Synthesis and Characterization of Aluminium Base in situ Metal Matrix Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering

Fe-aluminide and alumina reinforced in-situ aluminium based metal matrix composite was prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) of aluminium and nanosized Fe2O3 powder mixture. In-situ reinforcements were formed during SPS by exothermal reaction between aluminium and nano-size Fe2O3 particle. The thermal characteristics of the in-situ reaction were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) along with the Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques were used to study the microstructural architecture of the composites as a function of SPS temperature and the volume fraction of reinforcement. Microhardness measurement of the composite shows significant increase in hardness with increase in SPS temperature and volume fraction of secondary phase.