In this study, Al4.5Cu/SiC alloy matrixed composites are produced by mechanical alloying. The effect of the amount of reinforcement and milling time on the thermal and microstructural properties of the composites produced was investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, the microhardness of the pressed and sintered composites was investigated. As a result, the mechanical alloying process led to increased hardness in the microstructure by welding the matrix with homogeneously dispersed reinforcement. Figure A. Microhardness of Al4.5Cu/SiC compositesPurpose: In this study, it was aimed to design and produce high-quality Al-4.5Cu/SiC alloybased composite to be used in many sectors, especially in the maritime, automotive, electrical, and aerospace industries, and to examine its properties.Theory and Methods: Al4.5Cu/SiC alloy matrix composites, in which as reinforcement SiC is mixed into the Al4.5Cu alloy-matrix at a weight ratio of 10-20%, are produced by grinding for 5 and 10 hours with mechanical alloying method. In mechanical alloying processes, the ball-topowder weight ratio is 10:1, and the rotation speed is set to 350 rpm. The composite samples pressed under 250 MPa were sintered in an argon-controlled atmosphere furnace at 700 o C for 1 hour. Hardness measurements were carried out with a Shimadzu microhardness tester using a load of 100 g for 10 seconds. The microstructure properties of the produced powder composites were analyzed using XRD and SEM, and their thermal behavior was analyzed using DTA.Results: It was observed that while the SiC ratio in the composite was low, solid solutions were formed, and as the SiC ratio increased, agglomerations occurred. Endothermic peaks indicating that Al2Cu, α-Al and SiC doped Al4.5Cu solid solution phases melted during continuous heating with DTA. As the SiC ratio and grinding time increased, it was observed that the composite had more homogeneous, irregularly shaped or spherical particles, and shrinkage in particle sizes. In addition, as the milling time and SiC ratio increased, it was found that the sample hardness increased due to the decrease in crystallite size and deformation hardening, and the maximum hardness value was approximately 260 HV.
Conclusion:The Al4.5Cu/SiC composites is successfully fabricated by mechanical alloying and sintering. During the production process, no undesirable intermetallic phase occurs in the composites. As the milling time increases, the increase in microhardness indicates an improvement in the mechanical properties of the composites.