Characterization of reinforcement distribution in Al/(Al2O3)p composites obtained from composite powder

A composite powder Al-(Al2O3)(p) obtained in a rotary -vibration mill was used as a semifinished component to manufacture particle-reinforced metal matrix composites (PRMMCs) using cast and powder metallurgy technologies. For a quantitative description of the inhomogencity of Al2O3 particle distributions in the aluminum matrix the following methods were applied: nearest neighbor distance., radial distribution function, influence zone morphology, systematic scanning and variance analysis. All the methods showed a significantly less inhomogeneous distribution of reinforced particles in the composite manufactured with the powder metallurgy method. It was also shown that systematic scanning and variance analysis method enables precise descriptions of particle clustering as well as composite microstructure anisotropy. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.