Damping Studies of Ceramic Reinforced Aluminum
Abstract
Ceramic reinforced aluminum alloys exhibit a unique combination of mechanical properties not found in monolithic aluminum alloys. The addition of high modulus ceramic particles to conventional aluminum alloys results in increased strength, elastic modulus and wear resistance. Because of these desirable engineering properties the damping capacity and storage modulus was measured as a function of ceramic volume fraction, temperature and frequency. Two Al-Si-Mg matrix composites were studied which included the wrought alloy 6061-T6 with 0 to 0.2 volume fraction of Al2O3 particles and the casting alloy A356-T6 with 0 to 0.2 volume fraction of SiC particles. They were manufactured by a process which is simpler and less costly then previously developed techniques for manufacturing metal matrix composites. The damping capacity and storage modulus were measured at 0.1, and 10 Hz while the temperature was varied from -10 to 250 C. It was found that the cast matrix has a higher damping capacity than the wrought matrix above 100 C, possible due to the presence of silicon in the matrix which lowers the grain boundary transition peak. The storage modulus and damping capacity increased with increasing reinforcement content. These results are consistent with other work done on ceramic reinforced aluminum alloys.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA235965
Entities
People
- Catherine R. Wong
- Stephen Holcomb