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Metal Matrix Composites: Experimental and Simulation

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 December 2019) | Viewed by 16347

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Prof. Dr. Hiroki Kurita

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Department of Frontier Science for Advanced Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Interests: structural composite materials; aerospace materials; nanocomposites; microstructure; interface
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Prof. Dr. Fumio Narita

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Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
Interests: mechanics and design; multiscale and multiphysics simulation; fracture and damage; multifunctional composite materials; realization of a sustainable society
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Dear Colleagues,

Continuous ecomonic growth requires sophisticated structural and fuctional materials. The combination of a number of materials has the potential to obtain outstanding properties, which single materials do not provide. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) have especially been mainly studied as high specific structural materials for aerospace and automobile applications since the early 1960s. In the present day, we employ not only continuous fibers, but also discontinous fibers, particles, and nanowhiskers, such as carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, the addition of reinforcements has been considered to improve the thermal, electric, piezoelectric, magnetostrictive and other functions of metal matrices.

However, there have been few successful attempts to obtain the theoritical performance of reinforcements in MMCs due to issues in fabrication processes, interfacial chemical reactions, interfacial resistance, and so on. Therefore, it seems that the motivation for the development in academic and industrial fields has slowly waned. Nevertheless, MMCs continue to be potential candidates for providing unique, excellent properties, which cannot be obtained from other materials.

In this Special Issue, we are calling for papers to report on the newest research on any MMC. We are broadly interested in fabrication methods, the evaluation of fuctional and structural propeties, and interfacial interaction.

Prof. Dr. Hiroki Kurita
Prof. Dr. Fumio Narita
Guest Editors

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Keywords

metal matrix composite
interface
microstructure
fiber
particle

Published Papers (5 papers)

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15 pages, 6068 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Aluminum/Carbon Composites Materials Fabricated by the Powder Metallurgy Process

by Amélie Veillère, Hiroki Kurita, Akira Kawasaki, Yongfeng Lu, Jean-Marc Heintz and Jean-François Silvain

Materials 2019, 12(24), 4030; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12244030 - 04 Dec 2019

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3168

Abstract

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced with carbon fibers or diamond particles have been fabricated by a powder metallurgy process and characterized for thermal management applications. Al/C composite is a nonreactive system (absence of chemical reaction between the metallic matrix and the ceramic reinforcement) due to the presence of an alumina layer on the surface of the aluminum powder particles. In order to achieve fully dense materials and to enhance the thermo-mechanical properties of the Al/C composite materials, a semi-liquid method has been carried out with the addition of a small amount of Al-Si alloys in the Al matrix. Thermal conductivity and coefficient of thermal expansion were enhanced as compared with Al/C composites without Al-Si alloys and the experimental values were close to the ones predicted by analytical models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Matrix Composites: Experimental and Simulation)

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10 pages, 4239 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Effect of TiB Orientation on Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Propagation in TiB-Reinforced Ti-3Al-2.5V Matrix Composites Treated with Heat Extrusion

by Shoichi Kikuchi, Shunsuke Tamai, Takao Kawai, Yoshikazu Nakai, Hiroki Kurita and Sophie Gourdet

Materials 2019, 12(22), 3685; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12223685 - 08 Nov 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2584

Abstract

TiB-reinforced Ti-3Al-2.5V matrix composites, in which TiB whiskers are oriented parallel to the direction of heat extrusion, were fabricated via mechanical alloying and hot isostatic pressing (HIP). To investigate the near-threshold fatigue crack propagation in TiB-reinforced Ti-3Al-2.5V matrix composites, stress intensity factor K-decreasing tests were conducted for disk-shaped compact specimens having two different orientations of TiB whiskers at force ratios from 0.1 to 0.8 under ambient conditions. The crack growth rates, da/dN, for the composites incorporating TiB whiskers oriented perpendicular to the direction of crack growth were constantly lower than those obtained in the case where the orientation was parallel at the same stress intensity range ΔK, while the threshold stress intensity range, ΔK_th, was higher. This effect can be explained by the increase in the degree of roughness-induced crack closure resulting from the perpendicular TiB, because fatigue cracks preferentially propagated across the boundaries between the matrix and the TiB in certain regions. In contrast, the effective threshold stress intensity range, ΔK_eff,th, for composites was unaffected by the TiB orientation at low force ratios. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Matrix Composites: Experimental and Simulation)

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16 pages, 6463 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Fabrication of Metal Matrix Composite by Laser Metal Deposition—A New Process Approach by Direct Dry Injection of Nanopowders

by Briac Lanfant, Florian Bär, Antaryami Mohanta and Marc Leparoux

Materials 2019, 12(21), 3584; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12213584 - 31 Oct 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4074

Abstract

Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) offers new perspectives for the fabrication of metal matrix nanocomposites (MMnCs). Current methods to produce MMnCs by LMD systematically involve the premixing of the nanopowders and the micropowders or require in-situ strategies, thereby restricting the possibilities to adjust the nature, content and location of the nano-reinforcement during printing. The objective of this study is to overcome such restrictions and propose a new process approach by direct injection of nanoparticles into a metallic matrix. Alumina (n-Al₂O₃) nanoparticles were introduced into a titanium matrix by using two different direct dry injection modes in order to locally increase the hardness. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses validate the successful incorporation of the n-Al₂O₃ at chosen locations. Optical and high resolution transmission electron microscopic (HR-TEM) observations as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses indicate that n-Al₂O₃ powders are partly or totally dissolved into the Ti melted pool leading to the in-situ formation of a composite consisting of fine α₂ lamellar microstructure within a Ti matrix and a solid solution with oxygen. Mechanical tests show a significant increase in hardness with the increase of injected n-Al₂O₃ amount. A maximum of 620 HV was measured that is almost 4 times higher than the pure LMD-printed Ti structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Matrix Composites: Experimental and Simulation)

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10 pages, 5102 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Strengthening Mechanism of Titanium Boride Whisker-Reinforced Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Matrix Composites with the TiB Orientation Perpendicular to the Loading Direction

by Hiroki Kurita, Shiori Suzuki, Shoichi Kikuchi, Noriharu Yodoshi, Sophie Gourdet and Fumio Narita

Materials 2019, 12(15), 2401; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12152401 - 28 Jul 2019

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3322

Abstract

We fabricated fully dense titanium boride (TiB) whisker-reinforced Ti-6Al-4V alloy matrix (Ti6Al4V-TiB) composites, with a homogeneous dispersion, a TiB orientation perpendicular to the loading direction (; two-dimensional random direction) and an intimate Ti/TiB interface without an intermediate interfacial layer in the Ti-6Al-4V alloy matrix, by spark plasma sintering. Microstructural analysis allows us to present the tensile properties of the Ti6Al4V-TiB composites with the theories for discontinuous fiber-reinforced composites. The Ti6Al4V-TiB 10 vol.% composite yielded a Young’s modulus of 130 GPa, an ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of 1193 MPa and an elongation of 2.8%. The obtained experimental Young’s modulus and UTS of the Ti6Al4V-TiB composites were consistent with the theoretical values estimated by the Halpin-Tsai and Shear-lag models. The good agreement between our experimental results and these models indicates that the TiB whiskers behave as discontinuous fibers in the Ti-6Al-4V alloy matrix. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Matrix Composites: Experimental and Simulation)

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12 pages, 5725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Semisolid State Sintering Behavior of Aluminum–Stainless Steel 316L Composite Materials by Powder Metallurgy

by Kwangjae Park, Dasom Kim, Kyungju Kim, Seungchan Cho, Kenta Takagi and Hansang Kwon

Materials 2019, 12(9), 1473; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma12091473 - 07 May 2019

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2681

Abstract

Aluminum (Al)-stainless steel 316L (SUS316L) composites were successfully fabricated by the spark plasma sintering process (SPS) using pure Al and SUS316L powders as raw materials. The Al-SUS316L composite powder comprising Al with 50 vol.% of SUS316L was prepared by a ball milling process. Subsequently, it was sintered at 630 °C at a pressure of 200 MPa and held for 5 min in a semisolid state. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that intermetallic compounds such as Al₁₃Fe₄ and AlFe₃ were created in the Al-SUS316L composite because the Al and SUS316L particles reacted together during the SPS process. The presence of these intermetallic compounds was also confirmed by using XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and EDS mapping. The mechanical hardness of the Al-SUS316L composites was analyzed by a Vickers hardness tester. Surprisingly, the Al-SU316L composite exhibited a Vickers hardness of about 620 HV. It can be concluded that the Al-SUS316L composites fabricated by the SPS process are lightweight and high-hardness materials that could be applied in the engineering industry such as in automobiles, aerospace, and shipbuilding. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metal Matrix Composites: Experimental and Simulation)

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