Abstract
The present work epitomizes the mechanical properties and microstructural comparison of the microwave-assisted sintered (MAS, 600 ℃) and spark plasma sintered (SPS, 550 ℃) Al- (13.3 wt% SiC + 6.7 wt% B4C) composite. Results reveal that the spark plasma sintered composite exhibits a higher ultimate tensile strength of 281 MPa and compression strength of 323 MPa compared to those synthesized by MAS composite (253 MPa and 291 MPa respectively). The TEM analysis confirms the presence of clean interfaces in SPS composite but not for MAS samples. The SEM analysis for the MAS composite depicts the presence of agglomerations and the corresponding Al3BC phase was confirmed in XRD analysis. The absence of the Al3BC agglomeration in the SPS composite leads to ductile fracture while the mode of fracture changed from ductile to brittle due to the presence of particle debonding and particle cracking in the MAS composite.
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