Modeling the infiltration kinetics of molten aluminum into porous titanium carbide

Abstract

Capillary-induced melt infiltration is an attractive method of fabricating metal/ceramic composites, as it offers the advantage of producing material with a high ceramic content and near-net-shape fabrication, without the use of an external force. In this work, the kinetics of infiltration of molten Al in TiC preforms, having a pore size of approximately 1 µm and porosity ranging from 20 to 40 pct, were investigated. The rate of infiltration was continuously monitored using a Thermo-Gravimetric analyzer (TGA), which measured the weight change of the preform as the metal intruded the sample. Infiltration profiles where generated over a temperature range of 860 °C to 1085 °C. At lower temperatures, an incubation period was evident in the profiles. The average activation energy for the different preforms was 90 kJ/mol, indicating that some form of mass-transfer mechanism was involved in driving the process. Furthermore, sessile drop tests showed an unstable wetting angle over a long period of time. Such wetting kinetics were responsible for the incubation period during the infiltration. The infiltration rate was also seen to be slower as the preform density increased. This was due to the tortuous nature of the channels and was characterized using curves obtained for liquids infiltrating the same preforms at room temperature. Both the tortuosity and the unstable contact angle have to be considered when modeling the infiltration kinetics of such a system. The existing model was therefore modified by incorporating terms to describe the process more accurately. A good correlation with the experimental data was seen to exist.