Application of powder metallurgy and hot rolling processes for manufacturing aluminum/alumina composite strips

In this study, aluminum matrix composites (AMC) with 2, 4, 6 and 10 wt% alumina were produced using powder metallurgy (PM), mechanical milling (MM) and vacuum hot pressing (VHP) techniques; then, this was followed by the hot-rolling process. During hot rolling, AMCs with 6 and 10 wt% Al2O3 were fractured whereas strip composites with 2 and 4 wt% Al2O3 were produced successfully. Microstructure and mechanical properties of the samples were investigated by optical and scanning electron microscopes and tensile and hardness tests, respectively. Microscopic evaluations of the hot-rolled composites showed a uniform distribution of alumina particles in the aluminum matrix. It was found that with increasing alumina content in the matrix, tensile strength (TS) and hardness increased and the percentage of elongation also decreased. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate aluminum/alumina interfaces and fracture surfaces of the hot rolled specimens after tensile test. SEM observations demonstrated that the failure mode in the hot-rolled Al-2 wt% Al2O3 composite strips is a typical ductile fracture, while the failure mode was shear ductile fracture with more flat surfaces in Al-4 wt% Al2O3 strips.