PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CERAMIC REINFORCED AL-ALLOY METAL-MATRIX COMPOSIT AND CERAMIC REINFORCED AL-ALLOY METAL-MATRIX COMPOSIT AND FLUX FOR PRODUCING CERAMIC REINFORCED AL-ALLOY METAL-MATRIX COMPOSIT

摘要

Two methods of producing a ceramic reinforced Al-alloy metal-matrix composite are described. The first one comprises the steps of dispersing a ceramic phase (of titanium diboride) in a liquid aluminum or aluminum alloy, mixing the ceramic phase with a cryolite or other fluoride flux powder and melting the mixture together with the aluminum or aluminum alloy phase at a temperature of between 700° and 1000° C. In the second method, the fluoride flux is reduced in situ by either molten aluminum or its alloying elements (Mg, Ca) to yield TiB2 crystallites of different size and size distribution that can be predetermined by fixing the flux and alloy composition and the processing temperature.