition. Three-point bending test results show that nano-SiO₂ increases the flexural strength of the composites with nearly equivalent deformability, but higher strength of the matrix leads to wider cracks. Due to larger volume fraction and higher modulus, hybrid fibers effectively mitigate this adverse influence on crack width and further enhance the flexural strength. The composites reinforced with 1.4% steel fiber and 2.5% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fiber exhibit the best flexural properties in the test. Finally, a simplified model is proposed to illustrate the reinforced mechanism of steel-PVA fibers.     

Effect of fiber surface modification on water absorption and hydrothermal aging behaviors of GF/pCBT composites

Water absorption and aging behaviors of fiber reinforced polymerized poly (cyclic butylene terephthalate) (GF/pCBT) composites are investigated. We coated nano-silica on glass fiber surface by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method. Subsequently, we immersed pCBT composites reinforced with nano-treated/untreated fibers in 25 °C and 60 °C distilled water until their saturated moisture. We also exposed some specimens in various hydrothermal aging environments. We tested the mechanical performance of these test specimens and found that the mechanical performance of both pCBT cast and GF/pCBT composites reduces obviously after water absorption and hydrothermal aging. However, nano-silica modified fiber reinforced composites have higher remaining strength than GF/pCBT. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the microscopic phase and nanoparticle modified mechanism, and better interface characteristic between fibers and matrix is observed.     

水灰比对PVA纤维增强水泥基复合材料性能和显微结构的影响

对3种不同水灰比(0.2,0.4,0.65)形成的聚乙烯醇(PVA)纤维增强水泥基材料,通过三点弯曲试验,结合表观裂缝形状和裂缝处PVA纤维形态,研究了水灰比对材料弯曲性能的影响;通过对断裂面处纤维表面、纤维嵌入端和纤维拉断或拔出端的SEM影像分析,从微观层面研究了水灰比对PVA纤维-基体界面显微结构的影响。弯曲试验结果表明:随着水灰比增加,跨中部位裂缝数量明显增加,裂缝处拔出的纤维数量增多而拉断的数量减少,材料的弯曲韧度和开裂强度到弯曲强度的增强幅度提高。界面显微结构表明:随着水灰比增加,基体结构由致密变疏松,界面粘结力减弱,桥接裂缝的PVA纤维状态由瞬间猝断转变为滑动拔出且表面有轻微刮削,纤维对材料增强增韧的效率显著提高。     

基体合金对连续M40石墨纤维/Al复合材料纤维损伤及断裂机制的影响

选用M40石墨纤维为增强体,采用真空气压浸渗法制备了纤维体积分数为40%,基体合金分别为ZL102、ZL114A、ZL205A及ZL301合金的连续M40/Al复合材料,并用NaOH溶液萃取出M40纤维,研究了基体合金对连续M40/Al复合材料纤维损伤和断裂机制的影响。结果表明:不同的基体合金对M40纤维造成的损伤差异较大,从M40/ZL301复合材料中萃取的纤维拉伸强度最高,其拉伸强度为1 686 MPa,约为纤维原丝拉伸强度的38.3%;而从M40/ZL102复合材料中萃取的纤维拉伸强度最低,其拉伸强度仅为687 MPa,且纤维表面粗糙程度不一。不同M40/Al复合材料的断裂机制存在明显差别,M40/ZL102和M40/ZL114A复合材料断裂时无纤维拔出及界面脱粘,裂纹横向穿过纤维导致复合材料在低应力下失效;M40/ZL205A复合材料则表现为少量纤维拔出,界面轻微脱粘;同时,M40/ZL301复合材料表现为大量纤维拔出,裂纹沿界面纵向扩展,界面脱粘明显,纤维充分发挥其承载作用,复合材料的拉伸强度最高,达到了670.2 MPa。      

Flexural behavior of geopolymer composites reinforced with steel and polypropylene macro fibers

Like ordinary Portland cement concrete, the matrix brittleness in geopolymer composites can be reduced by introducing appropriate fiber reinforcement. Several studies on fiber reinforced geopolymer composites are available, however there is still a gap to understand and optimize their performance. This paper presents the flexural behavior of fly ash-based geopolymer composites reinforced with different types of macro steel and polypropylene fibers with higher aspect ratio. Three types (length-deformed, end-deformed and straight) of steel fibers and another type of length-deformed polypropylene fiber with optimum fiber volume fraction of 0.5% are studied. The effects of different geometries of the fibers, curing regimes (ambient cured and heat cured at 60 °C for 24 h) and concentration of NaOH activator (10 M and 12 M) on the first peak strength, modulus of rupture and toughness of the geopolymer composites are investigated. The quantitative effect of fiber geometry on geopolymer composite performance was also analyzed through a fiber deformation ratio. The compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural toughness are significantly improved with macro fibers reinforcement and heat curing. The results also show that heat curing increases the first peak load of all fiber-reinforced geopolymers composites. End-deformed steel fibers exhibit the most ductile flexural response compared to other steel fibers in both heat and ambient-cured fiber reinforced geopolymer composites.     

Tuning austenite stability in a medium Mn steel and relationship to structure and mechanical properties

We study here the underlying factors that govern the stability of austenite in a medium Mn (Fe–0.18C–11Mn–3.8Al) (wt-%) steel. In this regard, a novel heat treatment involving intercritical quenching and tempering was designed to obtain high total elongation (TEL) and high ultimate tensile strength (UTS) in the cold-rolled steel. And the UTS and TEL approached 920–1150?MPa and 35–65%, respectively. The product of TEL and UTS (PSE) exceeded 40?GPa%, with a maximum value of 60?GPa%. A detailed analysis of microstructure before and after tensile deformation revealed that the TRIP effect occurred and the stability of austenite was predominantly governed by the grain sizes of austenite rather than the orientation of austenite grains. The theoretical analysis of work hardening data suggested that the superior elongation of medium Mn TRIP steel is related to the high stability of austenite and the cooperative deformation of ferrite.     

Effect of interfacial adhesion and statistical fiber strength on tensile strength of unidirectional glass fiber/epoxy composites. Part I: experiment results

The effects of fiber surface treatment on ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of unidirectional (UD) epoxy resin matrix composites are examined experimentally. The interfacial shear strength (IFSS) and statistical fiber strength are significantly altered by five different kinds of surface treatments, which are: (a) unsized and untreated; (b) γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-GPS); (c) γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS); (d) mixture of γ-aminoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-APS), film former (urethane) and lubricant (paraffin); and (e) urethane-sized. The maximum UTS is obtained for the relatively strong interfacial adhesion (glass/γ-MPS/epoxy) but not for the strongest interfacial adhesion (glass/γ-GPS/epoxy). The governing micro-damage mode around a broken fiber and the interface region is matrix cracking for γ-GPS treated fibers, and a combination of interfacial debonding and matrix cracking for γ-MPS treated fibers. The micro-damage mode related to the interfacial adhesion strongly affects the fracture process, and thus the UTS of UD composites. The results also indicate that the interfacial adhesion can be optimized for effective utilization of fiber strength for fiber composites. A parameter called “efficiency ratio” of fiber strength in UD composites is proposed to examine and distinguish different effects of IFSS and fiber strength on the UTS of UD composites. The experimental results show that improved UTS of UD composites due to surface treatments mainly result from the increase in fiber strength but not from the modified interface.     

A Comparative Investigation of the Tribological Behavior of Short Fiber Reinforced Polyimide Composites Under Dry Sliding and Water-Lubricated Condition

The friction and wear behavior of high performance polyimide (PI) and its composites reinforced with short cut fibers such as carbon fiber, glass fiber and quartz fiber was comparatively evaluated under dry sliding and water-lubricated condition, aiming at selecting matching materials for the pumps of pure water power transmission. The wear mechanisms of the composites under the two different sliding conditions were also comparatively discussed, based on scanning electron microscopic examination of the worn composite and steel counterpart surfaces. As the results, the PI composites reinforced with carbon fiber have the best mechanical and tribological properties compared with glass fiber and quartz fiber. PI composites sliding against stainless steel register lower friction coefficients and wear rates under water-lubricated condition than under dry sliding though the transfer of PI and its composites was considerably hindered in this case. PI and its composites are characterized by plastic deformation, micro cracking, and spalling under both dry-and water-lubricated sliding. Such plastic deformation, micro cracking, and spalling is significantly abated under water-lubricated condition. The glass and quart2 fibers were easily abraded and broken when sliding against steel in water environment, the broken fibers transferred to the mating metal surface and increase the surface roughness of mating stainless steel. This is probably the cause of the increased wear rate of glass fiber and quartz fiber PI composites in this case.     

High-strength and highly-uniform composites produced by compocasting and cold rolling processes

Silicon carbide reinforced aluminum alloy composite materials produced by casting methods are increasingly used in many engineering fields. However, these materials suffer from poor distribution of the reinforcement particles in the matrix and high content of porosity. The effect of subsequent cold rolling process with different reductions on the porosity, microstructure and mechanical properties of cast Al6061/10 vol.% SiC_p composite was investigated in this study. Composites fabricated by compocasting method were rolled at five different reductions of 30, 60, 75, 85 and 95%. The rolled specimens exhibited reduced porosity as well as a more uniform particle distribution when compared with the as-cast samples. Microscopic investigations of the composites after 95% reduction showed an excellent uniform distribution of silicon carbide particles in the matrix. During cold rolling process it was observed that the tensile strength and ductility of the samples increased by increasing the reduction content. After 95% reduction, the tensile strength and elongation values reached 306.7 MPa and 7.9%, which were 4.6 and 3.3 times greater than those of the as-cast composite, respectively.     

Effects of interface coating and nitride enhancing additive on properties of Hi-Nicalon SiC Fiber reinforced reaction-bonded silicon nitride composites

Strong and tough Hi-Nicalon SiC fiber reinforced reaction-bonded silicon nitride matrix composites (SiC/RBSN) have been fabricated by the fiber lay-up approach. Commercially available uncoated and PBN, PBN/Si-rich PBN, and BN/SiC coated SiC Hi-Nicalon fiber tows were used as reinforcement. The composites contained 24 vol% of aligned 14 m diameter SiC fibers in a porous RBSN matrix. Both one- and two-dimensional composites were characterized. The effects of interface coating composition, and the nitridation enhancing additive, NiO, on the room temperature physical, tensile, and interfacial shear strength properties of SiC/RBSN matrix composites were evaluated. Results indicate that for all three coated fibers, the thickness of the coatings decreased from the outer periphery to the interior of the tows, and that from 10 to 30 percent of the fibers were not covered with the interface coating. In the uncoated regions, chemical reaction between the NiO additive and the SiC fiber occurs causing degradation of tensile properties of the composites. Among the three interface coating combinations investigated, the BN/SiC coated Hi-Nicalon SiC fiber reinforced RBSN matrix composite showed the least amount of uncoated regions and reasonably uniform interface coating thickness. The matrix cracking stress in SiC/RBSN composites was predicted using a fracture mechanics based crack bridging model.     

Thermo-mechanical behavior of the Al–Si alloy coated hot stamping boron steel

Hot tensile tests of boron steels with and without an Al–Si coating were performed using a Gleeble 3500 test system, at temperatures of 700–850 °C and strain rates of 0.01–1/s. The phase and microstructure of the coating in as-coated and press-hardened conditions were observed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Experimental results indicate that the Al–Si coating gave an unignorable influence on the thermo-mechanical properties of the boron steels. The ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of the Al–Si coated boron steel was almost equal to that of the uncoated under the lower strain rate at the same deformation temperature. At a higher strain rate, the UTS value appeared to be lower than that of the uncoated. Moreover, the UTS difference increased with the decreasing deformation temperature. The ductility of the Al–Si coated steel was lower than that of the uncoated under the described test conditions. Following the tensile tests, extensive cracks were visible in the Al–Si coating layer. SEM observation showed that microcracks and voids appeared after austenization, which may act as nucleation sites for the cracks. The cracks first propagated in the direction perpendicular to the coating/substrate interface and were identified as Type I cracks. The propagation was hindered by the substrate when these cracks reached the coating/substrate interface. This occurred because the interfacial bonding strength between the coating and the substrate was lower than the substrate strength. Following this initial failure, the cracks turned to propagate paralleled to the coating/substrate interface. In addition with the shear stress resulting from the substrate yielding, Type II cracks formed. Eventually, the cracked coatings were accompanied by interface decohesion from the substrate. The width and density of the cracks were found to increase with the decreasing deformation temperature and rising stain rate.