Pressure infiltration casting process and thermophysical properties of high volume fraction SiCp/Al metal matrix composites

Abstract

SiC_p/Al composites containing high volume fraction SiC particles were fabricated using a pressure infiltration casting process, and their thermophysical properties, such as thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), were characterised. High volume fraction SiC particulate preforms containing 50–70 vol.-%SiC particles were fabricated by ball milling and a pressing process, controlling the size of SiC particles and contents of an inorganic binder. 50–70 vol.-%SiC_p/Al composites were fabricated by high pressure infiltration casting an Al melt into the SiC particulate preforms. Complete infiltration of the Al melt into SiC preform was successfully achieved through the optimisation of process parameters, such as temperature of Al melt, preheat temperature of preform, and infiltration pressure and infiltration time after pouring. Microstructures of 50–70 vol.-%SiC_p/Al composites showed that pores resided preferentially at interfaces between the SiC particles and Al matrix with increasing volume fraction of SiC particles. The measured coefficients of thermal expansion of SiC_p/Al composites were in good agreement with the estimated values based on Turner's model. The measured thermal conductivity of SiC_p/Al composites agreed well with estimated values based on the 'rule of mixture' up to 70 vol.-% of SiC particles, while they were lower than the estimated values above 70 vol.-% of SiC particles, mainly due to the residual pores at SiC/Al interfaces. The high volume fraction SiC_p/Al composite is a good candidate material to substitute for conventional thermal management materials in advanced electronic packages due to their tailorable thermophysical properties.     

The thermal expansion and mechanical properties of high reinforcement content SiCp/Al composites fabricated by squeeze casting technology

With mixing different sized SiC particles, high reinforcement content SiCp/Al composites (V_p=50, 60 and 70%) for electronic packaging applications were fabricated by squeeze casting technology. The composites were free of porosity and SiC particles distributed uniformly in the composite. The mean linear coefficients of thermal expansion (20–100 °C) of SiCp/Al composites ranged from 8.3 to 10.8×10⁻⁶/°C and decreased with an increase in volume fraction of SiC content. The experimental coefficients of thermal expansion agreed well with predicted values based on Kerner's model. The Brinell hardness increased from 188.6 to 258.0, and the modulus increased from 148 to 204 GPa for the corresponding composites. The bending strengths were larger than 370 MPa, but no obvious trend between bending strength and SiC content was observed.     

Incorporation of new technique for processing of Al/SiCp composites based on evaporative pattern casting (EPC) method

Abstract

A336 Al matrix composites containing different volume fraction and mean mass particle size of SiC particles as the reinforcing phase were synthesised by evaporative pattern casting (EPC) route. The process consisted of fabricating of EPS/SiC_p composite pattern followed by EPC of A336 Al alloy. The EPS/SiC_p pattern was made by blending SiC particles with expandable polystyrene (EPS) beads and placing them in expanding mould heating with steam until EPS beads expand completely. Uniform distributed SiC particles around the EPS beads and locally movement of them during pouring and degradation leads to homogenous distribution of particles in final Al/SiC_p composite. Higher modulus, strength and hardness were observed in the composites than the unreinforced Al alloy part. The fracture surfaces of the composite samples exhibited dimple surfaces and fracture in SiC particles.     

高比例SiC_p/Al复合材料的有效热导率模型

有效热导率是铝基复合材料在电子封装、热控方面应用的重要性能指标.结合复合材料广义自洽微观力学模型,并在Maxwell理论的基础上,初步建立了适合高体积分数SiCp/Al复合材料的有效热导率预测模型.模型不仅考虑了颗粒与颗粒、颗粒与基体间的界面效应,而且在一定程度上也考虑了增强体颗粒的形状.其理论计算结果与实测值吻合较好.     

Mechanical properties of a diamond–copper composite with high thermal conductivity

Using pressureless infiltration of copper into a bed of coarse (180 μm) diamond particles pre-coated with tungsten, a composite with a thermal conductivity of 720 W/(m K) was prepared. The bending strength and compression strength of the composite were measured as 380 MPa. As measured by sound velocity, the Young's modulus of the composite was 310 GPa. Model calculations of the thermal conductivity, the strength and elastic constants of the copper–diamond composite were carried out, depending on the size and volume fraction of filler particles. The coincidence of the values of bending strength and compressive strength and the relatively high deformation at failure (a few percent) characterize the fabricated diamond–copper composite as ductile. The properties of the composite are compared to the known analogues — metal matrix composites with a high thermal conductivity having a high content of filler particles (~ 60 vol.%). In strength and ductility our composite is superior to diamond–metal composites with a coarse filler; in thermal conductivity it surpasses composites of SiC–Al, W–Cu and WC–Cu, and dispersion-strengthened copper.     

Effect of SiC particles on fatigue crack propagation in SiC/Al composites

Fatigue crack propagation has been studied in two SiC particulate-reinforced aluminium-matrix composites with differing matrix alloys and composite heat treatments. Results indicate that the fatigue crack propagation rate (FCPR) of aged SiC/LY12 Al composites decreases with increasing volume fraction (V_f) of SiC particles; for composites containing 15 volume % SiC particles in an LY12 Al matrix the FCPR is independent of heat treatment (ageing or annealing). Annealed SiC/5083 Al composite has a higher FCPR than annealed SiC/LY12 AI. The influence of SiC particles on crack path is briefly discussed.     

Influence of boron carbide content on the microstructure,tensile strength and fracture behavior of boron carbide reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites

In the present work, an indigenously developed low cost modified stir casting technique is developed for the processing of 6061 Al‐B₄C composites containing high‐volume fraction of boron carbide particles (up to 20 vol. %). The influence of varying reinforcement content on the spatial distribution of boron carbide in the aluminum matrix is qualitatively characterized using scanning electron microscope. At a lower volume fraction of reinforcement, wide particle free zone and large interparticle spacing were observed in the matrix while the composite with high reinforcement content displayed relatively homogeneous and discrete particle distribution. X‐ray diffraction analysis confirms the presence of only aluminum and boron carbide diffraction peaks, indicating that no significant reaction occurs during composite processing. The tensile behavior of composites revealed that strength and ductility are influenced by varying particulate content. The quantitative analysis of strengthening mechanism in the casted composites showed that higher volume fraction of boron carbide lead to larger values of thermal dislocation strengthening, grain size and strain gradient strengthening. The morphology of fracture surfaces reveals the presence of dimple network and the average size of dimples gradually decreases with the increase in particulate content, which indicates the co‐existence of ductile and brittle fracture.     

不同颗粒度SiC增强铝基复合材料的切削加工性能与适用刀具

铝基复合材料中增强粒子的大小对复合材料的切削加工性能影响极大，本文研究了不同颗粒度碳化硅颗粒对铝基复合材料切削加工性能的影响。并分析了不同颗粒度碳化硅增强铝基复合材料所适用的刀具。探讨了切削刀具对不同大小颗粒碳化硅增强铝基复合材料的切削机理     

超声化学原位合成纳米Al_2O_3/6063Al复合材料组织及高温蠕变性能

为研究纳米颗粒增强铝基复合材料的高温蠕变特性,基于6063Al-Al2(SO4)3体系,采用超声化学原位合成技术,制备出不同Al2O3体积分数(5%、7%)的纳米Al2O3/6063Al复合材料,通过高温蠕变拉伸试验测试其高温蠕变性能,利用XRD、OM、SEM及TEM分析其微观形貌。结果表明:施加高能超声可显著细化增强体颗粒并提高其分布的均匀性,所生成的Al2O3增强颗粒以圆形或近六边形为主,尺寸为20~100nm;纳米Al2O3/6063Al复合材料的名义应力指数、表观激活能和门槛应力值与基体相比大幅提高,均随着增强体体积分数的增加而提高,表明纳米Al2O3/6063Al复合材料的抗蠕变性能提高;纳米Al2O3/6063Al复合材料的真应力指数为8,说明复合材料蠕变机制符合微结构不变模型,即受基体晶格扩散的控制;纳米Al2O3/6063Al复合材料的高温蠕变断口特征以脆性断裂为主,高应力下形成穿晶断裂,低应力下形成沿晶断裂和晶界孔洞;纳米Al2O3/6063Al复合材料的主要强化机制为位错强化与弥散强化。     

Fabrication process and thermal properties of SiCp/Al metal matrix composites for electronic packaging applications

The fabrication process and thermal properties of 50–71 vol% SiC_p/Al metal matrix composites (MMCs) for electronic packaging applications have been investigated. The preforms consisted with 50–71 vol% SiC particles were fabricated by the ball milling and pressing method. The SiC particles were mixed with SiO₂ as an inorganic binder, and cationic starch as a organic binder in distilled water. The mixtures were consolidated in a mold by pressing and dried in two step process, followed by calcination at 1100 °C. The SiC_p/Al composites were fabricated by the infiltration of Al melt into SiC preforms using squeeze casting process. The thermal conductivity ranged 120–177 W/mK and coefficient of thermal expansion ranged 6–10 × 10^–6/K were obtained in 50–71 vol% SiC_p/Al MMCs. The thermal conductivity of SiC_p/Al composite decreased with increasing volume fraction of SiC_p and with increasing the amount of inorganic binder. The coefficient of thermal expansion of SiC_p/Al composite decreased with increasing volume fraction of SiC_p, while thermal conductivity was insensitive to the amount of inorganic binder. The experimental values of the coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal conductivity were in good agreement with the calculated coefficient of thermal expansion based on Turner's model and the calculated thermal conductivity based on Maxwell's model.     

Effects of SiCp size and volume fraction on the high cycle fatigue behavior of AZ91D magnesium alloy composites

High cycle fatigue tests (i.e., stress-controlled, axial) were conducted on monolithic AZ91D and AZ91D magnesinm alloy composites processed via squeeze casting and extrusion to contain either 15 gm or 52 gm size SiC particles, at both the 20% and 25% volume fraction reinforcement level. The effects of changes in SiC particle size and volume fraction on the high cycle fatigue behavior have been determined. In addition, the number of cracked particles on the fatigue fracture surfaces, as well as the level of damage beneath the fatigue fracture surfaces were quantified in order to determine the effects of particle size on the evolution of damage during fatigue and during overload failure. Commercial purity Mg specimens containing a large grain size were also tested in fatigue for comparison with the alloy and composite data.     

Fabrication of particulate aluminium-matrix composites by liquid metal infiltration

Aluminium-matrix composites were fabricated by liquid metal infiltration of porous particulate reinforcement preforms, using AlN, SiC and Al₂O₃ as the particles. The quality of the composites depended on the preform fabrication technology. In this work, this technology was developed for high-volume fraction (up to 75%) particulate preforms, which are more sensitive to the preform fabrication process than lower volume fraction whisker/fibre preforms as their porosity and pore size are much lower. The technology developed used an acid phosphate binder (with P/Al molar ratio=23) in the amount of 0.1 wt% of the preform, in contrast to the much larger binder amount used for whisker preforms. The preforms were made by filtration of a slurry consisting of the reinforcement particles, the binder and carrier (preferably acetone), and subsequent baking (preferably at 200 °C) for the purpose of drying. Baking in air at 500 °C instead of 200 °C caused the AlN preforms to oxidize, thereby decreasing the thermal conductivity of the resulting Al/AlN composites. The reinforcement-binder reactivity was larger for AlN than SiC, but this reactivity did not affect the composite properties due to the small binder amount used. The Al/AlN composites were superior to the Al/SiC composites in the thermal conductivity and tensile ductility. The Al/Al₂O₃ composites were the poorest due to Al₂O₃ particle clustering.     

无压浸渗法制备不同体积分数及梯度SiCp/Al复合材料

选用不同粒径大小的SiC颗粒,并通过对颗粒分布的有效控制,采用无压浸渗工艺制备了不同体积分数(15%～65%)的SiCp/Al复合材料,并在此基础上试制了梯度SiCp/Al复合材料.运用OM,XRD等手段对所制备的复合材料进行了显微组织观察与成分分析,并对选定体积分数的复合材料进行了密度以及力学测试.研究结果表明,无压浸渗工艺下不同体积分数的SiCp/Al复合材料组织均匀、致密,力学性能良好;具有梯度结构的SiCp/Al复合材料层间结合良好,没有层间剥离现象.     

Microstructure and electrical conductivity of Al-SiCp composites produced by spray forming process

Al- SiC_p composites have been synthesized by spray forming process with variation in particle flow rate, size of reinforcement particles and their volume fraction. The microstructure of composites and their electrical conductivity have been investigated. The results showed a uniform dispersion of large size particulate phase in the matrix of the primary α- phase with its equiaxed grain morphology. However, clustering of small size particles was observed at the grain boundary and grain junctions. The grain size of the composite materials was observed to be lower than that of the base Al- alloy. The composite materials invariably indicated their lower electrical conductivity compared to that of the monolithic Al- alloy. The electrical conductivity of composites decreased with increase in the volume fraction and decrease in size of the reinforcement particles. A high flow rate of particles during spray deposition resulted in a decrease in its conductivity. These results are explained in the light of thermal mismatch between the matrix and the reinforcement phases resulting in generation of high dislocation density. The droplet- particle interaction and resulting microstructure evolution during the spray deposition of the composites are discussed.     

Oxidation behaviour of carbon/aluminium and SiC/aluminium composites

Isothermal oxidation of 6061 Al, reinforced with chopped carbon fibres and SiC particles, was studied to investigate the applicability of these composites in the temperature range 300–500 °C, in terms of their degradation due to oxidation. Carbon/aluminium composite suffered a tremendous loss in weight at 350 °C. The extent of the damage due to oxidation for SiC/Al composites depended upon the concentration of nucleation sites, which formed the interface between the composite and the matrix. The number of such sites depended upon the volume fraction and size of the dispersed particles. Analysis of the oxide scale was carried out using SEM/EDAX and X-ray diffraction. The deterioration in strength of the composites, due to oxidation, was determined by tensile testing of exposed specimens.     

SiCp/Al复合材料的SPS烧结及热物理性能研究

采用纯粉末, 通过SPS烧结制备了组织均匀、致密且体积分数高的SiCp/Al电子封装材料. 通过对SPS烧结现象的研究, 认为该复合材料的SPS烧结过程属于反应性烧结, 大部分收缩在极短时间内完成; 另外对SiC体积分数和SiC颗粒尺寸对热导率、热膨胀系数的影响进行了研究, 发现SiC体积分数越高, 复合材料的热导率和热膨胀系数越低; SiC颗粒粒径增大, 复合材料的热导率增高, 而热膨胀系数减小.     

Numerical analysis of the stress–strain distributions in the particle reinforced metal matrix composite SiC/6064Al

The axisymmetric cell model consisting of interface, matrix and reinforced particle is used to simulate the tensile test of particle reinforced metal matrix composite for predicting the micro stress/strain field and macro tensile stress/strain curve. In simulation of the tensile test, the cohesive element model is selected to model interfacial crack growth. It mainly analyzed the effects of interfacial properties, reinforcement volume fractions and aspect ratios on the stress–strain states of particle reinforced metal matrix composite. The results show that the peak micro stress and plastic strain occur at the interface in which it is a certain angle from the tensile stress direction; with the interfacial fracture toughness and reinforcement volume fraction increasing, the flow stress increases firstly and then decreases. The tensile stress–strain properties of SiC/6064Al are good when the interfacial fracture toughness is equal to 60 J/m and the reinforcement fraction volume is equal to 20%. Smaller reinforcement aspect ratio leads to smaller micro stress in composites.     

Analyses on fracture characteristics of SiCp-6061Al/6061Al composites extruded by different ratios

Two 6061 Al alloy matrix composites reinforced with rods that are themselves composites of the same Al alloy reinforced with a high volume fraction of SiC particles were studied. After vacuum pressure infiltration, one was hot extruded at a ratio of 10 : 1 and the other at a ratio of 60 : 1. The fracture characteristics of the two SiC_p-6061Al/6061Al composites were examined in detail. It was found that increasing the hot extrusion ratio of this kind of composite can improve the bonding between the SiC_p-6061Al bars and the 6061Al matrix. The strengths of the SiC_p-6061Al bars and the 6061Al matrix were considered to increase with increasing extrusion ratio. Thus, the SiC_p-6061Al/6061Al composite extruded at a ratio of 60 : 1 shows fracture characteristics which are different from the composite extruded at a ratio of 10 : 1. The former has a higher fracture toughness, and its crack opening displacement versus load curve indicates a higher elastic modulus and maximum load. After application of the maximum external load, there is a slow decrease with increasing crack opening displacement in the case of the 60 : 1 extruded composite, but the load can be maintained for wide crack opening displacement in the case of the 10 : 1 extruded composite.     

SiC/Al层状梯度复合材料的制备与抗毁伤特性

用真空热压法制备了SiC/Al层状梯度复合材料;采用热压扩散工艺,实现了不同SiC含量的复合材料间的有效连接.实验表明SiC/Al层状梯度复合材料制备时,添加纯铝过渡层有助于提高层间结合强度.通过穿甲试验对SiC/Al层状复合材料的抗毁伤性能进行了分析,结果表明所制备的SiC/Al层状复合材料具有比纯铝材料更为良好的抗毁伤性能.     

A comparative study of the coated filler method and the admixture method of powder metallurgy for making metal–matrix composites

Copper–matrix composites were made by powder metallurgy (PM). The reinforcements were molybdenum particles, silicon carbide whiskers and titanium diboride platelets. The coated filler method, which involves a reinforcement coated with the matrix metal, was used. In contrast, conventional PM uses the admixture method, which involves a mixture of matrix powder and reinforcement. For all the composite systems, the coated filler method was found to be superior to the admixture method in providing composites with lower porosity, greater hardness, higher compressive yield strength, lower coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), higher thermal conductivity and lower electrical resistivity, though the degree of superiority was greater for high than low reinforcement contents. In the coated filler method, the coating on the reinforcement separated reinforcement units from one another and provided a cleaner interface and stronger bond between reinforcement and matrix than the admixture method could provide. The highest reinforcement content attained in dense composites (<5% porosity) made by the coated filler method was 70 vol% Mo, 60 vol% TiB2 and 54 vol% SiC. The critical reinforcement volume fraction above which the porosity of composites made by the admixture method increases abruptly is 60% Mo, 42% TiB2 and 33% SiC. This fraction increases with decreasing aspect ratio of the reinforcement. Among Cu/Mo, Cu/TiB2 and Cu/SiC at the same reinforcement volume fraction (50%), Cu/Mo gave the lowest CTE, highest thermal conductivity and lowest electrical resistivity, while Cu/SiC gave the greatest hardness and Cu/TiB2 and Cu/SiC gave the highest compressive yield strength. Compared to Cu/SiC, Cu/TiB2 exhibited much higher thermal conductivity and much lower electrical resistivity. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.