Mechanical properties of diamond/Al composites with Ti-coated diamond particles produced by gas-assisted pressure infiltration

Diamond particles reinforced Al matrix (diamond/Al) composites were produced by a gas-assisted pressure infiltration method. Ti coating on diamond particles was carried out to bring interfacial TiC layer between diamond reinforcements and Al matrix. The TiC layer was found to play a critical role in enhancing mechanical properties of the composites, owing to strong connection between dissimilar phases. Three analytical models of Mori-Tanaka, generalized self-consistent, and Torquato identical hard spheres were used to correlate the monotonic uniaxial stress-strain curves of the diamond/Al composites. The results suggest that Ti coating on diamond particles is a feasible way to strengthening diamond/Al composites.