Current-Activated, Pressure-Assisted Infiltration: A Novel, Versatile Route for Producing Interpenetrating Ceramic-Metal Composites

A novel technique is proposed and demonstrated for processing interpenetrating ceramic-metal composites by the infiltration of molten metals/alloys into ceramic foams utilizing a current-activated, pressure-assisted technique. Ti2AlC foams were prepared and used as the infiltration preform. Aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061) has been infiltrated into the Ti2AlC foams, resulting in AA6061/Ti2AlC composites. The microstructure, composition, and distribution of phases in the composites were studied. The AA6061/Ti2AlC composites were studied under compression testing, and the results were compared with those of the pure components of the composites. Advantages of this method in comparison to other methods for processing metal-ceramic composites are discussed.