Prediction of Si contents to suppress the interfacial reaction in the SiC_p/2014 Al composite

Equilibrium Si contents required to prevent the interfacial reaction in the SiC_p/2014 Al composite were predicted using both theoretical calculations and experimental method. According to the results, equilibrium Si contents increased with increasing temperature; When the composite is exposed at temperatures below the solidus of the matrix, less than 1 at.% of Si was found to be sufficient in order to prevent the interfacial reaction. However, Si contents required to prevent the interfacial reaction were observed to increase substantially at temperatures near 600°C such that more than 5 at.% of Si was required to prohibit the interfacial reaction even at 620°C. Application of such results for designing the matrix alloy and selecting process parameters for the semi-solid forming were demonstrated.