Special features of formation of the interfaces in electric discharge sintering of metallic composites

Abstract

At the p re sen t t ime, extens ive invest igat ions a r e being ca r r i ed out to develop and examine composi te m a t e r i a l s for s t ruc tu ra l and t r ibotechnical purposes . Special at tention is g iven in this case to m e t a l m a t r i x compos i tes (MMCs}, where the m a t r i x is filled with functional additions. In addition to the requi red high s t rength p rope r t i e s , the r equ i r emen t s imposed on the MMCs include high e lec t r i ca l and heat conductivity, high wear r e s i s t ance , and a low f r ic t ion coefficient . The MMCs a r e mul t icomponent s y s t e m s with a developed in te r fac ia l su r f ace (IS) and, consequently, the i r p r o p e r t i e s a r e de te rmined to a l a rge deg ree by the type of bonding at the IS between the m a t r i x and the f i l ler . Analys is of the previous invest igat ions [ 1-3] shows that the p rope r t i e s of the MMCs can be eff icient ly control led by regulat ing the composi t ion and s t r u c t u r e of the IS. The previous inves t igat ions into the IS of the MMCs were ca r r i ed out on compos i tes produced by longt e r m s in ter ing in an iner t o r nonoxidizing a t m o s p h e r e [ 1, 2].