Fabrication and characterization of unidirectional CF/Al composites

Abstract

The unidirectional carbon fiber (CF) reinforced aluminum (Al) composites have been fabricated by the low pressure infiltration (LPI) of molten Al into porous CF preform. Prior to the fabrication of the unidirectional CF/Al composites, the unidirectional CF preform was prepared by sintering of CFs and copper (Cu) particles under the spark plasma sintering (SPS). The compression strength of CF preform was examined to determine the infiltration pressure of molten Al into CF preform. The effects of the different infiltration pressures and sizes of Cu particles on the densification of unidirectional CF/Al composites have also been investigated. The compression strength of CF preform increased with increasing of the contact area between CFs and Cu particles. The density of CF/Al composites improved with the increase of the infiltration pressure. The CF/Al composites, into which the bimodal Cu particles are added, have average particle sizes of 2.55μm and 11.79μm, with a high relative density of about 95% with the nearly homogeneous fiber distribution. © 2011 by Walter de Gruyter.