Dispersion of ultrafine SiC particles in molten Al-12Si alloy

The bulk Al-12 Si eutectic composites were fabricated through a conventional liquid metal casting route, especially with the help of ultrafine ceramic powders made by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) process. The SHS powders were fabricated by the chemical reaction between micro-sized SiC and Al particles at very high combustion temperatures, producing the coarse Al particles (several tens of microns) containing ultrafine SiC ceramic particles. Microstructural observation revealed that the addition of ultrafine SiC particles has a crumbling tendency of Si eutectic phase. It is suggested that the casting method combined with SHS process is promising for fabricating the Al-based MMC with ultrafine ceramic particles.