Preparation of Bi-materials by Powder Metallurgy Method

The bi-materials composed of and its composite reinforced with SiC particles were prepared by ball-milling and subsequent sintering process. The size of powder in Al-Mg/SiCp mixture decreased with increasing ball-milling time, it was saturated above 30 h when the ball and powder was in the ratio of 30 to 1. Both powders mixture and mixture were compacted under a pressure of 350MPa and were bonded by sintering at temperatures ranging from 873K to 1173K for 1-5h. At 873k, the sound bi-mate-rials could not be obtained. In contrast, the bi-materials with the macroscopically well-bonded interface were obtained at higher temperatures than 873K. The length of well-bonded interface became longer with increasing temperature and time, indicating the improved contact in the interface between unreinforced Al-Mg part and Al-Mg/SiCp composite part. The relative density in the bi-materials increased as the sintering temperature and time increased, and the bi-materials sintered at 1173K for 5h showed the highest density.