Paper number 707
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EFFECTS OF THE OXIDE LAYER ON PRESSURE INFILTRATION OF PACKED CERAMIC PARTICULATE BY ALUMINUM ALLOYS |
C. García-Cordovilla1, J. Narciso2, R. Arpón2, V. Ferrández2 and E. Louis3
1Industria Española del Aluminio, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo,
Apartado 25, E-03080 Alicante, Spain.
2Departamento de Química Inorgánica, Universidad de Alicante,
Apartado 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain.
3Departamento de Física Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante,
Apartado 99, E-03080 Alicante, Spain.
| Summary | Previous experimental results for the threshold pressure P0 for infiltration of packed Al2O3 particulate by Al-Sn and Al-Pb alloys indicate that both lead and tin decrease P0 in an amount roughly proportional to the decrease in the liquid vapor surface tension lv of liquid aluminum promoted by those elements. Instead, phenomenological theories and contact angle data, obtained at low oxygen partial pressure, indicate that the product lv cos remains almost constant upon lead or tin additions. As P0 is proportional to the latter product, we conclude that theories that do not consider the role of the oxide layer or data obtained under low oxidation conditions are useless to analyze pressure infiltration experiments. Experimental results for Al-Mg and Al-Sr alloys further suggest that the oxide layer plays a crucial role in the infiltration process. |
Keywords | metal matrix composites, infiltration, aluminum alloys, ceramic particulate. |