Chapter 1 • Introduction

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The need for new materials which can be used under adverse environmental
conditions has led to the discovery of new materials. Modern technologies
require materials having a combination of many properties such as high
strength, light weight, high toughness, corrosion resistance, high abrasion,
impact resistance etc. To inculcate the above properties into a single material,
composite materials came into existence.

1.1 Background
The need for composite materials is dilate quotidian. Just out demands in
aerospace, automobile, underwater transportation sectors. Necessity materials
having the unusual combination of both strength and stiffness. To meet the
demands of these industries, composite materials have gained importance.
Superior property combinations could be achieved with the development of
composite materials. Usually composite materials are composed of two
phases, matrix and reinforcement. Matrix is the dispersed phase which
surrounds the reinforcing phase. The matrix phase is generally light, ductile and
continuous whereas the reinforcing phase is strong, hard and discontinuous.

Concrete is also a commonly used composite material. It is an aggregate of

small stones, cement and sand. To increase the tensile strength of the
concrete, a combination of the concrete and metal rods or wires has been
developed. The above composite is widely known as reinforced concrete (L. E.
Asp)

On the basis of the types of matrices composites can be classified into three
main categories:
 Metal matrix composites (MMCs)
 Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs)
 Polymer matrix composites (PMCs)

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Figure 1.1: Monolithic material groups and the material combinations used to create
Engineering composites. PMCs, CMCs and MMCs refer to polymer, ceramic and
metal matrix composites respectively

1.2 Metal Matrix Composite

A metal matrix composite (MMC) is composite material with at least two
constituent parts, one being a metal necessarily, the other material may be a
different metal or another material, such as a ceramic or organic compound.
When at least three materials are present, it is called a hybrid composite.

Matrix
The matrix is the monolithic material into which the reinforcement is
embedded, and is completely continuous. This means that there is a path
through the matrix to any point in the material, unlike two materials
sandwiched together. In structural applications, the matrix is usually a lighter
metal such as aluminum, magnesium or titanium, and provides a compliant
support for the reinforcement. In high-temperature applications, cobalt and
cobalt–nickel alloy matrices are common.

Reinforcement
The reinforcement material is embedded into a matrix. The reinforcement
does not always serve a purely structural task (reinforcing the compound), but
is also used to change physical properties such as wear resistance,
friction coefficient, or thermal conductivity. The reinforcement can be either

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continuous, or discontinuous. Discontinuous MMCs can be isotropic, and can

be worked with standard metalworking techniques, such as extrusion, forging,
or rolling. In addition, they may be machined using conventional techniques,
but commonly would need the use of polycrystalline diamond tooling (PCD).

1.2.1 Matrix Material

Metals are extremely versatile engineering materials. A metallic material can
exhibit a wide range of readily controllable properties through appropriate
selection of alloy composition and thermo-mechanical processing method.
The extensive use of metallic alloys in engineering reflects not only their
strength and toughness but also the relative ease and low cost of fabrication
of engineering components by a wide range of manufacturing processes. The
development of MMCs has reflected the need to achieve property
combinations beyond those attainable in monolithic metals alone. Thus,
tailored composites resulting from the addition of reinforcements to a metal
may provide enhanced specific stiffness coupled with improved fatigue and
wear resistance, or perhaps increased specific strength combined with
desired thermal characteristics (e.g., reduced thermal expansion coefficient
and conductivity) in the resulting MMC. However, the cost of achieving
property improvements remains a challenge in many potential MMC
applications.

Role of Matrix Materials

The choice of a matrix alloy for an MMC is dictated by several considerations
of particular importance is whether the composite is to be continuously or
discontinuously reinforced. The use of continuous fibers as reinforcements
may result in transfer of most of the load to the reinforcing filaments and
hence composite strength will be governed primarily by the fiber strength. The
primary roles of the matrix alloy, then are to provide efficient transfer of load to
the fibers and to blunt cracks in the event that fiber failure occurs and so the
matrix alloy for a continuously reinforced MMC may be chosen more for
toughness than for strength. On this basis, lower strength, more ductile, and
tougher matrix alloys may be utilized in continuously reinforced MMCs. For

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discontinuously reinforced MMCs, the matrix may govern composite strength.

Then, the choice of matrix will be influenced by consideration of the required
composite strength and higher strength matrix alloys may be required.
Additional considerations in the choice of the matrix include potential
reinforcement/matrix reactions, either during processing or in service that
might result in degraded composite performance; thermal stresses due to
thermal expansion mismatch between the reinforcements and the matrix; and
the influence of matrix fatigue behavior on the cyclic response of the
composite. Indeed, the behavior of MMCs under cyclic loading conditions is
an area requiring special consideration. In MMCs intended for use at elevated
temperatures, an additional consideration is the difference in melting
temperatures between the matrix and the reinforcements. A large melting
temperature difference may result in matrix creep while the reinforcements
remain elastic, even at temperatures approaching the matrix melting point.
However, creep in both the matrix and reinforcement must be considered
when there is a small melting point difference in the composite.

1.2.2 Selection of Reinforcement Materials

The correct selection of reinforcement type, size is important m order to obtain

the best combination of properties at substantially low cost. Several criteria for
the selection of matrix and reinforcement materials are as follows:
i. Compatibility
ii. Thermal properties
iii. Fabrication method
iv. Application
Ceramic particles such as carbides, oxides are generally used as
reinforcement since it has the ability to withstand at high temperature.
Discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composite have an edge over
continuously reinforce metal matrix composite in view of their ease of
synthesis and shaping and lower cost. Furthermore, the particulate form of
discontinuous reinforcement is the cheapest and more widely used one than
chopped fibers and whiskers, which are very expensive. The particles improve
the mechanical properties of a matrix by dispersion strengthening and by
blocking the movement of dislocations Particulate-reinforced composites are

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isotropic, having the same mechanical properties in all directions. The

preferred and most used of the particles materials, for aluminum alloy matrix
composites is silicon carbide (SiC), due to its favorable combination of
mechanical properties, density and cost. Another widely used particle
reinforcement in aluminum matrix composites are aluminum oxide ( Al2O3),
Boron Carbide (B4C), Aluminum Nitride (AlN). (Everett, 2012) (M. Demirel,
2011).
Table 1.1 : Matrix and reinforcement materials

Aluminium, Magnesium, Copper, Iron,

Matrix alloys systems Beryllium, Zinc, Bronze, Nickel, Lead,
Silver, Titanium
Reinforcement SiC,Al2O3,TiC,B4C,TiB2, carbon fibres

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In the present research work aluminium based metal matrix composite has
been developed by using Silicon carbide (SiC) compound as the
reinforcement. AMMCs prepared with powder metallurgy process.

1.3 Properties of Composites

Composite materials include some of the most advanced engineering materials
today. Composite is a class of materials which receive a large attention
because of their outstanding properties and their potential applications in a
wide range of industries. By combining two or more distinct materials one can
develop a new material with the desired combination of properties. This could
lead to materials having a combination of properties like light weight, high
strength, corrosion resistance etc. The following properties of composites make
them a promising material to be used in various applications. (K. K. Chawla)

High Strength to Weight Ratio

A composite material is the only material which can be designed to achieve
both strength and stiffness. This enhanced combination of properties makes
them popular in the automotive and aerospace industries. Today composites
are one of the most popular materials which show better strength to weight
ratio. Composites are lighter in weight as compared to most conventional
metals, alloys and ceramics. A net weight reduction of around 20-50 % is
achievable by using composites.

Strength
Strength is the most vital property of the material when it comes to application
in industries like automobiles and aerospace. Composites are capable of
replacing metals as well as ceramics in a large number of areas by optimizing
the mechanical properties. Composite materials not only reduce the weight and
manufacturing cost of the material, but also improve creep strength, fatigue
strength, toughness, oxidation and corrosion resistance and high temperature
properties.

Corrosion Resistance

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Composites are the best choice for applications where corrosive environments
are involved. To diminish metal loss rate during corrosion, composite materials
play a vital role. They resist metal loss under adverse environmental conditions
and from harsh chemicals that erode away other materials. This is why
composites are used for the manufacture of chemical storage tanks, pipes,
chimneys and ducts, boat hulls and vehicle bodies.

Thermal Properties
Selection of composite in a particular area where focus on the thermal
properties of material. Using a reinforcement in a matrix is a criteria for reduce
the Thermal conductivity as well as coefficient of thermal expansion. Now a day
this composites material are used in automobile and aerospace engine parts.

1.4 Aluminium based MMCs

Al-based MMCs are one of the most prominent composite materials due to
their low density and light weight which make them suitable for various wear
and structural applications in aerospace and automotive industries. Al-based
MMCs have already been considered as an alternative material for the use in
the fabrication of brake rotors, pistons, cylinder liner and cylinder heads. Al is
widely used due to its excellent properties such as low density, low coefficient
of thermal expansion, enhanced tribological properties. MMCs with hard
particles are gaining importance due to enhancement in various properties.
This is why Al is reinforced with hard materials like carbides, borides, nitrides,
oxides and intermetallic. Al-based MMCs are widely used for sliding wear
applications. Apart from being good wear resistant materials, Al-based MMCs
also have high specific strength, high specific modulus and superior fatigue
and creep resistance which make them suitable for various wear and
structural applications. Apart from this Al also provides a compatible
environment to foreign particles for better incorporation and good bonding
with the reinforcement phase. (M. Abbasi, 2010)

1.5 Manufacturing Processes of MMCs

Fabrication method for the metal matrix composite can be classified in to two

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groups: liquid state processing and solid state processing. Some of the
commonly used processes are as follows:

1.5.1 Squeeze Casting

It is a liquid state processing, where reinforcement are preheated which are
placed into a preheated die, filling the die with molten matrix metal, squeezing
the molten metal into the preform using a hydraulic press with a preheated
ram, holding the pressure during solidification, releasing the pressure and
ejecting the resulting composite. The preheated reinforcement, usually in the
form of a pre-compacted and inorganically bonded preform, is placed in a
preheated metal die. Superheated liquid metal is introduced into the die and
pressure is applied to drive the metal into the interstices between the
reinforcing materials. Squeeze casting produces components, free from gas
or shrinkage porosity. This process can be used for large scale manufacturing
but has some limitation like it requires careful control of the process variables,
including the liquid metal, reinforcement preheat temperature, the metal
alloying elements, the tooling temperature, the time lag between die closure
and pressurization, the pressure levels and duration and the plunger speed.
Imperfect control of these process variables results in various defects,
including freeze chocking, preform deformation, oxide inclusions and other
common casting defects.

Figure 1.2: Squeeze Casting

1.5.2 Stir Casting

It is a liquid state processing. In this process the matrix metal is heated to
liquid form where preheated reinforcement are added and are stirred to the

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semi solid state where the particles will be uniformly dispersed due to
continuous stirring of molten metal which is then added to the preheated mold
to get desired shape. Stir casting is more convenient, easy to fabricate, cost
for manufacturing is also less compared to other methods.

Figure 1.3: Stir Casting Setup

1.5.3 Powder Metallurgy

It is a solid state processing method where matrix material, reinforcement

particles both are made in powder form which are mixed together with the
binders and are fed into the mold to get desired shape. Next step is the
application of pressure which presses the powder known as cold pressing
method. In order to facilitate the bonding between the powder particles, the
compact is then heated to a temperature that is below the melting point but
sufficiently high to develop significant solid-state diffusion (sintering). Powder
Metallurgy is popular because it is reliable compared with other alternative
methods. The blending step is most powerful step in this process which was
capable to improve homogeneous distribution of the reinforcement particles
throughout the geometry in MMCs. In addition, it is easy to achieve an even
distribution of particulate throughout the product and the use of powders
requires a high level of cleanliness, through this method having a tolerance
and surface finish of product is too high.

Table 1.2: Comparison of Metal Matrix Composites Fabrication Techniques (Hashim,

1999)

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Method Range of Shape and Metal Damage to Cost

Size Yield Reinforcement

Liquid Wide range of Very high, No damage Least

metallurgy shapes, larger size to >90% expensive
(Stir 500 kg
casting)
Squeeze Limited by preform Low Severe damage Moderate
casting shape Up to 2 cm expensive
height
Powder Wide range, restricted High Fibre or particle Expensive
metallurgy size fracture

Spray casting Limited shape, large Medium Expensive

size

Among all the fabrication techniques considered, powder metallurgy stands

out as the most suitable method. However certain critical parameters related
to homogeneity of the MMCS such as uniform particle dispersion is a major
concerned as well as particles bonding and sintering phenomenon.
The PM process is typically useful for high temperature resistive materials
which have high melting points, like Titanium (Ti), Tungsten (W) etc. Now days
this unique technique gaining much more attention for the manufacturing of
complex geometrical shapes with maximum material utilization and reduced
processing steps.

Figure 1.4: Powder Metallurgy flow line

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1.6 Challenges in Powder Metallurgy

In preparing metal matrix composites by stir casting, there are several
problems are face that need consideration including,
 Restricted to size and complex shape geometry,
 Process parameter affected to the microstructure & properties of
MMC,
 Re processing (Welding) is difficult in this MMC.
 Porous material are liable to oxidized at surface as well as throughout
the whole body due to its porosity.
 It is difficult to secure exceptionally high purity powder with
satisfactory quality, without which it is impossible to prepare the part
with optimal physical properties,
 Lower the ductility due to the temperature.
 Percentage fraction volume of reinforcement affected properties was
unclear.
 Calibration of sintering time and temperature is required for varying
specimen thicknesses.
 Size of particles affected properties of metal matrix.(coated &
uncoated)

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1.7 Thesis Outline

Thesis consists of five chapters in total. The framework of the thesis is

described as follows:
 Chapter 1: Presents the introduction about background of MMCs and
the different fabrication methods of MMCs.
 Chapter 2: Presents the literature review based on how different
process parameters, Reinforcement particles parameter affect the
MMCs properties. Chapter also delivers the summary of literature
review carried out for the research work.
 Chapter 3: problem definition for the present work.
 Chapter 4: Presents the experiment conducted during this work
 Chapter 5: Discussion
 Chapter 5: Conclusion
 Chapter 6: References
.

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