Mechanical properties and reinforced mechanism of the stainless steel wire mesh–reinforced Al-matrix composite plate fabricated by twin-roll casting

Abstract

Taking the 304 stainless steel wire mesh as reinforcement, Al 1060 as matrix, a solid–liquid cast-roll bonding process based on the vertical twin-roll casting was presented to fabricate the stainless steel wire mesh–reinforced Al-matrix composite plate. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscope were used to observe the microstructure of bonding interface, and the mechanical properties were investigated through tensile test and three-point bending test. The observation results show that there is no macroscopic defect at the bonding interface. Furthermore, atom diffusion occurs between the steel wire and aluminum matrix under the high temperature and contact pressure in the cast-rolling zone during solid–liquid cast-roll bonding process. The thickness of interfacial reaction diffusion layer is about 5 µm, and no separation was observed in the interface after three-point bending. The tensile test results indicate that the tensile strength and elongation rate of composite plate are improved with the increase in orientation angle of the steel wire relative to rolling direction, and the tensile strength and elongation are maximum when the orientation angle is 45°. In addition, there are two stress platforms in the tensile curve of the as-rolled composite plate due to the asynchrony of fracture between the reinforcement and matrix, but only one in the curve of as-annealed composite.