Microstructures of Carbon Fiber and Hybrid Carbon Fiber-Carbon Nanofiber Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Composites by Low Pressure Infiltration Process and Their Properties

Abstract

Carbon fiber reinforced pure Al, A336 alloy and carbon fiber-carbon nanofiber reinforced A336 alloy composites were successfully fabricated by low-pressure infiltration process, aiming for development the carbon fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites with high thermal conductivity and mechanical property used as functional materials and structural materials, respectively. Carbon fiber of 10 vol% and hybrid carbon fiber-carbon nanofiber of 10 vol% were used to fabricated preforms for the low-pressure infiltration process. Afterwards, pure Al and Aluminum alloy under a temperature of 1073 K were infiltrated into the preforms under an applied pressure of 0.4 MPa in Ar environment. Microstructural and mechanical performances of the composites were investigated. Microstructure observations indicated that SiO 2 binder was coated on the surface of carbon fiber and distributed at the corner of carbon fibers in carbon fiber preform. Carbon nanofibers were agglomerated at the corner of carbon fibers, and some were dispersed on the surface of carbon fiber in the hybrid preform. In composites, carbon fibers were homogeneously distributed in the matrix. Further Vickers hardness test results showed that the hardness of carbon fiber reinforced pure Al composite increased by 76% compared to pure Al, and carbon fiber reinforced A336 alloy composite increased by 11.1% compared to A336 alloy. The thermal conductivity (TC) test result illustrated that the thermal conductivity of carbon fiber reinforced pure Al and A336 alloy composite was 245.8 W/(m·K) and 113.5 W/(m·K), respectively, and the thermal conductivity of carbon fiber-carbon nanofiber reinforced A336 alloy composite was 98.4 W/(m·K).

Research on Preparation and Properties of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Zinc-Based Aluminum Rich Alloy Composite

“…The addition of ZA27 plays a role in the second phase strengthening. The increase in the hardness value of the composite material is also affected by the slightly increased carbide in these materials [28].…”

Application of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Aluminum Matrix Composites in Automotive Industry

“…Carbon fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites have light weight, high thermal and electrical conductivity, good high-temperature stability, high specific strength, high elastic modulus, and high wear resistance [14,15], and can be widely used as materials and structural materials in the automotive industry. For example, Meng [16] used low-pressure permeation method to prepare carbon fiber reinforced pure aluminum, A336 alloy composites and carbon fiber-carbon nanofiber reinforced A336 alloy composites, and the results showed that the mechanical properties of carbon fiber-reinforced aluminum matrix composites were improved, and the high hardness provided theoretical support for the application of the composites in automobile body and other parts.…”

Manufacturing process of short carbon fiber reinforced Al matrix with preformless and their properties

“…CF- reinforced aluminum composites combine the properties of CF and Al, exhibiting low density and excellent mechanical and thermal/electrical properties 2 , and are expected to be utilized as heat sink materials. The conventional infiltration processes for fabricating SCF reinforced Al matrix composites generally use inorganic binders such as SiO 2 3 , Al 2 O 3 4 , or TiO 2 5 for the SCF preform manufacturing. However, preform manufacturing with an inorganic binder is complicated, and the preform needs high temperatures and more time for binder sintering.…”