Densification of SiCp/Al-Fe-V-Si Composites by the Wedge Rolling Method

Materials (Basel). 2023 Jun 9;16(12):4290. doi: 10.3390/ma16124290.

Abstract

The densification of a SiCp/Al-Fe-V-Si billet was achieved by reducing the pores and oxide film between the particles by rolling. The wedge pressing method was used to improve the formability of the composite after jet deposition. The key parameters, mechanisms, and laws of wedge compaction were studied. The results showed that the pass rate was reduced by 10 to 15 percent when using steel molds during the wedge pressing process if the distance between the two ends of the billet was about 10 mm, which was beneficial to improve the compactness and formability of the billet. The density and stress of the surface of the material were higher than those of the interior, where the distribution of density and stress tended to be uniform as the overall volume of the material shrank. During the wedge extrusion process, the material in the preforming area was thinned along the thickness direction, while the material in the main deformation area was lengthened along the length direction. Under plane strain conditions, the wedge formation of spray-deposited composites follows the plastic deformation mechanism of porous metals. The true relative density of the sheet was higher than the calculated value during the initial stamping phase, but was lower than the calculated value when the true strain exceeded 0.55. This was due to the accumulation and fragmentation of SiC particles, which made the pores difficult to remove.

Keywords: al-matrix composite; densification; microstructure; spray deposition; wedge pressing.