X-ray tomography investigation of intensive sheared Al-SiC metal matrix composites

X-ray computed tomography (XCT) was used to characterise three dimensional internal structure of Al-SiC metal matrix composites. The alloy composite was prepared by casting method with the application of intensive shearing to uniformly disperse SiC particles in the matrix. Visualisation of SiC clusters as well as porosity distribution were evaluated and compared with non-shearing samples. Results showed that the average particle size as well as agglomerate size is smaller in sheared sample compared to conventional cast samples. Further, it was observed that the volume fraction of porosity was reduced by 50% compared to conventional casting, confirming that the intensive shearing helps in deagglomeration of particle clusters and decrease in porosity of Al-SiC metal matrix composites.