Mechanical properties of rolled A356 based composites reinforced by Cu-coated bimodal ceramic particles

Three kinds of A356 based composites reinforced with 3 wt.% Al2O3 (average particle size: 170 mu m), 3 wt.% SiC (average particle size: 15 mu m), and 3 wt.% of mixed Al2O3 SiC powders (a novel composite with equal weights of reinforcement) were fabricated in this study via a two-step approach. This first process step was semi-solid stir casting, which was followed by rolling as the second process step. Electroless deposition of a copper coating onto the reinforcement was used to improve the wettability of the ceramic particles by the molten A356 alloy. From microstructural characterization, it was found that coarse alumina particles were most effective as obstacles for grain growth during solidification. The rolling process broke the otherwise present fine silicon platelets, which were mostly present around the Al2O3 particles. The rolling process was also found to cause fracture of silicon particles, improve the distribution of fine SiC particles, and eliminate porosity remaining after the first casting process step. Examination of the mechanical properties of the obtained composites revealed that samples which contained a bimodal ceramic reinforecment of fine SiC and coarse Al2O3 particles had the highest strength and hardness. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.