The mechanical properties and microstructure of Al composite bar manufactured by using stone mill crushed rapidly solidified Al/Al2O3-TiC

A stone-mill type crusher, newly designed device, was used for manufacturin g the Al matrix composites with combining rapid solidification technique. 5 053 Al ansi 6061 Al alloy flakes prepared by twin rolling are mechanically crushed and mixed simultaneously with Al2O3-TiC fine ceramic powder synthes ized by SHS. Mechanical properties. damage and failure in particulate reinf orced Al matrix composites have been investigated in tension and compressio n doing with the microstructural analysis. Tensile strength of particle rei nforced 5083 Al composite was increased to 360 MPa by refining grain size r esulting from rapid solidification. On the other hand, the strength of aged 6061 Al composite was not affected although line grain anti precipitates w ere presented. Crack propagation modes were different under tension and com pression. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.