材料期刊网

Coating on reinforcements affects the interface bonding of a composite, and is therefore usually used for improving the composite's properties. The behaviour of SiC coating on carbon fibre in reinforced aluminium metal castings, Fe on carbon fibre-reinforced copper and alumina coating on K2O . 6TiO(2) whisker-reinforced aluminium composites were investigated, respectively, by modern techniques such as TEM, SEM etc. with the goal of controlling the interfacial interaction and wettability of reinforcement with the matrices. SiC coating produced by a polycarbosilane solution process effectively improved the strength because it successfully controlled oxidation of the carbon fibres themselves and the harmful reaction between the carbon fibres and molten aluminium during the fabrication process and heating process of the composites. The metal coating, Fe, made by electrical plating, strengthened the bonding of carbon fibres with copper by changing the bonding state of the interface from a mechanical one to a partly chemical one. Therefore the strengths of the resulting composites were improved. The alumina coating on K2O . 6TiO(2) also controlled the diffusion of the K element from the whiskers into the aluminium matrix and altered the reaction with aluminium, and led to the optimization of interfacial bonding between the whiskers and a superior composite. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Limited