Effects of SiC particle size on CTEs of SiCp/Al composites by pulsed electric current sintering

Various volume fractions of different-sized SiC particles reinforced Al matrix composites were fabricated by pulsed electric current sintering (PECS). Their properties, such as densities, microstructure and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTEs) were characterized, and the relationship between the various properties was discussed. The results show that PECS can fabricated dense composites, the SiC particles distributed into Al matrix homogenously and CTEs of composites not only connect with densities of composites and the volume of SiC particles, but also with the size of the particles. The larger sized SiC particles played a more important role in the decline of CTEs than the smaller-sized did.