udy of Properties of Metal Matrix Composites Introduction There are unique advantages of MMC’s over PMC’sand monolithic metals and alloys. When compared to monolithic metals and alloys, MMC’s have higher specific modulus, higher specific strength, better properties at elevated temperatures, lower coefficient of thermal expan- sion and better wear resistance. On the debit side, Fracture toughness MMC’s is inferior to monolithic metals and are more expensive at present. In comparison to PMC’s, MMC’s have certain superior mechanical properties, namely higher transverse strength and stiffness, greater shear and compressive strength and better high temperature properties. In addition, the physical attributes of MMC’s are such that there are no issues related to moisture absorption, non-inflam- mability, high electrical and thermal conductivity and high resistance to most radiations. Because of the above attributes, there is a wide range of applications in aero-space and Defence sectors as indicated in the following table. GENERAL PROPERTIES The metal matrix composites have various advantages over other types of composites. Suchas; + Highstrength * Highmodulus + High toughness and impact properties + Lowsensitivity to changes in temperature or thermal shock + High surface durability and low sensitivity to surface flaws + Highelectrical conductivity + Excellentreproducibility of propertie * Excellent technological background with respect to Design Manufacture Shaping and forming Joiningand finishing Service durability information The high strength values of metal alloys, compared to structural ceramics or organic mate-Se 2 sreueriats Specific modulus(GPa) / Man ' The above figure shows the benefit of the reinforcement by continuous fibers, provided the service stress is parallel to the fiber axis. The cost of the composites is always higher in the early stages of development and to drop as output increases. Metals are generally noted for their good ductility and toughness, but unfortunately both the properties are degraded by incorporation of reinforcement. The ductility of Al composites with different reinforcements can drop to around 4% as compared with monolithic Al alloys. High temperature Creep If there are no adverse reaction between the reinforcement and the matrix at elevated temperatures and there is no micro-damage at the interface due to thermal cycling, an improve- ment of strength at elevated temperatures is observed for Al/SiC composites Tensile strength MPa 300 200 Composite 160 nog 200 300 400 500 —_ Temperature ineCa Mechanic occurs under certain combinations of stress and temperature), the reed fully understood. Creep behaviour for metals is characterized by the ce a The frst stage is the stage where creep occurs with exponentially decreasing nee SUaBECUIV. nd stage is the steady state creep rate where creep rate is constant; third stan oe" occurs with increasing creep rate. The second stage or stead! Bets where creep s ; ly state creep rate i pantinmetalsand is expressed by te following equation; Piste smostly predomi- with time which Compositesis not Minimum creep rate = A, s"exp[-Q/RT] where A, is acconstant ; n is creep exponent ; R is gas constant ; s is stress and Tis temperature. in Kelvin. Creep behaviour of composites is observed with much higher ‘n’ values and limited sec- ond stage as compared to metals. Fatigue resistance Fatigue is defined as the failure of a component under fluctuating application of a stress smaller than that required to cause failure in a single application. In fatigue, a crackis initiated and slowly grows under the action of fluctuating stress until eventually failure occurs in a catastrophic manner with no gross plastic deformation of the part. Failure of MMC’s under fluctuating stress has not been investigated to the same extent as the properties under static loading. In fatigue of the MMC’s, the crack initiating sites are often the internal defects such as large ceramic particles remaining from whisker production, unbonded clusters of reinforcement particles and undesirable brittle inter - metallic compounds. Despite these crack initiating sites, the reinforcement of metals can led to significant improvement in fatigue life as indicated by the S-N curve below. Sressamplitude MPa 300 Al composite with 20% Al,O3 10° 10° 10 10° 107 ——+ cycles to failureHowever, there are instances where fatigue resistance has decreased by reinforcing, This may be due to micro-damage at the interface such as cracks or micro-voids due to thermal cycling during processing. In the following sections, some commercial systems of MMC’s will be discussed in more detail to highlight the range of properties, MMC’s can exhibit. MULTIFILAMENTARY SUPER CONDUCTING METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE This class of MMC’S has excellent super conducting properties. These are either niobium-titanium filaments embedded in copper matrix and become super conducting at tempera- tures in the range of 18-23K or Ceramic matrix composites, which exhibit super conducting prop- erties at 100K, which are in the stage of development. However Ceramic matrix composites are extremely brittle and hence impede commercial exploitation. Phenomenon of super conductivity: Certain metals and alloys lose all resistance to the flow of electricity when cooled to near about zero degree Kelvin as indicated in the sketch. Materials, which exhibit superconduc- tivity, are called super conductors. The super conductors can carry high current density and hence can generate very high magnetic fields. Requirement of such high magnetic fields include: * Magnetic levitation vehicles + Magnetic hydrodynamic generators & Rotating machines + Powerful magnets& Magnetic resonance scan for medical application. Theory of super conductivity: | Resistivity Normal conducting state Super conducting Metals (Nb Sn3 / Cu) Super conducting state ——— Temperature in degree K2 - 2+ een, Cooperand Schrieffer won the nobel prize for the theory of super conduetivity Electrons have negative charge and under normal circumstances will repel each other. At extremely low temperature, there arises attractive force and they become bound to each other. Electrical resistance ofanormal material results from scattering of electron waves by lattice vibrations. At extremely low temperature, this resistance becomes zero and at the same time electron-electron attraction takes place (knownas cooper pairs) and these pairs flow in phase easily in certain materials like Nb-Ti orNb,Sn. T, is known as critical temperature and at this temperature, material becomes super conductor. It is a characteristic value for each material. The value of T, for Ni-Ti is 23K and for NbSn, is 18K. Technologically, the most important property is the ability of the material to carry electric current without PR loss up to acritical current density (J,). In Nb,Sn, J, value is around 10000 amps per square mm at 4.2K with an applied magnetic field of 5 tesla. Fabrication route composite super conductors: Bror n° rilled holes o5a Wl Rebunuii dling, canning and final reductionRole of super conducting materials: After the basic requirement is met, i.e. adequate J., at temperatures up to Te is met, the super conducting material also has to meet other requirements for practical viability. Any perturbance in magnetic field will lead to realignment of magnetic flux called “flux motion” which is a heat producing process. Hence the super conducting material will get heated beyond Te and the mate- rial will revert to normal state from super conductor state. The heat generated due to flux motion must be effectively dissipated. Flux pinning is effectively carried out by small precipitate of NbSn and NbTiin the filament. ‘The super conducting material incorporates all these factors. Nb,Sn or NbTi fibers will provide conditions for super conducting state and the copper matrix provides a substrate for quickly removing the heat due to flux motion. Hence, for effective super conducting state, ultra thin filaments of Nb,Sn should be incorporated in copper matrix surrounded by liquid helium in inti- mate contact in all zones of filaments. In addition to the above physical characteristics, Nb,Sn or Nb-Ti super conductor materials are also strong, ductile and tough. Hence, they can be fabricated and handled easily in service. + Nbrods are inserted into the holes drilled in Bronze block * The block is swaged to reduce the size Swaged blocks are rebundled into the bigger copper tube. Cu tube is given Ta coating asa barrier so that Sn from bronze does not diffuse into Cu. At this stage, this Cu is called extrusion billet. The copper is evacuated and sealed. Extrusion billet is extruded into rods and subsequently cold drawn. The extruded rod is given a Heat treatment (600 — 700 C). This operation binds the NB rods and bronze. Sn from bronze diffuses into Nb and forms Nb,Sn precipitate, Cold drawing and annealing operations are repeated till the final size is obtained. Application: This is finding increasing application for MRI scan (magnetic resonance imaging scan). ‘Super conducting solenoid made of Nb,Sn/Cu is immersed in liquid helium in a dewar that allows magnetic system to operate for 3 minutes before refilling. The patient is placed in the bore of Powerful super conducting magnet and high frequency probes are used to probe the desired are Atoms of specific element of a specific organ are excited ina characteristic way. Resonancé Patterns of the organ are imaged using a computer. The image pattern gives high degree of clatity for diagnosi Another application is the use of Nb,Sn/Cu composite of electric generators for utilities. Use of'super conductors, permits production of 26000-kilo volt erator was 4m long rotor operating in liquid helium, Use of's Gon in size of the plantand significant increase amperes of electricity. The ge" | ich super conductors leads to reduc inenergy efficiency, !AL-B Composite: vy sumposues: Materials In the case of AV/B composite it is found that diffusion | (47Mpa), low temperature (450°C) and a long processing time ( ‘ strength. bonding process with high pressure .60 min) gives best results in terms of Fiber fractions could be increased up to 47% and strength increase up to 5 times the matrix strength could be achieved. It is also experienced that usage of high temperatures and shorter times lead to fiber damage and hence reduction of strength properties. Fiber orientation also plays a vital role in AVB composites as illustrated in the following sketch. Fiher with? nrientatinn 400 Cus Fiber with 45° orientation (MPs) 7 Fiher with 9N° nrientation 10 30 50 Stress —shain cue for10%Boron fherin Me allov Fatigue strength of AUB has been found to be around .7 to .8 times the static strength (as against .4 to .5 times static strength for convectional Al alloy). Thermal stresses due to differential in the expansion coefficients of the fiber and matrix can attain unacceptable levels in the MMC’s. Amongst the metal matrices, thermal coefficient of B is close to that of Ti. However, thermal coef- ficient of expansion of boron does not match very well with either Al or Mg. in such cases, thermal stresses can have decisive influence in fiber cracking and reduction of tensile strength. ANSIC composites: Currently Al alloy matrix reinforced with SiC whiskers or continuous SiC fibers or SiC Particulates are gaining great interest. i PoaReinforcement material Density (gm/cc) Modulus (GPa) SiC whiskers 3.15 800 to 1000 SiC fibers 2.55 400 SiC fibers and whiskers are coated with Al alloy and Ni alloy to prevent interfacial reactions with matrix. Diffusion bonding and squeeze casting are used as fabrication methods. Particulate MMC’S can be successfully produced by powder metallurgy route. Mechanical properties of Al alloy matrix with SiC as reinforcing material can be sum- marized as below: © With increase in volume fraction of the reinforcement material, strength increase up to 3 times is possible. However there is loss in ductility from 8% (for Al alloy) to around 2% as the volume fraction of the reinforcement material increases. + Thetype of Alalloy as matrix is very crucial. Al alloy of 6xxx series (Al-Mg-Zn alloy) or 5xxx series (Al-Mn alloy)is generally used. + Atlower volume fractions (up to 15%) particulate reinforcement is preferable than other rein- forcements where as at higher volume fractions whiskers type reinforcement provides better properties. + Ductility of the composites is improved if higher degree of working is adapted from billet to final product. Higher degree of cold working helps to increase ductility due to following fac- tors: a) Reduction in matrix porosity. . b) Making the reinforcement finer and decreasing the spacing between particulates. c) Breaking up of inclusions. + Large difference in coefficient of ‘thermal expansion between Al alloy and SiC results in large thermal stresses. This leads to steep increase in dislocation density and hence eventually leads to increase in strength. + Greatest advantage of SiC as reinforcement is the improvement in high temperature properties considerably as indicated in the following sketches, + Themaindraw back of SiC reinforced Al matrix is lowering fracture toughness values. Amongst the type of reinforcement, particulate reinforcement exhibits a higher value o} f toughness as compared to whisker type.pyprid of particulate, fiber and whisker type of reinforcement is now being attempted to improve » Hy a , toughness with out reduction in strength. rcement iS substantially higher than that of al alloy matrix. + Creep strength of SiC reinfor 20% wol. fraction 160 Ff, 20% val. fraction 400 ofSiC inAl Ne of SiC in Al EinGPa ne YSinMPa Al 5 1 200 400 200 400 — Tenp.°c —> Temp. °C 160 Axial fibers 300 | Tansvene Transverse Ein GPa fibers UTS in fibers L____| it GPa a Ni ae — \ mR Graphite/Al composite: Both diffusion bonding and liquid metal infiltration technique hav ployed for the fabrication of Gr/Al composites. Graphite fiber ree pecean ara tully em- bides will form during fabrication. Copper coating has been found to be excain et Wise car the graphite fiber is around 8mm with a strength and density of the fil and 1.73 emice. Strength increase up to 2 times can be obtained with Strength level as predicted by rule of mixtures is not obtained in thes: fibers during fabrication. cellent. Average size of ber are respectively 1961Mpa a fiber volume fraction of 0.30, ‘© Composites due to. damages to igh modotue graphite Sher tn At ulloy matix eombines 8 very Hiek ap / eye expansion coefficient. However graphite Al composite is an pees with a very sion. Graphite is cathodic in nature while AL is anode, 4 solution to this prouie erate COmTo- insulating layer of glass between Al mates and graphite ier Such composites pore RAVE at joining operations. Any localized heating will tigger formation of aluminiumearbiag ery ating detrimental to the mechanical and corrosion properties of the composite, * Which could be