In situ composites are a class of composite materials in which the reinforcement is formed within the matrix by reaction during the processing. In situ method of composite synthesis has been widely followed by researchers because of several advantages over conventional stir casting such as fine particle size, clean interface, and good wettability of the reinforcement with the matrix and homogeneous distribution of the reinforcement compared to other processes. Besides this, in situ processing of composites by casting route is also economical and amenable for large scale production as compared to other methods such as powder metallurgy and spray forming. Commonly used reinforcements for Al and its alloys which can be produced in situ are Al2O3, AlN, TiB2, TiC, ZrB2, and Mg2Si. The aim of this paper is to review the current research and development in aluminum-based in situ composites by casting route.

Aluminum-Based Cast In Situ Composites: A Review

The series of books represents a thorough treatment of ultra-high temperature materials with melting (sublimation or decomposition) points around or over 2500 °C. In the third volume are included physical (structural, thermal, electromagnetic, optical, mechanical, nuclear) and chemical (more than 1100 binary, ternary and multi-component systems, including those used for materials design, data on solid-state diffusion, wettability, interaction with chemicals, gases and aqueous solutions) properties of titanium monocarbide TiC1–x, vanadium monocarbide VC1–x and related 2D-molecular (graphene-like) carbide MXenes, discovered and developed only in the last decade. TiC1–x and VC1–x are also widely applied in the general technological and engineering practice in a wide range of temperatures as parts of highly hard materials (alloys) and special steels. This book will be of interest to researchers, engineers, postgraduate, graduate and undergraduate students alike. For the named materials, readers/users are provided with the full qualitative and quantitative assessment, which is based on the latest updates in the field of fundamental physics, chemistry, nanotechnology, materials science, design and engineering.

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/978-94-024-2039-5.pdf

Ultra-High Temperature Materials III: Refractory Carbides II (Ti and V Carbides)

Synthesis and evaluation of mechanical and high temperature tribological properties of in-situ Al–TiC composites

Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are materials which have been widely used in the aerospace and automobile industries since the 1980s and have been classified as hard-to-machine materials. During the intervening years, only a limited amount of research has been conducted into the cutting action of MMCs. As with traditional materials, it is important to understand the wear mechanisms that contribute to tool wear which reduces tool life. The objective of this research is to evaluate the machinability characteristics for these hard-to-machine material MMCs. This review will also establish the optimum machining parameters vital to maximizing tool life whilst producing parts at the desired quantity and quality.

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Review of machining metal matrix composites

In this study, the metal matrix composite materials were produced by hot press with various production parameters. The drilling experiments were performed on computer numerical control vertical machining centre without cutting fluid. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was carried out in order to determine the effects of the production parameters on thrust force and surface roughness of metal matrix composites drilled with different feed rate. The effect of production parameters such as temperature, pressure and reinforcement ratio were investigated, and their effects were presented. The optimal level for each production parameters was determined by ‘Maximize the S/N ratio approach with a Taguchi design’. The test results revealed that the reinforcement ratio was the main factor affecting the surface roughness of the metal matrix composites for both feed rate. However, same singularity was not matter on thrust force due to close contribution rates of production parameters and high error rates of analysis. In literature, an increase on the thrust force and the surface roughness values was reported as the feed rate increased during machining. Nevertheless, in our MMCs system, the thrust force and the surface roughness values were in tendency of declination as the feed rate increased which makes this study more novel research.

Experimental study and analysis of machinability characteristics of metal matrix composites during drilling

With the wide range of applications of metal-matrix composites (MMCs), the machining of these materials has become a very important subject for research. This paper discusses the experimental investigation on chip formation and cutting force measurement during shaping operation of Al–TiC MMCs produced by the in situ technique and compared with those for Al–TiAl 3 composite and Al–Si alloys. The machinability of MMCs was characterised by the nature of chip formed, cutting force and machined surface produced. It was observed that there was improvement in the quality of the machined surface with increased amount of TiC particles in the composite. The cutting force for Al–TiAl 3 composite and Al–Si was higher than that for Al–TiC composite. The machinability studies were supplemented by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) studies. The cutting forces were measured during the shaping operation with the help of a dynamometer using HSS cutting tool, dry environment and keeping cutting velocity, feed and depth of cut constant. The chips formed were also characterised and compared from the point of view of machinability.

A study on the machinability behaviour of Al–TiC composite prepared by in situ technique

/pdf/application-of-grey-fuzzy-logic-for-the-optimization-of-cnc-2mr6427whc.pdf

Application of grey fuzzy logic for the optimization of CNC milling parameters for Al–4.5%Cu–TiC MMCs with multi-performance characteristics

Techniques to improveweld penetration in TIG welding (A review)

Studies on Effect of Cutting Parameters on Surface Roughness of Al-Cu-TiC MMCs: An Artificial Neural Network Approach

This paper discusses the experimental exploration on chip formation, surface roughness and cutting force measurement throughout the CNC milling operation of Al–4.5%Cu/TiC MMCs produced by the in situ practice and compared the results with those for Al–4.5%Cu/SiC MMCs produced by ex situ technique and with Al–4.5Cu master alloy. The cutting forces were measured during the milling operation with the aid of a dynamometer, surface roughness was measured by using a 3D profilometer, the chips formed were also characterised and compared from the viewpoint of machinability. The present study also explores the potential of artificial neural network to predict the cutting force and surface roughness generated during machining in CNC milling machine.

R.N. Rai

Papers

A study on the machinability behaviour of Al–TiC composite prepared by in situ technique

Application of grey fuzzy logic for the optimization of CNC milling parameters for Al–4.5%Cu–TiC MMCs with multi-performance characteristics

Techniques to improveweld penetration in TIG welding (A review)

Studies on Effect of Cutting Parameters on Surface Roughness of Al-Cu-TiC MMCs: An Artificial Neural Network Approach

Study on machinability of in situ Al–4.5%Cu–TiC metal matrix composite-surface finish, cutting force prediction using ANN