Olaya Luengas, Lilia

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Characterization of squeeze-cast AIB12/AI and AIB2/AI composites
(2009) Olaya Luengas, Lilia; Suárez, O. Marcelo; College of Engineering; Sundaram, Paul A.; Banerjee, Jayanta; Department of Mechanical Engineering; Acosta, Felipe
Aluminum alloys containing 2 and 4 wt.% copper reinforced with aluminum borides were successfully fabricated by squeeze casting employing squeezing pressures up to 62 MPa. The distribution of reinforcements in the composites was measured and the effect of pressure on density and hardness of the composites was determined. Additionally, the borides chemical stability was analyzed when the squeezed composites were heat treated. The pressure effect on the squeezed composites was investigated by optical microscopy, Vickers microhardness testing, superficial Rockwell hardness testing, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and high temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD). The superficial hardness of composites was considerably improved by increasing the applied pressure during squeeze cast process in comparison with specimens fabricated via gravity casting. The indirect squeeze cast technique caused Al2Cu(θ) phase segregation to upper regions of the specimens. A slight formation of AlB2 from the decomposition of the AlB12 was promoted during the annealing of squeezed composites.