METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) usually consist of a low-density metal,

such as aluminum or magnesium, reinforced with particulate or fibers of
a ceramic material, such as silicon carbide or graphite.

Compared with unreinforced metals, MMCs offer higher specific strength

and stiffness, higher operating temperature, and greater wear
resistance, as well as the opportunity to tailor these properties for a
particular application
DISADVANTAGES
Chief among these are the higher cost of fabrication for high-
performance MMCs, and lower ductility and toughness.
MMCs tend to cluster around two extreme types. One consists of very
high performance composites reinforced with expensive continuous
fibers and requiring expensive processing methods.
The other consists of relatively low-cost and low-performance
composites reinforced with relatively inexpensive particulate or fibers.
 Current Applications and Market
Opportunities
Current markets for MMCs are primarily in military and
aerospace applications.
Experimental MMC components have been developed for use
in aircraft, satellites, jet engines, missiles, and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) space shuttle.
The first production application of a particulate-reinforced MMC
in the United States is a set of covers for a missile guidance
system.
The most important commercial application to date is the MMC
diesel engine piston made by Toyota.
This composite piston offers better wear resistance and high-
temperature strength than the cast iron piston it replaced.
 Longer Term Applications
Metal matrix composites with high specific stiffness and strength
could be used in applications in which saving weight is an
important factor.
Included in this category are robots, high-speed machinery, and
high-speed rotating shafts for ships or land vehicles.
 Good wear resistance, along with high specific strength, also
favors MMC use in automotive engine and brake parts.
Tailorable coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal
conductivity make them good candidates for lasers, precision
machinery, and electronic packaging.
Based on information now in the public domain,the following
military applications for MMCs appear attractive: high-temperature
fighter aircraft engines and structures; high-temperature missile
structures; and spacecraft structures.
OBJECTIVES FOR LIGHT METAL COMPOSITE
Reinforcements
 Dis-Continuous Reinforcement
There are two types of discontinuous reinforcement for MMCs: particulate
and whiskers.

The most common types of particulate are alumina, boron carbide, silicon
carbide, titanium carbide, and tungsten carbide.
The most common type of whisker is silicon carbide, but whiskers of alumina
and silicon nitride have also been produced

In composites, a general rule is that mechanical properties such

as strength and stiffness tend to increase as reinforcement
length increases.
Particulate can be considered to be the limit of short fibers. Particulate-
reinforced composites are isotropic, having the same mechanical properties
in all directions.
In principle, whiskers should confer superior properties because
of their higher aspect ratio (length divided by diameter).

However, whiskers are ‘brittle and tend to break up into shorter

lengths during processing. This reduces their reinforcement
efficiency, and makes the much higher cost of whisker
reinforcement hard to justify. Development of improved
processing techniques could produce whisker-reinforced- MMCs
with mechanical properties superior to those made from
particulates.

Another disadvantage of using whisker reinforcement

is that whiskers tend to become oriented by some processes,
such as rolling and extrusion, producing composites with
different properties in different directions (anisotropy).
 Continuous Reinforcement
In fiber reinforcement, by far the most common kind of continuous
reinforcement, many types of fibers are used; most of them are carbon
or ceramic..
 Mechanism of Reinforcement
The characteristics of metal matrix composite materials are determined
by their microstructure and internal interfaces, which are affected by
their production and thermal mechanical prehistory.

The microstructure covers the structure of the matrix and the reinforced
phase. The chemical composition, grain and/or sub-grain size, texture,
precipitation behavior and lattice defects are of importance to the
matrix.

The second phase is characterised by its volume percentage, its kind, size,
distribution and orientation.
With knowledge of the characteristics of the components, the volume
percentages, the distribution and orientation it might be possible to estimate
the characteristics of metallic composite materials.

The approximations usually proceed from ideal conditions, i.e. optimal

boundary surface formation, ideal distribution (very small number of contacts
of the reinforcements among themselves) and no influence of the component
on the matrix (comparable structures and precipitation behavior).

However, in reality a strong interaction arises between the components

involved, so that these models can only indicate the potential of a material. The
different micro-, macro- and meso-scaled models proceed from different
conditions and are differently developed.

In the following, simple models are described, which facilitate our

understanding of the effect of the individual components of the composite
materials and their form and distribution on the characteristics of the
composite.
 Interlayers in Metal MatrixComposites:
Characterisation and Relevance for the Material Properties

For all solids, their interfaces and interlayers (phase, grain and twin boundaries
as well as special grain boundary phases and reaction layers) are the essential
regions of microstructural processes, due to their energetic and structural
peculiarities

Therefore the material properties can be controlled by the adjustment of the

kind and contribution of these interfaces or interlayers

In the case of metal matrix composites (MMCs) the aim is to combine the high
strengths and Young’s moduli of ceramic and graphite fibers with the
properties of the metal matrix, where light metals and their alloys are mostly
utilised. Magnesium– aluminum alloys are of great interest for applications due
to the low densities of their components (each approximately 1.8 g cm–3) and
the high strengths (3–4 GPa) and Young’s moduli (several 100 GPa) of the
graphite fibers
 Interlayer Optimisation in C/Mg–Al Composites by Selection of
Reaction Partners
In metal matrix composites, in contrast to composites with ceramic matrices, the
fracture strain of the fibers is lower than that of the ductile matrix, thus the metal
matrix deforms in plastic and elastic ways after the first fiber cracks, and the failure
behavior is determined by interlayer-controlled secondary microprocesses

1. the extent of carbide formation reactions is important for the composite

Properties

2. that the binary carbide Al4C3 does not form, but a ternary compound develops

3. that it is possible to control the interlayer reactions, and thus the composite
properties, by variation of the aluminum content of the matrix and by use of carbon
fiber with different surface microstructures
 PROCESSING OF MMC
The processing methods are widely classified into primary and secondary
processes. The primary process combines matrix and reinforcements to
produce the basic composite systems and their structures.

The major primary liquid state processes are stir casting or vortex method,
infiltration, squeeze casting, compo casting, and spray deposition processes
and solid state processes are powder metallurgy and diffusion bonding.

The secondary process involves processing of primary processed composites

with the objective of improving their mechanical properties by further
consolidation (reduction or elimination of porosity), break up of dispersed
agglomerates, improved interfacial bonding, generating dispersed alignment
and /or forming into a required shape to obtain semi finished products.

The most commonly used secondary processes for MMCs are extrusion,
rolling, forging, superplastic deformation, machining and joining.
Stir-Casting/Liquid State Processes
Stir-casting is a common, economical, and fairly simple method of
producing metal matrix nanocomposites wherein the
reinforcement particles are incorporated into the molten matrix
metal (i.e., aluminum).
A stirrer (impeller) is inserted into the molten metal and applies
mechanical stirring with some rpm to get a uniform distribution
of the particles with the molten metal. This process has been
extensively used to incorporate ceramic, carbon nanotubes,
graphene, and metal oxide particles to magnesium and aluminum
matrices. The main challenges of this technique are (i) the
tendency of nanoparticles to cluster due to high surface area and
resulting high van derWaals forces between them; (ii) poor
wettability of the solid nanoparticles with the molten metal; and
(iii) high density of porosity due to possible entrapment of the air
induced by the rotating stirrer
SiC (aluminum powder with average grain size of 45 microns and SiC
nanoparticles with the average size of 20–50 nm)
 Semi-Solid Casting (SSC)
Semi-solid powder processing (SPP) expands the semi-solid forming by replacing
the bulk material with powdered material, which enables exploitation of powder
Metallurgy. SPP may be divided into four steps: powder mixing, pre-compaction at room
temperature, material heat-up and densification
 Solid process
Powder Metallurgy (PM)

Powder metallurgy (PM), considered as a solid-state manufacturing method,

is based upon three sequential steps: blending of the matrix metallic
powders and the reinforcement particles in the desired composition,
compaction to produce green compacts, and sintering using resistance or
microwave (MW) energy. Upon sintering, another finishing process is applied
to ensure consolidation of the produced composite which may involve equal
channel angular pressing (ECAP) or an extrusion
process at elevated temperatures.
High energy ball milling
 Production of Composites or Bonding of Material
by Thermal Coating Processes

In all sectors of industry today, the catch phrase “better, faster, cheaper” is common and
valid, as it seems that production demands are ever-increasing
 Surface Properties
The necessary surface requirements for a component vary
considerably depending on its service environment. The
range of surface requirements include sufficient protection
against wear, corrosion resistance, thermal insulation,
electrical insulation, and even improved aesthetic
appearance.

In practice, it is quite rare that components are only exposed

to a single service condition. Usually a combination is present;
for example, abrasive wear combined with high thermal
stress. Various types of wear and corrosion are the most
frequent conditions the surface coating must withstand.
 Coating Processes
There are quite a number of processes to apply coatings, as
well as a nearly unlimited number of coating materials.

Table lists principal coating processes, the typical coating

thicknesses attainable, common coating materials, and
sample applications. Some processes are not suitable for
certain coating materials; also, the necessary coating
thicknesses are not attainable with all methods.

Beyond that, the equipment necessary for some processes

can be quite complex and, therefore, costly. The use of cost
analysis can determine whether a coating is a practical
solution. Today’s regulations require that ecological criteria
of the respective coating processes must also be examined,
as not all methods are environmentally equal
Coating process comparison
 Thermal spraying
Is an attractive coating technique and offers wide choice of materials and
have less impact on environment compared to other conventional plating
process
these coatings takes place by means of
special devices / systems through which
melted or molten spray material is
propelled at high speed onto a cleaned
and prepared component surface
The surface to be coated is cleaned and roughened, to provide adhesion of molten
particles in the coating material when it’s sprayed onto the workpiece. The coating
material is melted using thermal, electrical or thermochemical means. Molten
materials (metals, alloys or ceramics) are sprayed onto a substrate material
(the component) where they solidify and bond to it. Materials can be solid (wire, rod
or cord) or powder, and are heated into the molten or semi-molten state by thermal,
electrical or thermochemical means. The sprayed particles impinge on the substrate
and flatten out into thin platelets.
diagram shows the
principle of thermal spray.
The coating feedstock
material is melted by a
heat source. This liquid or
molten material is then
propelled by process gases
and sprayed onto a base
material, where it solidifies
and forms a solid layer.
The applicability of a material for thermal spraying depends only on the
requirement that a molten phase or a sufficient ductility below the
decomposition temperature must exist.

Practically no restrictions exist for the selection of the structural materials due to
the thermal load of the substrate which is adjustable by the processing.

Since thermal spraying does not result in metallurgical bonding of the layers to
the base material (substrate), only a small adhesive strength results.

A subsequent remelting or hot-isostatic pressing (HIP) treatment brings

improvement and reduces the porosity.
High energy milling machine was used with 10 mm diameter ceramic balls.

The powder size was checked using TEM periodically. The plasma spray process requires that the
powder size should be within the range of 10 to 50 μm, otherwise the nozzle and the piping
system of the gun will be blocked and this result of blocked piping was obtained on the first trial.

Therefore, the nano sized powder cannot be used directly and this problem was solved by
making agglomeration of nano-sized powder to micro-sized powder, which can be attained by
using chemical binder.
Nano-sized powder was mixed with 2% methyl cellulose in H2O to make slurry

Then the slurry was dried in vacuum furnace at 80oC for 48 hr. A block is formed and then was
crushed to 20 to 50μm particle size. The coated surface was SEM observed to check for micro-
cracks. The cross section was ground and polished with diamond paste and observed using
optical microscope to check for porosity
Figure 3a shows the microstructure of the as polished cross section of the conventional
coating. There is a high degree of porosity at the cross section surface, however, low degree
of porosity was observed with nano-crystalline coating as shown in Fig. 3b. The very low
degree of porosity in the nano-crystalline coating may be attributed to the existence of
semi-molten feedstock particle in the nano-crystalline coating that are spread throughout
the coating microstructure and are surrounded by fully molten particles that act as a binder
as shown in Fig. 4. This reduces the degree of porosity and prevents crack initiation
 Spraying Additive Materials
The spraying additive can be supplied to the spraying process in the form of
powders, wires or rods.

For rod spraying, ceramic sinter rods are used. While spraying wires usually
have a diameter from 1.6 to 3.2 mm, rods can have a diameter up to 8 mm.

Usually powders used for spraying have particle diameters between 5 and 150
μm. The applicable size of powders depends on the fluidity and the thermal
physical characteristics.

The fluidity of the powder depends on the particle form (spherical or sharp-
edged) as well as the affinity to agglomerate in consequence of the increasing
specific surface with decreasing particle size.

The majority of metallic spraying powder alloys are based on iron, nickel and
cobalt. Fe, Ni, Co alloys are of great importance for hot gas corrosion
protection in combustion turbines. Furthermore, molybdenum especially is
often processed as well as light metal alloys based on aluminum and titanium.
Oxide ceramics account for approximately a quarter of the total spraying
powder consumption. ZrO2-based ceramics are predominantly used for
thermal insulation, while Cr2O3 and Al2O3 (TiO2) ceramics are predominantly
used for wear protection.

Al2O3 is also used for electrical isolation.

A further quarter of the powder used, can be found in Cermets, composites

with a metal matrix, which prevents brittle failure, and a ceramic reinforcement
component, which improves the wear resistance. The most important Cermet
materials are hard materials based on WC–Co(Cr) as well as Cr3C2–Ni20Cr.
 Substrate Materials
In principle, any material is suitable as a substrate if it can be
sufficiently roughened by blasting. The most important metallic
substrate materials are: unalloyed to highly alloyed steel, gray cast
iron, super alloys based on Ni and Co, copper alloys and light
alloys based on aluminum and titanium.

Ceramics and plastics can be coated just like composites with a

metal, ceramic or polymer matrix.

For the coating of long fiber reinforced composites an

optimization of the jet process is necessary to avoid, as far as
possible, damaging the outside lying fibers. From the
constructional side it is relevant to note that all surfaces should be
well accessible.
 Surface Preparation
The substrate preparation usually consists of a three step procedure:
precleaning, blasting and subsequent cleaning.

Precleaning primarily removes oil and fat as well as colour remains on the
surface if necessary, and takes place either mechanically or chemically.

Blasting effectively activates, decontaminates and roughens the surface to be

coated, in order to create suitable conditions for the adhesion mechanisms
described in the following:
roughing of the substrate surface leads to an increase in the defect
concentration, the dislocation density and the frequency of the stacking faults.

Plastic deformation in the zones near the surface leads to an increased free
surface energy. In addition, the surface area is increased and offers to the
impinged spraying particles the possibility of mechanical interlocking.

For mechanical roughing different blast grains are used, e.g. chill casting gravel,
SiC or corundum.
The blast grain hardness, grain size as well as the kinetic energy of the
particles and the jet angle affect the surface roughness. An optimal adhesive
strength is obtained when adjusting a jet angle of 75° to the substrate surface.

A subsequent cleaning, e.g. by ultrasonic-assisted cleaning in alcohol, removes

residues remaining on the surface after blasting. It also eliminates dirt and
dust particles as well as fats, which cause deactivation of the surface.

Pickling, which removes reaction layers from the surface, occasionally finds
application as a chemical pretreatment. It is possible to adapt the composition
of the pickles, the pickling temperature and time to the material in order to
obtain the desired roughness.
 Structure and Properties of Spray Coatings
Thermally sprayed layers differ from layers which are coated by other processes in
their structure, bonding mechanism and subsequent treatment possibility.
Depending on the processed materials and the applied spraying processes the layers
are more or less porous.
 Each powder particle and/or each spraying particle, which is entering the gas stream,
describes its own path to the work-piece surface according to its mass, density, form and
speed.
Due to the high number of particle trajectories a range of variations is found for the
interaction between gas stream and particle, and between particles and substrate
Extreme heating and cooling rates, reactions during or after the flight phase,
mechanical influences at the solidification and temperature gradients through the
layers develop a microstructure.

Thermal sprayed coatings often exhibit a laminated layer structure and,

depending on applied spraying process parameters and spraying additives, a more
or less porous, micro-cracked, heterogeneous and anisotropic microstructure.

Particles, which are incompletely melted or already solidified before impacting the
substrate surface, are embedded in the layer as well as oxides or nitrides.

The spraying particles reach the substrate surface with a certain speed and
temperature, which can lie either above or below the melting point.

At a given, smooth substrate surface and a certain particle temperature and

viscosity the amount of the kinetic energy decides the overall distribution
behavior and thus the resulting form of the particles.

The viscosity of the spraying particles decreases with increasing temperature and
causes a reduction in the work required to form the new surface, depending on
the particular particle shape.
The morphology of spraying particles after solidifying affects the adhesive
strength of the layer on the substrate.

Metallic spraying particles usually form lamellas.

Two different morphologies can occur, the so-called “pancake type” and the so-
called “flower type”.

In particular in materials with a high material plasticity the often observed

pancake type solidified particles show, besides the round form, also deviating
morphology types. The flower type is characteristically found at high impact
speeds at small particle viscosity. An increase in the kinetic energy leads to
intensified flow and to a remerging and/or corona formation, which exhibits
various appearances. Solidified oxide-ceramic spraying particles often show
cracks in the vertical and horizontal direction.

The horizontal running cracks are critical and limit the strength of the sprayed coating.
Incompletely melted and/or already solidified spraying particles rebound from a polished
surface; when a rough surface is present such particles can be pressed into the
roughness of the substrate.
A change in the composition and structure of the sprayed layer can occur by
reaction of the spraying additive material during the flying phase of the
particle.

The main reactions and processes are:

selective vaporization of a component, reaction of metal compounds (for

example decomposition of hard materials in the presence of O2) formation of
non-volatile metal bonding like oxides, nitrides and hybrids in the presence of
O2, N2, H2 (especially in reactive metals).

Of special importance is the oxidation of the surface of metallic spraying

particles on their way to the substrate. The oxides formed are usually built into
the interface of the spraying lamellas of the sprayed coating. Thereby, the
possibility exists of increasing the layer hardness and thus the wear resistance
of the layer.

Oxides can also serve as partly fixed lubricants and thus decrease friction
losses.
Bonding Mechanisms
At the coating/substrate interface and
between the particles
1 Mechanical keying
Interlocking / anchoring
2 Diffusion bonding
Metallurgical bonding
3 other adhesive
Chemical and physical
bonding mechanisms -oxide films, Van
de Waals forces, etc.
The adhesion mechanism is based on forces, which allow the adhesion of a
strong interface and a second phase.

It is necessary to differentiate between physical adsorption which works due to

electrostatic forces at a sufficiently activated (roughened) surface and particle
approach to the atomic spacing, and chemical adsorption with homopolar
binding forces which depend on the affinity of the metal to the adsorbed material
and the activation energy of the chemical environment.

Physical absorption is based on the relatively weak van der Waals bonding. In
contrast to this, chemical absorption is characterized by large binding forces.
However, this effect is reduced by existing surface impurities.

Mechanical interlocking as an adhesion mechanism is realized by the surface

roughness of the substrate surface. The molten particles penetrate in uneven
areas and undercuts due to their high thermal and kinetic energy as well as to
capillary forces, then solidify and cause mechanical interlocking.
The adhesion of the spraying particle on the base material can also take place
due to mutual metallurgical influence by diffusion or chemical reaction as well as
the formation of new phases. Diffusion causes a strong increase in bond energy
and is an important adhesion mechanism.
 MACHINING ASPECTS OF MMC
Materials of a low specific weight have gained importance within the last years.

In this context the substitution of iron-based materials by light metals, like aluminum,
magnesium and titanium is of interest.

Aluminum alloys have a particular place within the structural materials due to their
convenient application and manufacturing properties.

A way out is the application of Al metal matrix composites (Al-MMC), where these properties
are improved by embedding hard particles and/or fibers.

Thus an adjusted property profile can be produced by the combination of a light metal matrix
and reinforcement phases, aimed to the construction unit strain
 Mechanical Behavior and Fatigue Properties
of Metal-matrix Composites
In the last quarter of the last century more and more metal-matrix composites (MMC) were
developed for technical applications.

The better mechanical properties, compared to nonreinforced matrix materials, led to an

impulse in materials research and to a considerable increase in techniques to manufacture
composites.

The decrease in manufacturing costs mostly helped in the application of some types of
composites in industrial applications, mainly discontinuously reinforced MMCs.

Nevertheless, MMCs are niche market materials, which, however, can replace other
construction or functional materials due to their special properties

Technical applications are mostly combined with cyclically varying mechanical

stresses. These result in fatigue damage which is responsible for numerous failure
cases.
Possible Applications of Metal Matrix Composites

Light alloy composite materials have, in automotive engineering, a high application

potential in the engine area (oscillating construction units: valve train, piston
rod, piston and piston pin; covers: cylinder head, crankshaft main bearing; engine
block: part-strengthened cylinder blocks)

An example of the successful use of aluminum composite materials within this range is
the partially shortfiber reinforced aluminum alloy piston in Fig. in which the recess
range is strengthened by Al2O3 short fibers.

Comparable construction unit characteristics are attainable only with the application of
powder metallurgical aluminum alloys or when using heavy iron pistons. The reason for
the application of composite materials is, as already described, the improved high
temperature properties.

Potential applications are in the area of undercarriages, e.g. transverse control arms
and particle-strengthened brake disks, which can be also applied in the area of
railmounted vehicles, e.g. for undergrounds and railway
These materials can be tailored to be
lightweight and with various other properties
including:
• High specific strength and specific
stiffness
• High hardness and wear resistance
• Low coefficients of friction and thermal
expansion
• High thermal conductivity
• High energy absorption and a damping
capacity