Application of different powdered forms of carbon for reinforcement of aluminum matrix composite materials by carbon and titanium carbide. А review

Abstract

The paper considers the use of both traditional powdered carbon materials (graphite, soot, charcoal, shungite) and new carbon nanomaterials (nanodiamonds, fullerene, nanotubes, graphene) as a dispersed reinforcing phase in aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), and as reagents for the synthesis of titanium carbide (TiC) reinforcing particles in AMCs. It is observed that the key area of AMC development for significant improvement of their mechanical properties is the transition from micron-sized reinforcing particles to nanoparticles, and that the use of new carbon nanomaterials can play a decisive role in this. The technologies for producing such AMCs must provide the appropriate parameters of nanoparticles, their uniform distribution in the matrix and a strong adhesive interfacial bond with the matrix. However, it is highly difficult to meet these process requirements since carbon and titanium carbide nanoparticles are not wetted with aluminum at temperatures below 1000 °C and are prone to nanoparticle agglomeration due to interparticle adhesive forces that increase dramatically with the decreasing particle size. The paper provides an overview of advancements and unresolved issues in the use of powdered carbon forms in various solid-phase and liquid-phase methods of AMC production using various techniques to address these process challenges. It is shown that there is still a potential for using traditional carbon materials as well. Considerable attention is paid to the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) of titanium carbide reinforcing particles with various carbon materials used to obtain aluminum matrix composites.