Selective Laser Melting Of Aluminium Metal Matrix Composites

Abstract

Aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs) are important engineering materials with high specific strength and excellent stiffness. AMMCs have found applications in many industries including aerospace, aircraft and automotive. In conventional processing of AMMCs e.g. casting, the homogenous dispersion of the reinforcements is challenging. As an emerging additive manufacturing (AM) technique, selective laser melting (SLM) provides a promising alternative to fabricate AMMCs with homogenous dispersion of the reinforcements. However, due to the complex physical and chemical processes within SLM, the fabrication of AMMCs can be affected by many SLM-related and reinforcement-related parameters. In this work, SLM of Al12Si with two different reinforcements (SiC and TiN) was compared. The influence of SLM parameters and type of reinforcement on the relative density, microstructure, the interface between the matrix and the reinforcement as well as the mechanical properties of the fabricated components was investigated. This study provides necessary information for successful fabrication of AMMCs with desired mechanical properties.