Additive Manufacturing of Metal Matrix Composites: A Review
Bassuah Samuel, Oluwatamilore Adenipekun
Department of Materials, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology,
Chicago, IL, USA
1.0 INTRODUCTION
A composite material is one made from two or
more different materials with significant
differences in properties. Materials are often
combined to take advantage of the desirable
properties of each constituent to form an overall
superior material for a specific purpose.
Common examples of composites include
concrete as seen in Figure 1, plywood and wood.
Wood is a natural composite made from cellulose
fibers held together by lignin. [1], [2]
Figure 1: Concrete is a mixture of stones/aggregate and
cement. Figure from[3]
Figure 2: Carbon fiber in polymer resin is a popular
composite[4]
Today, Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP) are used
extensively for high strength to weight ratio
applications such as in wind turbine blades,
airframes, bridges etc.
The terms ‘Matrix’ and ‘Reinforcements’ are
typically used to refer to the constituents of a
composite. With the matrix typically being the
dominant quantity and the material whose
property we want to improve.
The Reinforcement is typically the material,
superior in the properties we seek to improve [1].
Hence, an MMC contains a metal as its matrix
and some other material as the reinforcement.
An essential characteristic of MMC is that the
matrix and its reinforcement remain distinct
throughout the process history [5].
The reinforcement material in an MMC is usually
Ceramic, but it can be any material including
metals.
Reinforcement shapes can be fibers, whiskers or
particulates shown in Figure 3, the shape of
reinforcement is used in the classification of
MMC.
Figure 3: Examples of fiber, whisker, and particulate
composites.[6]
MMC’s can be thus classified into 4 categories
based on the arrangement of its reinforcements.
• Particulates random
• Continuous fiber
• Discontinuous fiber
• Discontinuous unidirectional fiber/
whisker
1

Figure 4: a) Particulate random b) Continuous
unidirectional whisker c) Discontinuous whisker d)
Continuous fiber [1]
Figure 5: a) Transverse cross-section of continuous
alumina fiber/magnesium alloy composite b) Typical
microstructure of a silicon carbide particle/aluminum
alloy composite [7]
Aluminum is most popularly used as the matrix
in MMC’s but there is an increasing demand to
develop other metals as the matrix [8].
Other popular metals include
• Titanium
• Magnesium
• Copper
1.1 APPLICATIONS OF MMC
In the automotive industry Aluminum Matrix
Composite (AMC) is widely used in high
performance applications with ceramic such as
Al2O3, MgO, etc. used as reinforcement in brake
calipers, engine pistons, etc.
Honda developed a simple process for
integrating chopped Saffil and graphite fibers
with the Al engine block increasing wear
resistance [9].
Figure 6: Engine block with cylinder lined with AMC[9]
A variety of thermal management components
for high-end microprocessors form the second
major market segment.
This includes power amplifier heat sinks, heat
sinks for integrated circuit packages, printed
circuit board (PCB) cores, cold plates, chip
carriers, heat spreaders and rectifier packaging.
In infrastructure applications, Al/B4C MMCs are
used for nuclear waste containment and
continuously reinforced Al/Saffil MMCs for
overhead power transmission conductors leading
to a 200–300% increase in power-carrying
capacity thus enabling a significant improvement
on the power grid infrastructure
Figure 7: Steel-reinforced ACSR and composite-core ACCC
conductors [10]
2
1.2 Traditional manufacturing of MMC
Traditional MMC manufacturing methods
include
• Powder metallurgy
Powder metallurgy processes are used to
produce both discontinuously reinforced and
continuously reinforced MMCs. In the latter
case, as applied to MMCs, P/M Titanium alloys
are combined with continuous SiC fibers to
produce TMCs that are currently used in the
aerospace industry. In the former, the powder
metal matrix is combined with an appropriate
amount of the desired reinforcement and, in
many cases, a process control agent to improve
dispersion. High shear powder mixing is
followed by outgassing, sintering and hot
compaction. A wide range of thermomechanical
processes have been established for
P/M discontinuous reinforced aluminum, and
forging, extrusion and rolling are most widely
used for current applications. In addition to
improved strength and stiffness, an attractive
balance of fracture properties including ductility,
toughness and fatigue are available from
commercial P/M discontinuous reinforced
aluminum materials. This is achieved through
control of Volume fraction (which is typically
limited to <20%) and particulate size, along with
strict control of particulate distribution via initial
blending and subsequent thermomechanical
deformation [9].
• Stir casting
The process of stir casting generally
involves the admixture of ceramic particulate
reinforcement with a molten metal matrix. The
particulates are distributed and suspended in the
molten metal via high energy mixing or another
appropriate process. Melt sizes as large as 6.8
metric tons are commercially available,
supporting an annual production capacity of
30,000 metric tons. The specific details of these
processes are generally proprietary information.
Product is also sold commercially as remelt
stock, where near net shape components are
produced using standard or modified metal
casting procedures. Chemical reactivity and
reinforcement size and density are important
considerations. Products with Volume
fraction ranging from 10% to 40% can be
provided by this process. This process is widely
used for applications that require high production
volumes and low cost [11].
• Infiltration
Infiltration processing begins with a
ceramic preform of the desired shape. Many
approaches are available for producing these
preforms, and the details are generally not
available in the open literature. A ceramic
Volume fraction ranging from 40% to 70% is
typically required to provide sufficient
mechanical stability to withstand infiltration
forces while maintaining sufficient permeability.
Infiltration can be accomplished by the
application of a pressure or by pressure less
techniques. Liquid metal infiltration was first
widely used in the automotive industry but is now
also a preferred process in the thermal
management industry as a result of the ability to
produce high quality near net shape or net shape
components. Due to the high-volume fraction of
ceramic reinforcements, liquid metal infiltration
is not appropriate for components that require
thermomechanical deformation or for fracture
sensitive applications. As with stir casting, liquid
metal infiltration is most widely used for MMCs
with Aluminum alloy matrices.
2.0 ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING OF
MMC
Additive manufacturing (AM) provides
opportunities for rapid prototyping, reduced cost
and increased accuracy of MMC’s [12].
Additive manufacturing of MMCs also allows
for the creation of functionally graded materials
(FGM). An FGM is a two-component composite
characterized by a compositional gradient from
3
one component to the other. In contrast,
traditional composites are homogeneous
mixtures, and they therefore involve a
compromise between the desirable properties of
the component materials.
In materials science Functionally Graded
Materials may be characterized by the variation
in composition and structure gradually over
volume, resulting in corresponding changes in
the properties of the material. The materials can
be designed for specific functions and
applications. For example, wear-resistant linings
for handling large heavy abrasive ore particles,
rocket heat shields, heat exchanger tubes,
thermoelectric generators, heat-engine
components, plasma facings for fusion reactors,
and electrically insulating metal/ceramic joints.
Some AM processes that have been used in the
manufacture of composites include
• Direct Energy Deposition (DED)
• Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS)
• Selective Laser Sintering/Melting
(SLS/SLM)
• Three-Dimensional Binder Jetting
Printing(3DBJP)
• Laminated Object Manufacturing (LOM)
Additive manufacturing of MMC can be
categorized under Powder Based AM processes.
Powder Based AM processes are most used in the
manufacturing of MMC and there are two types
of powder-based AM processes[13].
1. In-situ
2. Ex-situ
In-situ process requires that the reinforcement
material be synthesized externally and premixed
with the matrix powder or introduced into the
melt pool. The powders are sintered but not
melted fully.
In Ex-situ processes, the reinforcement material
is synthesized by chemical reactions in the melt
pool during the AM process
2.1.1 Selective Laser Sintering/Melting
(SLS/SLM)
Selective laser sintering as an additive
manufacturing technique uses a laser as the
power source to sinter powdered material, aiming
the laser automatically at points in space defined
by a 3D model, binding the material together to
create a solid structure. In the manufacturing of
MMCs, two main reasons exist for processing
composites by SLS/SLM.
• To facilitate the SLS process using liquid
phase sintering (LPS) mechanism. An
example of this is the SLS of Fe–Cu,
where Cu acts as a melted fluid during
processing and binds Fe powders to help
form a composite of Fe–Cu. In this case,
Cu is not added to enhance the
mechanical or other properties of iron
products but only to help consolidate the
iron powders without difficulty.
• To combine various materials for
achieving properties unachievable by one
material. An example here is the SLS of
PCL/HA, where hydroxyapatite (HA) is
added to polycaprolactone (PCL) for
enhancing its strength and
biocompatibility
In SLS/SLM, composites are manufactured
mainly by using three methods namely, various
powders, situ reactions and furnace
treatment[12].
Table 1 summarizes various materials used for
direct fabrication of composites in SLS. Various
customized composite powders are available for
processing such as DuraForm GF (polyamide
and glass fiber) and DuraForm AF (polyamide
and aluminum). A polyamide powder with short
carbon fiber reinforcement is also available
4
Table 1: Materials used for the direct fabrication of • Electrical and thermal conductivity
composites in SLS/SLM • Magnetic properties and hardness at
various parts of the product
No Materials Used Composites
1. Fe, graphite MMC 2.1.3 Direct Energy Deposition (DED)
Ti,
2. graphite/diamond MMC DED has the ability to deposit multiple materials
in one process loop. These multi-materials are
3. Ti, SiC MMC
FGMs and allow designing of material with
4. AlSi, SiC MMC varying compositions and microstructures
5. AlMg, SiC MMC depending on the position[11].
6. Co, WC MMC
DED allows for fabricating both ex-situ and in-
7. Cu, Ni, Ti, B4C Cu/TiB2
situ reinforced MMCs. Energy sources can be
8. TiO2, Al, C TiC/Al2O3 lasers, electrons or plasma beams.
9. SiC, PA SiC/PA
10. Cu, Ni, Ti, C Cu/TiC
Polycarbonate, 2.2 IN-SITU MANUFACTURING OF SOME
11. graphite PMC MMC
12. Fe, SiC MMC
ZrO2, Y2O3, Al, Chang et al. [14] manufactured Al4SiC4 + SiC
13. Al2O3 CMC hybrid reinforced Al matrix composites using
Selective laser melting (SLM). The
Acrylic–styrene,
reinforcement material was SiC and the matrix
14. SiO2 PMC
material was AlSi10Mg. The influence of
reinforcement particle size was investigated as
2.1.2 Binder jet printing well as the morphology of the resulting
composite.

BDJP is a Powder-based RP process in which

binder is jetted onto pre-deposited powder layers
Components are made by changing a component
of the powder mixture, given they are compatible
with the jetted polymer binder. Here, compatible
means that the powders should not be dissolved
or chemically react in presence of the polymer.
The raw powder materials used in this study
consisted of the 99.7% purity AlSi10Mg powder
with a spherical shape and a mean particle size of
30 μm, and the 99.5% purity SiC powder with a
poly-angular structure seen in Figure 8 and
different particle sizes of 50 μm, 15 μm, 5 μm.

3DBJP gives a unique opportunity to control

material composition of the product by jetting
different materials from different nozzles. Helps
create Functionally Graded Materials (FGM) for
various applications [12].

Materials can be used either in molten or slurry

form. Helps manipulate various properties such
as:

5

Figure 8: FE-SEM images showing the typical
morphologies of the starting powder materials: (a)
AlSi10Mg alloy powder; (b) coarse SiC particles (50 μm);
(c) medium SiC particles (15 μm); and (d) fine SiC particles
(5 μm).
The influence of starting SiC particle size on the
constitutional phases, microstructural features,
and mechanical properties of the SLM-processed
composite parts was studied. Smaller
reinforcement particles lead to increased
composite density since the adsorption rate of Si,
which is much higher than Al hence the molten
pool temperature is increased improves liquid
solid wettability. Thus, an increased surface area
of small particles also increases wettability.
Fine SiC particles also reduced the coefficient of
friction (COF) by 19% and the wear rate by 66%
compared to the SLM part processed with coarse
SiC particles.
Figure 9: Relative densities of SLM-processed (Al4SiC4 +
SiC)/Al composite parts plotted against particle size
As the SiC particle size decreased, the extent of
in-situ reaction between aluminum melt and SiC
particles was enhanced, leading to the elevated
formation of Al4SiC4 reinforcing phase. With
the fine SiC particles used, the residual SiC
particles with a reduced size of 3 μm were
dispersed homogeneously throughout the matrix,
thereby enhancing the microstructural
homogeneity of the part. With the enhancement
of in-situ reaction, the formation of plate-like and
particle-structured Al4SiC4 reinforcement was
significantly accelerated, favoring the formation
of (Al4SiC4 + SiC)/Al hybrid reinforced
composites after SLM. The microhardness of
218.5 HV0.1 showed at least 50% improvement
upon SLM-processed unreinforced
AlSi10Mg[14].
Gu et al. [15] further analyzed the influence of
input laser energy density and found that as the
input laser energy density increased, the extent of
the in-situ reaction between the SiC particles and
the Al matrix increased, resulting in the larger
degree of the formation of Al4SiC4
reinforcement. The densification rate of the
SLM-processed Al-based composite parts
increased as the applied laser energy density
increased. A sufficiently high density (96%
theoretical density (TD)) was achieved for the
laser linear energy density larger than 1000 J/m.
Improved coefficient of friction (COF) and
reduced wear rate was also recorded.
Figure 10: Microstructure of Al4SiC4
6
 Interfacial microstructure was also investigated,
and cracks were found in a number of cases due
to the difference between coefficient of thermal
expansion of matrix alloy and SiCp.

Figure 11: Microstructures of hybrid TiB reinforced TMC

fabricated by LENS processing of B4C/Ti mixed powder
system[16]

Table 2: AM processed lightweight MMCs having hybrid

ex-situ/in-situ reinforcements

Mixing AM Reinforceme Morpholog

powder proces n y
system s
SiC/ SLM Al4SiC4 Particulate
AlSi10M
g
B4C/Ti DLD TiB/TiC Needle like
/prismatic

2.3 EX-SITU MANUFACTURING OF

SOME MMC

Gosh et al. used Direct metal laser sintering

(DMLS) process to create Al–4.5Cu–3Mg
MMC. SiC particulate reinforcement was
sintered with Al matrix, some Copper and
magnesium. To investigate the influence of
reinforcement size and volume, 300, 600, 800,
1000, 1200 mesh sizes of SiC particulate as well
as 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 vol.% of 300 mesh of SiC.

Larger SiC particles resulted in higher density

composite as well as reduced porosity, this
While a higher microhardness was achieved with Figure 12: SEM micrographs of laser sintered specimens
smaller particles, microhardness also increased after polishing and etching with Keller’s reagent.
with volume. (a)Specimen with 300 mesh (c)specimen with 800 mesh,
The microstructure was studied using scanning (f) interface of SiC particulate [17].
electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray elemental
mapping.

7
Table 3: AM processed lightweight MMCs having hybrid
ex-situ/in-situ reinforcements.
Mixing Applied Reinforcement
powder AM
system process
SiC/AlSi10Mg SLM Unmelted SiC
TiN/Ti6Al4V LENS Unmelted TiN
3.0 CHALLENGES FACING ADDITIVE
MANUFACTURING OF MMCS
As has been found for most additive
manufacturing manufactured components, there
exist some challenges that arise with making
metal matrix composites using these rapid
prototyping techniques. Some of these
challenges are given below
• Unwanted chemical reactions between
the elements existing in the system may
deteriorate the mechanical properties and
material characteristics of the developed
composites.
• Extensive cracking between tracks or
layers due to the high thermal gradients
induced during processing.
• Micro-segregation of reinforcements to
the bottom of each melt pool, especially
in the case of ex-situ reinforced MMCs.
• Micro-cracking at the
reinforcement/matrix interface[17]
• The residual stresses induced in inter-
track/inter-layer regions and
consequently the whole part might affect
the mechanical properties of fabricated
components.
• The thermal history experienced by a
single layer during the deposition of
subsequent layers may cause
microstructural changes in it
4.0 CONCLUSION
Composites have been manufactured using AM
techniques mainly for mechanical applications.
Its utility in other interdisciplinary applications
such as optical, electronic and thermal have not
yet been extensively investigated. There is the
need to develop other AM techniques and
improve on existing ones to cater for other
applications
4.0 REFERENCE
[1] F. L. Matthews and R. D. Rawlings,
Composite Materials: Engineering and
Science. Woodhead Publishing, 1999.
[2] “Composite material,” Wikipedia. Feb. 12,
2020, Accessed: Feb. 29, 2020. [Online].
Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=
Composite_material&oldid=940427944.
[3] “Deterioration of Iowa Highway Concrete
Pavements: A Petrographic Study.”
https://ciks.cbt.nist.gov/~garbocz/nistir6399
/node20.htm (accessed Feb. 29, 2020).
[4] Y. Liu, B. Zwingmann, and M. Schlaich,
“Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer for
Cable Structures—A Review,” Polymers,
vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 2078–2099, Oct. 2015,
doi: 10.3390/polym7101501.
[5] A. Evans, C. S. Marchi, and A. Mortensen,
Metal Matrix Composites in Industry: An
Introduction and a Survey. Springer US,
2003.
[6] “Introducing the Composite Materials
Module,” COMSOL Multiphysics.
https://www.comsol.com/blogs/introducing-
the-composite-materials-module/ (accessed
Mar. 01, 2020).
[7] K. K. Chawla, “Metal Matrix Composites,”
in Composite Materials: Science and
Engineering, K. K. Chawla, Ed. Cham:
Springer International Publishing, 2019, pp.
199–249.
8
[8] “Metal-Matrix Composites,” Machine
Design, Nov. 15, 2002.
https://www.machinedesign.com/materials/a
rticle/21812641/metalmatrix-composites
(accessed Mar. 02, 2020).
[9] D. B. Miracle, “Metal matrix composites –
From science to technological significance,”
Composites Science and Technology, vol.
65, no. 15, pp. 2526–2540, Dec. 2005, doi:
10.1016/j.compscitech.2005.05.027.
[10] “ACCC conductor,” Wikipedia. Mar. 17,
2020, Accessed: Apr. 29, 2020. [Online].
Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=
ACCC_conductor&oldid=946042817.
[11] E. Fereiduni and M. Yakout, “Laser-
Based Additive Manufacturing of
Lightweight Metal Matrix Composites,” in
Additive Manufacturing of Emerging
Materials, 2019, pp. 55–109.
[12] S. Kumar and J.-P. Kruth, “Composites
by rapid prototyping technology,” Materials
& Design, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 850–856, Feb.
2010, doi: 10.1016/j.matdes.2009.07.045.
[13] A. Mostafaei, A. Heidarzadeh, and D.
Brabazon, “Additive Manufacturing of
Metal Matrix Composites,” in Reference
Module in Materials Science and Materials
Engineering, 2021.
[14] F. Chang, D. Gu, D. Dai, and P. Yuan,
“Selective laser melting of in-situ Al4SiC4
+ SiC hybrid reinforced Al matrix
composites: Influence of starting SiC
particle size,” Surface and Coatings
Technology, vol. 272, pp. 15–24, Jun. 2015,
doi: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2015.04.029.
[15] D. Gu, F. Chang, and D. Dai, “Selective
Laser Melting Additive Manufacturing of
Novel Aluminum Based Composites With
Multiple Reinforcing Phases,” Journal of
Manufacturing Science and Engineering,
vol. 137, no. 2, p. 021010, Apr. 2015, doi:
10.1115/1.4028925.
[16] “Influence of in situ ceramic
reinforcement towards tailoring titanium
matrix composites using laser-based
additive manufacturing | Elsevier Enhanced
Reader.”
https://reader.elsevier.com/reader/sd/pii/S22
14860419317324?token=B124798D26C4F
BF1ECBDB2379CD24A74EE9660E1097A
46090BB60BE613C471B1F74A2A32684F
9EE6E0FAE4E5E73BA512 (accessed Apr.
19, 2020).
[17] S. K. Ghosh, P. Saha, and S. Kishore,
“Influence of size and volume fraction of
SiC particulates on properties of ex situ
reinforced Al–4.5Cu–3Mg metal matrix
composite prepared by direct metal laser
sintering process,” Materials Science and
Engineering: A, vol. 527, no. 18, pp. 4694–
4701, Jul. 2010, doi:
10.1016/j.msea.2010.03.108.