On the infiltration behavior of Al, Al-Li, and Mg melts through SiCp bed

Aluminum, Al-Li(8090), and Mg matrix composites with uniform distributions of SiCp reinforcement have been prepared by the vacuum infiltration techniq ue; The infiltration kinetics have been found to increase in the order of A l, Al-Li, and Mg: The Al-Li alloy and Mg as matrix materials have shown imp roved wettability with SiCp in comparison to Al, leading to enhanced infilt ration kinetics and reduced reinforcement degradation in the former cases. The infiltration kinetics are insensitive to preheat temperature beyond a c ritical temperature, which is close to the melting point of the matrix. A m arginal improvement in infiltration kinetics-could be: obtained with Cu and Ni coating on SiC and on its dynamic oxidation. The improvement is signifi cant at a higher preheat temperature of SiC. The Vickers hardness, measured on the SiC particles, has been shown to be an index of the strength of the interface between the matrix and reinforcement in the composite.