Effect of Y content on interfacial microstructures and mechanical properties of Cf/Mg composite

In this study, the rare earth element Y was added to Cf/Mg composite to improve the interfacial bonding strength. 60 vol% Cf/Mg composites containing different Y content were fabricated by pressure infiltration method. An interfacial layer with nano-scale formed between Cf and Mg-Y alloys. The interfacial products were identified to be MgO, Mg2Y and Mg24Y5 by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). Moreover, the interfacial products enhanced the interface bonding strength, which could be confirmed by the increase of interlaminar shear strength (ILSS). In particular, the Cf/Mg composite with 5.7 wt% Y addition increases the ILSS by about 120.9% from 46.2 MPa to 102.3 MPa.