Abstract
In this study, to fabricate neutron shielding material, boron carbide (B4C)-reinforced aluminum (Al) alloy composites were successfully fabricated by stir casting followed by a hot rolling process. Microstructural analysis of B4C/Al6061 composites with different volume fractions (5, 10, 20, 25, and 30%) revealed that the composites had volume ratios similar to the target volume ratios of B4C. Furthermore, B4C reinforcements were uniformly dispersed in the Al matrix, forming multi-interfacial layers of Al4C3/(Ti,Cr)B2. The interfacial layer generated during stir casting maintained its own structure after the hot rolling process, indicating strong interfacial bonding strength. The tensile strengths of the B4C/Al6061 composites increased to 20 vol.% and stayed above the value for Al6061, even reaching 30 vol.%. The measured thermal neutron shielding rate increased with increasing B4C content, and the highest thermal neutron shielding rate was observed at 30 vol.% composite, which corresponds to 95.6% neutron shielding at 0.158-cm thickness.
Highlights
Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), due to their high specific strength, thermal stability, good wear, and weldability, have many advantages in applications in the electronics, vehicle, aerospace, military, marine, and nuclear industries [1]
B4 C aggregation in the B4 C/Al6061 composites fabricated by stir casting has two main causes
When the turbulent energy dissipation rate, which is related to the size of the impeller and the revolutions per minute (RPM), is insufficient, B4 C particles can be partially clustered in the Al6061 matrix
Summary
Aluminum matrix composites (AMCs), due to their high specific strength, thermal stability, good wear, and weldability, have many advantages in applications in the electronics, vehicle, aerospace, military, marine, and nuclear industries [1]. It is reported that ceramics with excellent neutron absorption capacity, other than B4 C, have high density and poor mechanical stability during the composite manufacturing process, as well as being expensive [17]. B4 C, the reinforcing material used in this study, has the advantage of being easy to manufacture because its density is similar to that of aluminum (Al density: 2.7 g/cm ; B4 C density: 2.52 g/cm ). B4 C, the reinforcing material used in this study, has the advantage of being easy to manufacture because its density is similar to that of aluminum (Al density: 2.7 g/cm ; B4 C density: 2.52 g/cm3 ) For this reason, B4 C-reinforced Al composites are often used in the nuclear shielding field
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