Study on damping capacity and dynamic Young's modulus of aluminium matrix composite reinforced with SiC particles

The development of high damping materials for noise reduction and attenuation of vibration on structural applications, such as automotive and aerospace industries, has been investigated. This experimental study is concerned with the damping capacity (tan delta) and dynamic Young's modulus (|E*|) of Silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced aluminium (Al) matrix composite. AlSi-SiCp composite was produced by hot pressing technique. Damping capacity and dynamic Young's modulus of composite and unreinforced AlSi alloy were studied using a dynamic mechanical analyser (DMA), over a temperature range of room temperature-400 °C (during heating and cooling phases), at 1 and 20 Hz. AlSi-SiCp composite showed higher damping capacity and dynamic Young's modulus than the AlSi unreinforced alloy. Furthermore, damping capacity was found to increase with temperature, while modulus decreases. The possible damping mechanisms are presented and discussed.