MANUFACTURE AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CONTINUOUS SIC FIBER REINFORCED ALUMINUM COMPOSITES BY LOW-PRESSURE PLASMA SPRAYING

THE FEASIBILITY OF THE LOW PRESSURE PLASMA SPRAYING (LPPS) PROCESS FOR PRODUCING CONTINUOUS FIBER REINFORCED METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES IS EVALUATED ON A LABORATORY SCALE. THE REINFORCEMENT USED WAS 140 MICRON DIAMETER SIC/C LONG FIBERS, WHILE ALUMINIUM WAS DEPOSITED AS MATRIX MATERIAL. RESULTS OF PRELIMINARY CHARACTERIZATION TESTS ARE PRESENTED, IN ORDER TO EVALUATE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE COMPOSITE. SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY, ENERGY DISPERSIVE SPECTROSCOPY, X-RAY DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS AND ROOM TEMPERATURE TENSILE TESTS WERE CARRIED OUT ON SPRAYED COMPOSITE MONOTAPES. THE LONG RAGE DIFFUSION OF CHEMICAL REACTIONS PRODUCTS IN THE INTERFACIAL ZONE WAS INVESTIGATED, AFFECTING MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF THE COMPOSITE, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ULTIMATE TENSILE STRENGTH AND STRAIN. PLASMA SPRAYING FABRICATION METHOD SEEMS PROMISING IN REDUCING COST AND IMPROVING QUALITY OF THE FINAL PRODUCTS. THE WIDESPREAD APPLICATION OF LPPS AS A PRODUCTION TECHNIQUE FOR MMCS CAN BE ANTICIPATED. NEVERTHELESS FURTHER RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES ARE REQUIRED TO REVEAL AND TO REALIZE THE TRUE POTENTIAL OF THESE MATERIALS.