Effect of mixing processes on microstructure and mechanical properties of
SiCp/Al composites with rare earth
XIEWenfang1,LIU Pei2,3
1Luoyang Institute of Electro-Optic Equipment,AVIC,Luoyang 471000,China;2College of Materials
Science and Engineering,Henan University of Science and Technology,Luoyang 471023,China;
3Collaborative Innovation Center of Nonferrous Metals of Henan Province,Luoyang 471023,China
Abstract:SiC powder,Al-Si alloy powder and CeO2 powder were mixed using three mixing methods(mechanical
mixing,dry ball-milling and wet ball-milling)and with different mixing time under the condition of dry ballmilling,
the SiCp/Al composites with rare earth were fabricated by powder metallurgy. The samples were tested by
SEM,tensile and hardness measurement to study the effects of different mixing method on microstructure and mechanical
properties of SiCp/Al composites. The results show that SiC and Si particles in the composite can be simultaneously
refined by dry ball-milling,and thus the composite shows the best mechanical properties. The wet ballmilling
has the worst refining effect on SiC and Si particles due to the medium alcohol`s obstruction on the ball,
and thus the composites have the worst mechanical properties. The refining effect on SiC and Si particles of mechanical
mixing and the performance of composites are just between the above two mixing methods. Under the condition
of dry ball-milling,the increase of ball-milling time is beneficial to the fragmentation and refinement of SiC
particles,but when the mixing time exceeds 6 h,the refining effect of SiC is not significant and the performance
can not improve obviously.