Mechanical Properties of Csf/AZ91D Composites Fabricated by Extrusion Forming Process Directly Following the Vacuum Infiltration

Abstract

Magnesium matrix composites are attractive for weight critical application, such as automotive and aerospace components, because of its high specific strength and stiffness. Extrusion process directly following vacuum infiltration (EVI) can eliminate the porosity and obtain the well-aligned and uniform fiber distribution during the fabrication of Csf/AZ91D composite. This process combines the advantages of gas pressure infiltration, squeeze casting, and semi-solid extrusion. The mechanical properties of the magnesium are improved greatly by introducing the carbon fibers into the magnesium matrix through the EVI process. In the present study, the carbon short fiber reinforced magnesium matrix composites Csf/AZ91D were fabricated by EVI process. The microstructure and tensile property of Csf/AZ91D composites were investigated. The results showed that the microstructure of the composite presented a uniform distribution of carbon short fibers in the matrix and good interfacial integrity. The yield strength and stiffness of the composites increased with increasing carbon short fiber content, but at the cost of ductility. Nonetheless, Csf/AZ91D can keep relatively high ductility during the improvement of strength compared with reported composites in the literatures. Increasing carbon fiber content in the composite was not always beneficial to the ultimate tensile strength at the same magnitude. When the fiber content exceeds 10%, the matrix was not strengthened as greatly as under 10% fiber content. The yield strength improvement was attributed to (i) load-bearing effects due to the presence of carbon short fiber reinforcements; (ii) grain size refinement due to the large extrusion deformation; (iii) generation of dislocations to accommodate CTE mismatch between the matrix and the particles.