Abstract

The powder-in sheath rolling was applied to the fabrication of Al/Al_2O_3 composite. A stainless steel tube with outer diameter of 12 mm and wall thickness of 1 mm was used as a sheath. Mixture of aluminum powder and Al/Al_2O_3 particles of which volume content was varied from 5 to 20 vol.% was filled in the tube by tap filling and then rolled to 75% reduction at ambient temperature. The re]]ed specimen was sintered at 560°C for 0.5 hr. The Al/Al_2O_3 composite fabricated by the sheath rolling and subsequent sintering showed the relative density higher than 0.96. The tensile strength of the composite increased with the volume content of Al_2O_3 particles, and it reached a maximum of 90 MPa which is 1.5 times higher than unreinforced material. The elongation decreased with the volume content of Al_2O_3 particles. It is concluded that the powder-in sheath rolling is an effective method for fabrication of Al/Al_2O_3 composite.

• Keywords: Powder-in sheath rolling;Al/Al_2O_3 composite;Mechanical properties;