Properties of Al-Al2O3 composites synthesized by spark plasma sintering method

This work presents fabrication and characterization of Al-Al2O3 composite materials with a 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% volume fraction of reinforcing phase particles. The spark plasma sintering method was applied for the purpose of fabricating these materials. The obtained Al -Al2O3 composites were characterized with an porosity from 1.27% to 5.07%. It was proven that as the content of hard ceramic particles increases in the composite, its density, hardness, and compression as well as tensile strength increase. The conducted study showed that a composite with 20% alumina content is characterized by a larger hardness (1355 MPa) and compression strength (247 MPa). (C) 2015 Politechnika Wroclawska. Published by Elsevier Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.