Fabrication of in situ aluminum–alumina composite with glass powder

The in situ methods have been developed in production of aluminum matrix composites. A commonly adopted in situ method involves reaction between a metal oxide and aluminum to produce alumina particles or whisker reinforcements. By completing the alumina formation reaction, the reduced metal usually further reacts with Al to form intermetallic phases, which also act as reinforcements in the matrix of the composite. In this work, CuO and amorphous SiO2 (glass powder) were introduced into pure Al melt to produce Al–Al2O3 in situ composites. Aluminum matrix composites were formed by dissolution of Cu and Si alloying elements and alumina particles. The size and shape of alumina particles were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties of obtained composites were evaluated with tensile tests. The size of alumina obtained from mixture of SiO2 and CuO was bigger than the alumina particles obtained from CuO.