In this thesis, a novel in-situ method for incorporating nanoscale ceramic particles into metal has been developed. The ceramic phase is introduced as an organic-polymer precursor that pyrolyzes in-situ to produce a ceramic phase within the metal melt. The environment used to shield the melt from burning also protects the organic precursor from oxidation. The evolution of volatiles (predominantly hydrogen) as well as the mechanical stirring causes the polymer particles to fragment into nanoscale dispersions of a ceramic phase. These “Polymer-based In-situ Process-Metal Matrix Composites” (PIP-MMCs) are likely to have great generality, because many different kinds of organic precursors are commercially available, for producing oxides, carbides, nitrides, and borides. Also, the process would permit the addition of large volume fractions of a ceramic phase, enabling nanostructural design, and production of MMCs with a wide range of mechanical properties, meant especially for high temperature applications. An important and noteworthy feature of the present process, which distinguishes it from other methods, is that all the constituents of the ceramic phase are built into the organic molecules of the precursor (e.g., polysilazanes contain silicon, carbon, and nitrogen); therefore, a reaction between the polymer and the host metal is not required to produce the dispersion of the refractory phase. The polymer precursor powder, with a mean particle size of 31.5 µm, was added equivalent to 5 and 10 weight % of the melt (pure magnesium) by a liquid metal stir-casting technique. SEM and OM microstructural observations show that in the cast structure the pyrolysis products are present in the dendrite boundary region in the form of rod/platelets having a thickness of 100 to 200 nm. After extrusion the particles are broken down into fine particles, having a size that is comparable to the thickness of the platelets, in the 100 to 200 nm range, and are distributed more uniformly. In addition, limited TEM studies revealed the formation of even finer particles of 10-50 nm. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the presence of a small quantity of an intermetallic phase (Mg2Si) in the matrix, which is unintended in this process. There was a significant improvement in mechanical properties of the PIP-MMCs compared to the pure Mg. These composites showed higher macro-and micro-hardness. The composite exhibited better compressive strength at both room temperature and at elevated temperatures. The increase in the density of PIP-composites is less than 1% of Mg. Five weight percent of the precursor produced a two-fold increase in the room-temperature yield strength and reduced the steady state creep rate at 723 K by one to two orders of magnitude. PIP-MMCs showed higher damping capacity and modulus compared to pure Mg, with the damping capacity increasing by about 1.6 times and the dynamic modulus by 11%-16%. PIP-composites showed an increase in the sliding wear resistance by more than 25% compared to pure Mg.

Cette étude a pour but de développer de nouveaux matériaux composites à matrice métallique renforcés par des nanotubes de carbone (CNT) et présentant des propriétés mécaniques améliorées. La majeure partie de ce travail a été réalisée en utilisant des CNT multi-feuillets synthétisés par déposition chimique en phase vapeur en tant que renforts et un alliage d'aluminium AA5083 comme matrice. Des composites CNT/AA5083 denses et homogènes ont été élaborés par le procédé de métallurgie des poudres suivi par une étape de mise en forme, l'extrusion. L'homogénéité de la dispersion des CNT à l'échelle microscopique dans les composites s'avère être un paramètre clé pour l'amélioration des propriétés mécaniques. Ceci a été réalisé par broyage planétaire à haute énergie impliquant des mécanismes de déformation plastique et de soudure à froid et a été démontré à l'aide d'études cartographiques par spectroscopie Raman. La limite d'élasticité, la résistance à la traction et la micro-dureté des composites homogènes ont été augmentées jusqu'à respectivement 55%, 61% et 33% en comparaison avec l'alliage sans CNT et préparé dans les mêmes conditions. Le coefficient de dilatation thermique a été quant à lui réduit de 10%. Les propriétés optimales ont été obtenues pour des concentrations en CNT de 1,5 % en masse. Le renforcement du matériau a été principalement attribué au transfert de charge à l'interface CNT/matrice. / The overall goal of this thesis is to process new metal matrix composites reinforced by CNT with enhanced mechanical properties. The main part of this work was achieved using CVD-grown multi-walled CNT as reinforcement and a high-performance light aluminium alloy, AA5083, as the matrix. Dense and homogeneous CNT/AA5083 composites were processed by the powder metallurgy route, followed by an extrusion forming process. A homogeneous dispersion of the CNT in the composites at the micron scale appears to be a key parameter for improving the mechanical properties. This could be achieved using high energy ball milling through the mechanisms of plastic deformation and cold-welding, and was demonstrated from Raman spectroscopy cartography studies. Yield strength, ultimate tensile strength and micro-hardness of the homogeneous composites were increased by up to 55%, 61% and 33%, with respect to raw alloys processed in the same conditions, and the coefficient of thermal expansion was decreased by 10%. Optimal results were obtained with a CNT con-tent of 1.5 wt.-%. The material strengthening was principally attributed to load transfer at the CNT/matrix interface.

There is a great need in the transportation industry for high strength, high stiffness and lightweight materials with excellent dimensional stability. The use of these materials reduces fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission as well as malfunctioning of components when subjected to fluctuating temperatures. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are designed to meet these needs of transportation and other industries. However, their use is limited by lack of information on their thermal behaviour. In addition, reactions that occur in MMCs alter their microstructure and properties. These reactions have been widely investigated using X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) and electron microscopy (EM). However, these techniques cannot provide information such as charge transfer and local elemental structures in materials. Synchrotron X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) could be used to identify reaction products in MMCs as well as provide information which XRD and EM cannot provide.<p> The thermal behaviour of Al-Mg alloy A535 containing fly ash particles as well as charge transfer and reactivity in particulate aluminium alloy metal matrix composites (MMCs) were investigated in this work. The materials studied were (i) Al-Cu-Mg alloy AA2618 and its composites reinforced with 10 and 15 vol.% alumina (Al2O3) particles and (ii) Al-Mg alloy A535 and its composites reinforced with a mixture of 5 wt.% fly ash and 5 wt.% silicon carbide, 10 wt.% and 15 wt.% fly ash. The investigative techniques used included Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA), Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and synchrotron X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS).<p> The results obtained showed that the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of A535 decreased with the addition of fly ash and silicon carbide. Also, the addition of these particles improved the dimensional stability of the alloy in that the residual strain, åp, cycling strain, åc, and CTE decreased. The results obtained from XAS measurements showed evidence of charge redistribution in the aluminium in AA2618 with the addition of alumina particles. The results obtained from XAS measurements showed evidence of charge redistribution in the aluminium in AA2618 with the addition of alumina particles. The addition of alumina particles into AA2618 increased the p-orbital population and also changed the surface chemistry of the matrix. It was also demonstrated that the XAS technique can be used to determine the presence of various oxides in industrial fly ash and spinel (MgAl2O4) in alumina and fly ash particles extracted from the MMCs.

There is a great need in the transportation industry for high strength, high stiffness and lightweight materials with excellent dimensional stability. The use of these materials reduces fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emission as well as malfunctioning of components when subjected to fluctuating temperatures. Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are designed to meet these needs of transportation and other industries. However, their use is limited by lack of information on their thermal behaviour. In addition, reactions that occur in MMCs alter their microstructure and properties. These reactions have been widely investigated using X-ray Diffractometry (XRD) and electron microscopy (EM). However, these techniques cannot provide information such as charge transfer and local elemental structures in materials. Synchrotron X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS) could be used to identify reaction products in MMCs as well as provide information which XRD and EM cannot provide.<p> The thermal behaviour of Al-Mg alloy A535 containing fly ash particles as well as charge transfer and reactivity in particulate aluminium alloy metal matrix composites (MMCs) were investigated in this work. The materials studied were (i) Al-Cu-Mg alloy AA2618 and its composites reinforced with 10 and 15 vol.% alumina (Al2O3) particles and (ii) Al-Mg alloy A535 and its composites reinforced with a mixture of 5 wt.% fly ash and 5 wt.% silicon carbide, 10 wt.% and 15 wt.% fly ash. The investigative techniques used included Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA), Optical Microscopy (OM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and synchrotron X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy (XAS).<p> The results obtained showed that the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of A535 decreased with the addition of fly ash and silicon carbide. Also, the addition of these particles improved the dimensional stability of the alloy in that the residual strain, åp, cycling strain, åc, and CTE decreased. The results obtained from XAS measurements showed evidence of charge redistribution in the aluminium in AA2618 with the addition of alumina particles. The results obtained from XAS measurements showed evidence of charge redistribution in the aluminium in AA2618 with the addition of alumina particles. The addition of alumina particles into AA2618 increased the p-orbital population and also changed the surface chemistry of the matrix. It was also demonstrated that the XAS technique can be used to determine the presence of various oxides in industrial fly ash and spinel (MgAl2O4) in alumina and fly ash particles extracted from the MMCs.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of different levels of Saffil alumina fiber addition, magnesium content in aluminum alloy matrix and casting temperature on the mechanical behavior, microstructure and physical properties of short fiber reinforced aluminum matrix composites. The main alloying element silicon was kept constant at 10 wt%. Magnesium contents were selected as 0.3 wt% and 1 wt%. Saffil alumina fiber preforms varied from 10 to 30 vol%. The casting temperatures were fixed at 750 &deg / C and 800 &deg / C. Micro porosity was present at the fiber-fiber interactions. Closed porosity of the composites increased when fiber vol% increased, however, variation in casting temperature and magnesium content in matrix did not have influence on porosity. Hardness of the composites was enhanced with increasing fiber vol%, magnesium content in matrix and decreasing casting temperature. Alignment of fibers within the composite had an influence on hardness / when fibers were aligned perpendicular to the surface, composites exhibited higher hardness. The highest hardness values obtained from surfaces parallel and vertical to fiber orientation were 155.6 Brinell hardness and 180.2 Brinell hardness for AlSi10Mg1 matrix 30 vol% alumina fiber reinforced composite cast at 800 &deg / C and at 750 &deg / C, respectively. 30 vol% Saffil alumina fiber reinforced AlSi10Mg0.3 matrix composite cast at 750 &deg / C showed the highest flexural strength which is 548 MPa. Critical fiber content was found as 20 vol% for all composites.

Al-Mg alloys were infiltrated into porous alumina preforms at temperatures greater than 950°C where significant amount of nitride forms in the matrix. The present work aims to obtain a process window for growing A1N rich composites over uniform thicknesses so that bulk fabrication of these composites could be carried out. Initial experiments were carried out in a thermo-gravimetric analyser (TGA) to establish suitable conditions for growing useful thicknesses. Al- 2wt% Mg alloy, alumina preforms of particle size 53-63μm and N2 - 2% H2 (5ppm O2) were used for the present study based on previous work carried out in the fabrication of MMCs at low temperatures. Experiments carried out in the TGA indicate that oxygen in the system has to be gettered for the growth of nitride rich composites. Infiltration heights of about 8mm were obtained using an external getter (Al - 5wt%Mg) alloy in addition to the base alloy used for infiltration. The above process conditions were subsequently employed in a tube furnace to fabricate bulk composites and to study the effect of temperature on the volume fraction of aluminium nitride in the matrix. The volume fraction of nitride in the composite varied between 30 and 95 vol % with increase in process temperature from 950°C to 1075°C. Microstructures of these composites indicate that A1N starts to form on the particle surface and tends to grow outwards. The metal supplied through channels adjacent to the particle surface nitride until a point is reached when the composite growing from the adjacent particles meet each other and isolate the melt underneath from nitrogen thereby leading to a metal rich region underneath. Increase in temperature results in an increased nitridation rate resulting in reduced metal pocket size. Composites fabricated at 975°C had a minor leak at the O-rings, which seal the tube. This led to infiltration under conditions of varying oxygen partial pressure leading to different nitride fractions in the composite. The above fact was confirmed by conducting an experiment with commercial purity nitrogen, which has an oxygen content of about 5000ppm. The composite had an A1N content of about 30% whereas the composite fabricated with N2 -2%H2 (5ppm oxygen) showed a nitride content of 64%. This suggests that one can vary the nitride content in the composite by varying the oxygen content in the system at a particular process temperature. The hardness of the matrix increases with increase in process temperature from 3.5 ± 0.7 GPa at 975°C to about 9.8 ± 0.9 GPa at 1075°C. Porosity was observed in the composite processed at 1075°C. This increased porosity leads to decreased hardness though the nitride content in the composite has increased by 11%. The scatter in the data is attributed to variations in the microstructure as well as due to interference from underlying metal pockets or particles as well as due to porosity introduced in the composite at high processing temperatures.

D. Tech. Mechanical Engineering. / Discusses the main objective of this study was to extend the hybrid method developed by Paskaramoorthy, et al (1988). This objective was to study the effect of elastic wave on any particulate reinforced metal matrix composite (PRMMC). The specific objectives were: to compare the effect of plane wave and shear vertical wave on a particular particulate reinforced metal matrix composite (PRMMC)-Mg/TiC, using analytical method ; to use the extended hybrid method to determine the effect of particle size and single interface layer on Mg/TiC.

The preliminary goal of this study is to determine the effects of processing conditions, compositions and microstructural morphologies of the constituents on the physical and thermo-mechanical properties of alumina (Al_2O_3) reinforced aluminum (Al) composites. Composites with 0, 5, 10, 20 and 25 vol% Al_2O_3 were manufactured using powder metallurgy method. The elastic properties (Young's and shear modulus) and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the composites were determined using Resonant Ultrasound Spectroscopy (RUS) and Thermo Mechanical Analyzer (TMA) respectively at various temperatures. Increasing compacting pressure improved relative density (or lowered porosity) of the composites. Furthermore, increasing the Al_2O_3 vol% in the composite increased the elastic moduli and reduced the CTE of the composites. Increasing the testing temperature from 25 to 450 oC, significantly reduced the elastic moduli of the composites, while the CTE of the composites changed only slightly with temperatures. Secondly, the goal of this study is to determine the effect of microstructures on the effective thermo-mechanical properties of the manufactured Al-Al_2O_3 composites using finite element (FE) method. Software OOF was used to convert the SEM micrographs of the manufactured composites to FE meshed models, which were then used to determine the effective elastic modulus and CTE. It was observed that, effective modulus dropped by 19.7% when porosity increased by 2.3%; while the effective CTE was mildly affected by the porosity. Additionally, the effect of residual stress on the effective thermo-mechanical properties was studied, and the stress free temperature of the composites was determined. Another objective of this study is to examine the stress-strain response of Al-Al_2O_3 composites due to compressive loads at various temperatures. Elastic modulus, yield stress and strain hardening parameters were determined from the stress-strain curves and their dependency on temperature, porosity and volume fraction were studied. The experimental results were compared with the numerical results. It was observed that high-localized stresses were present near the pores and at the interfaces between Al and Al_2O_3 constituents. Finally, functionally graded materials (FGMs) with varying Al_2O_3 concentration (0, 5and 10 vol%) in Al were manufactured; and their stress-strain response and CTE were determined at various temperatures.

The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanical behavior and its relation with processing and microstructure of the silicon carbide particulate (SiCp) reinforced aluminum matrix composite. Aluminum 7075 alloy is chosen as matrix alloy, in which zinc is the main alloying element. Four different additions of SiCp were used and the weight fractions were 10%, 15%, 20% and 30%. Composites were processed by with squeeze casting and the applied pressure during casting was 80 MPa. The mould is specially designed to produce both specimens ready for tensile and three point bending tests. Both as-cast and heat treated aluminum composites were examined and T6 heat treatment was applied. Three point bending tests were performed to reveal the fracture strength of aluminum composites. 10wt% SiCp aluminum composites showed the maximum flexural strength in both as-cast and heat treated composites. The mechanical test results revealed that precipitated phases in heat treated composites, behaved like fine silicon carbide particulates and they acted as barriers to dislocation motion. Maximum flexural strength increased about 40 MPa (10%) in as-cast and 180 MPa (44%) in heat treated composites. Tensile testing was also conducted to verify the results of the three point bending tests. Hardness tests were done to find the effect of silicon carbide addition and to find the peak hardness in heat treatment. For as-cast specimens hardness values increased from 133 to 188 Vickers hardness (10 kg.) with increase in SiCp content from 0 to 30wt% and for heat treatment specimens hardness values increased from 171 to 221 Vickers hardness (10 kg.). The peak hardness values were obtained at 24 hours precipitation heat treatment. SEM studies were carried out to examine the heat treated composites, to take SEM photographs and to obtain a general elemental analysis. Theoretical volume percentage addition of SiCp was checked with Clemex Image Analyzer program. Distribution of SiCp was determined by mettalographic examination. Second phases that were formed during heat treatment was searched by x-ray analysis.

Les composites à matrice titane (CMTi) sont des matériaux attractifs pour des applications aéronautiques, en raison de leurs performances mécaniques à haute température et de leur faible densité. La difficulté d’usiner ce type de matériaux rend les procédés de fabrication additive intéressants pour la fabrication de pièces complexes en trois dimensions. Cette étude porte sur l'élaboration de composites à matrice titane par le procédé de fabrication additive par fusion laser de poudre projetée. Dans un premier temps, différents types de poudres- renfort et de préparations de poudre ont été utilisés pour faciliter la mise en œuvre du procédé additif, dans le but d’obtenir des microstructures homogènes. Dans un second temps, l’étude s’est concentrée sur le mélange Ti-6Al-4V / B4C formant des renforts TiB et TiC par voie in-situ dans une matrice de Ti-6Al-4V. Les mécanismes de formation des microstructures obtenues ont pu être expliqués puis une étude des propriétés mécaniques (dureté, module d’Young et comportement sous une sollicitation en traction à chaud et à l’ambiante) a été réalisée afin d’évaluer l’effet du renforcement sur les propriétés mécaniques du matériau. Parmi les résultats importants ce cette étude, la présence de taux de carbone élevés en solution solide dans la matrice de titane a été évoqué comme étant le facteur prédominant dans l'augmentation des propriétés mécaniques avec le taux de B4C. / Titanium matrix composites are attractive materials for aeronautical applications, mainly because of their superior mechanical resistance at elevated temperature, combined with a low density. The critical machinability of such composites makes additive manufacturing processes particularly adapted for building complex 3D shapes. This study has been focused on the Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) of Metal matrix composites. In a first step, various powders and powder blends have been carried out in order to facilitate the DMD process and to obtain homogeneous microstructures. Following this, Ti-6Al-4V / B4C powder blends, allowing to obtain TiB + TiC particles distributed in the Ti matrix were more specifically considered. Metallurgical mechanisms involved in the formation of microstructures were identified prior to an investigation on mechanical properties at ambient and elevated temperature for various DMD process conditions and particle concentrations. Among the most interesting results of this study, the influence of a high carbon content solubilized in the Ti-matrix was considered as a dominant factor to explain the evolution of mechanical properties with increased amounts of reinforcements.