RATE OF DEFORMATION ON HIPPED AL-COMPOSITES

There has been much recent interest in aluminium matrix composites as candidates for materials with higher specific properties (e.g. strengt h and stiffness) and temperature properties compared to conventional a luminium alloys in current use. However, these improvements have been accompanied by a general degradation of the fracture properties, such as ductility and toughness. In this work a novel reinforcement, Ni in the preform stare, and the rates of deformation on the mechanical prop erties of this reinforcement system are explored. It is found that imp roved mechanical properties can be obtained by appropriate design of t he reinforcement and powders systems and consolidation techniques. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.