| Abstract Scope |
Aluminum/SiC metal-matrix-composites have been successfully integrated in different industries due to their high specific strength, excellent thermal conductivity and strong wear resistance. However, traditional manufacturing, such as casting or powder metallurgy, limits the possible geometrical shapes and functionality of the products, which would be significantly improved using AM. In the present work, commercially available AlSi10Mg and SiC powders were mixed in a tumble mixer, varying between 5, 15 and 25 vol.% SiC and processed using LPBF. The resulting samples were analysed by various properties, such as porosity, microstructure, resulting phases or mechanical characteristics. The results show a strong correlation between the SiC content and the obtained properties. Additionally, the effect of the used energy density on the SiC particles in the samples was investigated. It is shown that SiC can get dissolved due to high absorption of laser energy which results in the formation of the phase Al4SiC4. |