Equation for the density of particle-reinforced metal matrix composites: A new approach

This paper presents a novel equation for the density of ceramic particle reinforced metal matrix composites. An overall density change occurs in composites due to the thermal mismatch between the metal matrix and the reinforcement. The thermal mismatch occurs because the coefficient of thermal expansion and the elastic properties are different for the matrix and the reinforcement. The values obtained using the proposed equation for density were compared with both the rule of mixtures for density and the experimental values obtained for aluminium and zinc alloy composites. The composite specimens were fabricated using compocasting technique (one of the types of liquid metallurgy route). The proposed mathematical model is found have better agreement with the experimental results at lower volume fractions of the reinforcement; however, some deviations were observed at higher volume fractions of the reinforcement. The proposed equation yields agreeable results for aluminium composites and fairly agreeable results for zinc alloy composites.