Bending properties and fracture behaviors of ZnO coated aluminum borate whiskers reinforced 2024Al composites

2024Al composites reinforced by aluminum borate whiskers with different ZnO coating contents were fabricated by squeeze casting. The effects of the coating contents and T6 heat-treatment on the bending properties of the composites were investigated. The results show that the bending properties of the composite firstly increase and later decline with increasing ZnO coating contents of the whiskers. T6 heat-treatment of the composites can further improve the bending properties of the composites. On the analysis of fractographs, the fracture mechanisms of the composites under bending were also investigated.