MEASUREMENT OF INTERFACIAL PROPERTIES FOR ALUMINUM AND TITANIUM MATRIX ALLOY COMPOSITES MANUFACTURED BY VACUUM PLASMA SPRAY

Continuous fiber silicon carbide/titanium and aluminum matrix composit e monolayers were tested by means of an indentation technique to measu re the interfacial shear strength. Experimental results were interpret ed using two analytical models and compared to results of other resear ches in order to evaluate the interface quality obtained with a vacuum plasma spray fabrication method. The separate contribution of chemica l bond and friction to the mechanical shear strength of the fiber-matr ix interface is discussed. For aluminum matrix composites, the interfa ce strength is mainly controlled by frictional force. For titanium mat rix composites, chemical bond plays a primary role. The vacuum plasma spray process used needs further optimization work, but it is a very p romising fabrication method for continuous fiber reinforced metal matr ix composites.