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Despite their highly promising mechanical and thermal


properties, metal-matrix composites have, for a long
time, been afforded only limited use in very specific
applications. Shortcomings such as complex processing
requirements and the high cost of the final product have
presented the greatest barriers to their proliferation.
Improvements in the reinforcement fabrication and
composite processing techniques are therefore pivotal
for increasing their commercial applicability. Significant
efforts have been, and continue to be, devoted to this
end with encouraging results; reinforced metals have
begun to show their presence in large-scale commercial
applications. Notable examples include the alumina
fiber-reinforced aluminum-alloy pistons for diesel en-
gines introduced by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1982
(Donomoto et al. 1983) and, more recently, the alumina
and carbon fiber-reinforced cylinder liners of the Honda
Prelude (Ebisawa et al. 1991; Hayashi et al. 1989).
Processing of metal-matrix composites can be
broadly divided into two categories of fabrication tech-
nique: (1) solid state (including powder metallurgy and
diffusion bonding) and (2) liquid state.* A majority of
the commercially viable applications are now produced
by liquid-state processing because of inherent advan-
tages of this processing technique over solid-state tech-
niques. That is, the liquid metal is generally less expen-
sive and easier to handle than are powders, and the
composite material can be produced in a wide variety of
shapes, using methods already developed in the casting
industry for unreinforced metals. Conversely, liquid-
It should be noted that for this monograph, the latter category is
defined to include techniques that involve fully or partially molten
matrix material during the fabrication of the composite.
Liquid-State Processing
Vl?RONIQUE J. MICHAUD
state processes often suffer from a lack of reproducibil-
ity as a result of incomplete control of the processing
parameters, and of undesirable chemical reactions at the
interface between molten metal and reinforcement (see
Chapter 3). Also, they are often limited to low-melting-
point alloys, although some reinforced intermetallics
have now been produced by liquid-state processes.
Liquid-state processing technologies currently being
investigated and developed utilize a variety of methods
to physically combine the matrix and the reinforcement.
On this basis, wecan sort them into four major catego-
ries: (1) Infiltration, (2) Dispersion, (3) Spraying, and
(4) In-situ fabrication. For each category, the underlying
method and the specific processes are described herein,
together with a discussion of the governing physical
phenomena, because their identification and study is
crucial for understanding and improving the processes.
Two of these phenomena, wettability and interfacial
reactivity, are covered more extensively in Chapter 3
and so are touched upon only briefly here. Finally, some
recent innovations and strategies for optimization of the
processing of these materials are underlined and some
possible future trends are briefly discussed.
1.1 Infiltration Processes
I . 1.1 Desmption
Infiltration processes involve holding a porous body of
the reinforcing phase within a mold and infiltrating it
with molten metal that flows through interstices to fill
the pores and produce a composite. Two examples of
infiltration processes are given in Figure 1.1. Such
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