Accepted Manuscript

Effects of SiC particle size on mechanical properties of SiC particle reinforced

aluminum metal matrix composite

Tengke Ye, Yuxin Xu, Jie Ren

PII: S0921-5093(19)30328-4
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2019.03.037
Reference: MSA 37654

To appear in: Materials Science & Engineering A

Received Date: 6 November 2018

Revised Date: 6 March 2019
Accepted Date: 7 March 2019

Please cite this article as: T. Ye, Y. Xu, J. Ren, Effects of SiC particle size on mechanical properties of
SiC particle reinforced aluminum metal matrix composite, Materials Science & Engineering A (2019),
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2019.03.037.

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Effects of SiC Particle Size on Mechanical Properties of SiC Particle

Reinforced Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite

Tengke Yea, Yuxin Xua, , Jie Rena
a
State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology,
Beijing 100081, PR China

Abstract

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In this paper, effects of SiC particle size on the mechanical properties and the failure
mechanisms of Al/SiC composites under compression with strain rates ranging from 0.001 to 5200

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s-1 were investigated. Al/SiC composites consisting of 65wt.% SiC particles with the average size
of 10µm and 50µm were studied respectively. The quasi-static (strain rate of 0.001s-1) and
dynamic compression tests (strain rates of 2200s-1-5200s-1) were performed separately for both

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materials with different SiC particle size. And optical microscope(OM) was used to observe the
failure characteristics of the reclaimed specimens. The results show that as the increasing strain
rate, results in the improvement of yield strength of both composites. Moreover, the composites

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with the SiC particle size of 10µm have a larger yield strength than that 50µm one. The
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microstructure analyses reveal that separation of SiC particles from aluminum matrix and
fragmentation of SiC particles are the main failure mechanisms of Al/SiC composites subjected to
compressive loading. The adhesive force between the SiC particles and aluminum matrix has a
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significant effect on the compressive resistance of the composites. The Al/SiC composites with the
small SiC particles size are superior to the larger one under compressive loading due to the more
compact interface and larger tension for the movement of dislocations. The perforation test was
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carried out for the material with the SiC particle average size of 10µm, and its anti-penetration
performance is about 1.50 times higher than 10CrNiMo steel.
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Keywords:
Impact dynamics, Failure mechanism, Silicon carbide, Aluminum matrix composites,
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Anti-penetration performance

1.Introduction
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Metal matrix composites (MMCs) combining the advantages of various materials [1-4] have
been extensively studied because of the excellent properties, for example, having high strength
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and light weight at the same time. And they have obtained a wide range of application in the
domain of machinery, aerospace, transportation and armor. The silicon carbide (SiC) reinforced
Aluminum matrix composite (Al/SiC) is one of this family as a perfect classes manufactured until
now.
Al/SiC composite effectively combines beneficial properties of both materials. The load of
particulate reinforced metal matrix composite is shared by matrix and reinforcement [5]. The
interface between matrix and reinforcement completes transfer of the load. The interface
combination of Al and SiC determines the mechanical properties of Al/SiC composites. However,

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: xuyuxin@bit.edu.cn (Y. Xu).
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Al/SiC composite materials made by existing processes always fail to meet the acquirements of
researchers in some way, such as problems about the agglomeration of SiC particles [6] and
interfacial reaction [7, 8], settling of the particles [9] and so on. Among the manufacture methods
of particle reinforced aluminum matrix composites, there are mainly four mature methods: melt
stirring, pressurized infiltration, squeeze casting and vacuum infiltration [10,11]. Some improved
methods are proposed to produce materials with better properties. Some of composites are further
processed, but most of them are optimized from the beginning of manufacture. For example, Jiang
et al. [12] innovatively produced semisolid slurry of nanometer SiC/7075Al composite by

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semisolid stirring assisted with ultrasonic. And the yield strength of this composite could increase
to 381MPa after heat treatment. Sahin et al. [13] proposed producing aluminum alloy composites
containing ceramic particles with different volume fractions by vacuum infiltration method. With

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the increase of particle content, the composite’s hardness and density increased linearly, but
porosity level exhibited a decrease. Boostani et al. [14] revealed that adding graphene sheets could
make SiC nano-particles disperse uniformly and consolidate in aluminum matrix, strengthening

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the composite according to thermal activation dislocation. It is necessary to study from the
microscopic strengthening mechanism of materials to optimize and improve the materials, such as
the effect of the size of the reinforcement and the interface between reinforcement and matrix.

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In general, the properties of composite are strongly related to the size and distribution of
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reinforcement. Wang et al. [15] found the Al/SiC composite reinforced by smaller particles
(4.7µm) exhibits higher yield strength and ultimate tensile strength than those with larger particles
(77µm), when SiC particles is 20 vol.%. For tensile failure, smaller particles tend to “pull out”
while larger particles are more easily to fracture. Rahimian et al. [16] investigated the effect of
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alumina particles size (average particle sizes with 48, 12 and 3µm) and its amount(0–20 wt.%) on
mechanical properties of Al/Al2O3 composite and found that the composite with smaller size of
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alumina particles performs higher compressive and yield strength. Slipenyuk et al. [17] studied the
effect of the reinforcement particles size (3 and 14µm) and its volume fraction (0–20 vol.%) on
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mechanical properties and microstructures for Al–6Cu–0.4Mn/SiCp composites and proposed a

model to predict the best structure having suitable content of the reinforcement. It also showed
that higher tensile strength and yield stress can be gained by reducing the particle size of the
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reinforcement. Rahman et al. [18] investigated the effect of the SiC content (0-20 wt.%) on the
microstructure, wear characteristics and mechanical properties of Al/SiC material. The results
showed that the composite with maximum weight (20 wt.%) SiC exhibited better mechanical
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properties. El-Kady et al. [19] studied the effect of SiC particle size (70 nm-40 µm) and its
amount(5-10 wt.%) on the mechanical and physical properties of Al/SiC composite. The results
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showed the smallest particle size and max content of SiC presents greatest compressive strength.
In summary, the Al/SiC composites with high content or small SiC particles size show better
mechanical properties under quasi-static loading, including tensile and compression tests. And
theoretically speaking, with the increase of SiC content, the strength of composites is improved
while the ductility is just the opposite, because SiC is a brittle material. However, excessive SiC
content inevitably brings about technical difficulties, leading to deterioration of material properties.
Researchers take comprehensive consideration to get what they expect.
Aluminum matrix composites have been widely used in the field of armor protection.
Because the results of perforation test are the most direct manifestation of the anti-penetration
performance of ballistic materials, researchers have conducted a large number of ballistic tests on
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MMCs. For example, Karamis et al. [20] used 9mm and AP 7.62 mm projectiles to penetrate the
5083Al/SiC composite and studied the dynamic failure behavior. The results showed that interface
separation and particle fracture are the causes of material failure and the type of projectile has a
strong influence on the damage formation. Karakoç et al. [21] conducted the perforation test of
6061Al/B4C composite by 7.62 mm projectile and studied the effects of ceramic content (5
wt%-20 wt%) on the ballistic properties of this composite. The specific absorption energy was
calculated, which is increased as the weight percent of the B4C increased. McWilliams et al. [22]
studied the anti-penetration performance of the Al2O3 ceramic fiber reinforced Aluminum alloy

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matrix composites by the perforation test of the FSP (fragment simulating projectile). The ballistic
limit velocity was calculated. It showed that as the volume fraction (7-30%) of fiber increased, the
impact resistance of composites reduced.

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The existing researches always focus on the mechanical properties of Al/SiC composites
under low loading rate such as static and quasi-static loading. There is less research on what roles
the SiC particle and Al matrix play and the degree of interface bonding under the severe

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compression failure at high strain rate. Given the widely application of this materials, the
mechanical behavior under extreme conditions is also very important. Therefore, the major aim of
this study is to investigate the effect of strain rate and particle size on the mechanical properties of

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Al/SiC composites and the failure mechanism under compression, especially under dynamic
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compression. The Al/SiC composites were made by reinforcing SiC into a conventional 2024 Al
whose composition was Al-4.4Cu-1.5Mg with small amounts of Si, Fe, and Mn (wt%). The test
samples were characterized through Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy(EDS) and X-ray
Diffraction(XRD) to study the physical properties. And OM was used to study the microstructure
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and interface structure of the Al/SiC composites. The rate effects and the specific damage
mechanism of different composites were studied to support the application in the field of
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impact-resistant armor protection. Finally, the perforation test was carried out for the material with
better compression resistance. At present, the researches and ballistic test data of traditional
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homogeneous armor-steel are quite sufficient, it is very convenient and intuitive to make it as a
comparison object of anti-penetration performance. So the anti-penetration performance was
compared with traditional protective material (steel) further.
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2. Experimental
The materials were produced by the AECC Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials. The
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SiC reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites were fabricated via pressure infiltration process,
in which the molten aluminum alloy powder was impregnated into the SiC cold pressed skeleton.
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2.1. Analysis of materials

As shown in Fig.1, with the nominal content of 35 wt.% aluminum and 65 wt.% SiC [23],
two kinds of composites used in this investigation differ in the size of SiC particles.
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6000
1 : 10 (µm)
• 2 : 50 (µm)
5000
• Al
SiC
4000

Intensity/a.u.
•
3000
• •
2000

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•
1000 2

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0

20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
2θ(Degree)

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Fig.1. XRD results of two Al/SiC composites
Microstructures of two composites were observed by OM. The images of microstructure and
EDS are shown in Fig. 2. On the whole, the dispersion of SiC particles in the aluminum matrix is

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uniform with no obvious agglomeration. The interface between the matrix and reinforced particles
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is clear and does not disconnect. The size of SiC particles was counted from 5 micrographs of
each composite. One varied in the size range of 1µm to 40µm with an average value of 10µm, as
Fig.2 (a) and (c) showed. And the other varied in the range of 10µm to 80µm with an average
value of 50µm, as Fig.2 (b) and (d) showed. In this study, No.1 material and No.2 material
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represent the composites with average SiC particles size of 10µm(No.1) and 50µm(No.2)
respectively for convenience of description.
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(a) (b)
(a)
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Al Si Al SiC

(c) (d)
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×; (b) No.2 material (50 µm), 200×
Fig.2. Optical micrographs of: (a) No.1 material (10 µm), 200× ×; (c) No.1
× and (d) No.2 material (50 µm), 50×
material (10 µm), 50× ×.

2.2. Compressive testing procedures

The quasi-static compression tests were performed by the 100kN Istron electronic test
machine. The loading rate was set as 0.6mm/min and the corresponding strain rate was 0.001s-1. A
Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB) setup was used for the high strain rate compression tests
with the strain rate range of 2200 s-1 to 5200 s-1. The striker, incident bar and transmitted bar used

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in the experiment are all maraging steel with a diameter of 14.5mm, as shown in Fig.3. The
cylindrical specimens with the size of Φ5mm×10mm and Φ5mm×5mm were utilized for
quasi-static and dynamic tests respectively. For each datum, tests were performed three times. The

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deformation/failure mechanisms of materials were observed by OM (cutting along the longitudinal
section of specimens and observing the incision surface) and the schematic of surface for
microscopic observation is shown as Fig.4.

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Striker Incident bar Specimen Transmitted bar Energy absorber

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Strain gauges 1 Strain gauges 2

Fig.3. Schematic of SHPB apparatus

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Cutting line
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observation
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surface
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Fig.4. Schematic of surface for microscopic observation

2.3. Ballistic tests

To characterize the anti-penetration of this composite, the ballistic experiment was carried out
by Φ14.5mm ballistic gun with smooth bore. Fig.5 displays the experimental set-up. The
cylindrical projectile (Φ11.2 mm× 40 mm, m=30g) was loaded for the penetration on three kinds
of thickness No.1 material plates (500 mm× 500 mm). By changing the amount of gunpowder, the
projectile can obtain different velocity. The velocity is automatically collected by electronic
equipment.
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Time measure instrument

Stop Target
Start circuit circuit

Ballistic gun
Projectile

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Fig.5. Schematic of the ballistic experiment set up

3. Results and discussion

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3.1. Compressive testing
Fig.6 shows the macroscopic morphology of two materials under each strain rate after

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loading. Generally, specimens of both materials exhibit shear fracture along 45° direction to
loading direction under quasi-static compression. With increasing strain rate, the circular cross
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section of compressed specimens increases gradually and the thickness decreases gradually. The
specimen has a radial crack at the impacted surface. 45° inclined crack appeared on the cylindrical
surface of specimens, and more and more obvious as strain rate increased. Although cracks
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appeared in both materials, there were no fragments fell from specimens with smaller SiC
particles size, while the opposite is true for the specimens with larger SiC particles size. It
indicates that No.1 material exhibits better compressive resistance and plasticity than No.2
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material in the range of testing strain rate.

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-1 -1 -1 -1 -1
-1 (b) 0 2200s 2800s 3600s 4500s 5200s
(a) 0 0.001s
45°
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-1 -1 -1 -1 -1
(c) 0 0.001s
-1
(d) 0 2500s 2900s 3400s 3900s 4400s
45°

Fig.6. The specimens after: (a) quasi-static compression for No.1 material, (b) dynamic compression for No.1
material, (c) quasi-static compression for No.2 material and (d) dynamic compression for No.2 material.
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700 700

600
(a) 600 (b)

500 500

True stress / MPa

True stress /MPa

-1
2200s
400 2800s
-1 400
-1
3600s
0.001s
-1 0.001s-1
300 300
-1 -1
4500s 5200s 3900s-1 4400s-1
2500s-1
3400s-1
200 200 -1
2900s

100 100

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0 0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
True strain True strain

Fig.7. True stress-true strain curves at various strain rates: (a) material with 10µm SiC particle size and (b)

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material with 50µm SiC particle size

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Table 1
Summary of quasi-static compression and SHPB test results

strain rate yield strength Strain energy

No. Material -1
Maximum strain

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/(s ) /MPa density/ MPa
1 0.001 440 0.10 40.54
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2 2200 462 0.17 81.02
3 No.1 2800 547 0.26 129.34
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4 material 3600 585 0.35 174.55

5 4500 608 0.48 202.99
6 5200 643 0.57 252.39
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7 0.001 400 0.11 47.35

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8 2500 509 0.20 108.38

9 No.2 2900 524 0.23 120.89
10 material 3400 535 0.31 150.03
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11 3900 545 0.36 167.12

12 4400 551 0.45 199.26
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700
680
(a) 10 (µ
µm) (b)
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660 250 10 (µ
µm)
50 (µ
µm)
Plastic strain energy density/ MPa

640 50 (µ
µm)
Fitting curve of 10 (µm) Fitting curve of 10 (µm)
620
Fitting curve of 50 (µm) 200 Fitting curve of 50 (µm)
600
Yield strength/MPa

580
560
540 150
520
500
480 100
460
440
420
50
400
380
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
-1 -1
Strain rate/s Strain rate/s

Fig.8. The variation as a function of SiC particle size and strain rate :(a) the yield strength and (b) the strain energy
density.
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Fig.7 shows the true stress-true strain curves of two composite materials under different
strain rates. Fig.8 shows the effect of strain rate on the yield strength and strain energy density (vε)
of materials which can be expressed as:
ε max

vε = ∫ σ dε
0
(1)

where the σ and εmax represent the true stress and maximum strain respectively.
The test results i.e. yield strength, maximum strain and strain energy density can be obtained

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and listed in table 1. The yield strength of both materials at high strain rates is significantly
improved compared with quasi-static compression. At strain rate of 4500s-1, the strength of No. 1
material and No. 2 material increased by 38.18% and 37.75% compared to that under quasi-static

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loading respectively. For dynamic compression, the yield strength of two composites exhibits
increasing with strain rate as well, which indicates that the strain rate has an obvious positive
effects on the yield strength. For example, when strain rate increases from 2800s-1 to 4500s-1, the

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yield strength of No.1 material rises from 547 to 608MPa. Although both of the materials exhibit
positive correlation between the yield strength and strain rate, as shown in Fig.8(a), the rate effect
has obvious difference. It can be seen that the yield strength of No.1 material increases with strain

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rate almost linearly. Comparatively, quadratic correlation was observed between the yield strength
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and strain rate for No. 2 material. And it was obviously that the yield strength of No.1 material
was greater than that of No. 2 material at all strain rates. It was 10% at strain rate of 0.001s-1 and
more at higher strain rates. Because strain energy density is only related to the stress state of the
specimen, the Fig.8(b) shows that the stress state of the two composites is similar under each
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strain rate.
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3.2. Microstructure evolution and failure mechanism of two materials

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3.2.1 Quasi-static compression

As shown in Fig 9 (a) and 9 (a), there was a shear crack appeared along the 45° direction; As
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shown in Fig.9 (b) and (c), a great number of fractured fine SiC particles were distributed in the
central region of the crack. In addition, strong plastic flow and deformation of aluminum matrix
occurred near the crack. The SiC particles with larger average size kept intact or few damaged,
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even if they close to the crack zone, as shown in Fig.10 (b) and (c).
On the one hand, the existence of SiC particles prompts the occurrence of partial deflection
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and rotation of cracks during evolution. On the other hand, the flow deformation of aluminum
matrix is restrained for the impediment of SiC particles. Therefore, the deformation resistance will
be improved by composing the SiC particles to Al matrix. Fig 9 (d) and 10 (d) show that SiC
particles were separated from Al matrix at the interface and accompanied by intergranular fracture
of SiC particles.
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(a)

(b) (c) (d)

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×, (b) No.1 material, 100×
Fig.9. Shear cracks of No.1material under quasi-static compression(a) No.1 material, 50× ×,

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× and (d) No.1 material, 500×
(c) No.1 material, 200× ×.

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(a)
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(b) (c) (d)

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×, (b) No.2 material,

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Fig.10. Shear cracks of No.2material under quasi-static compression：(a) No.2 material, 50×

×, (c) No.2 material, 200×

100× × and (d) No.2 material, 500×
×.
No.1 material has a larger yield strength at quasi-static compression. It can be explained
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through dispersion strengthening mechanism [24]. Dislocation movement in the matrix is

restrained by SiC particles. According to Eq. (2), the distance between individual reinforcement
particles will decrease with the decrease of particle size.
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4(1 − c )r
d= (2)
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3c
In Eq. (2), d is the distance between individual SiC particles, c is the content of SiC, and r is
the radius of particles, substituting them by average size. According to Eq. (3), the tension
required for the dislocation motion between reinforcement particles can be increased by
decreasing the d value, thereby increasing the strength of the Al/SiC composite.

Gb
τ0 = (3)
d
Where the shear modulus of elasticity G and the Berger’s vector b were same to both
composites, the required tension τ0 for forcing dislocation movement was uniquely determined by
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the value of d.
3.2.2 Dynamic compression
The failure models of materials under different strain rates was observed by OM as shown in
Fig. 11.

(a)

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impacted

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surface

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(b)

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(c)
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(d)
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(e)
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(f) (g)

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Fig.11. Typical failure morphology after dynamic compression: (a) No.1 material, 2800s-1; (b) No.1 material,
4500s-1; (c) No.1 material, 5200s-1; (d) No.2 material, 2900s-1; (e) No.2 material, 3900s-1; (f) part of No.1 material,
4500s-1 and (g) part of No.2 material, 3900s-1.

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Front Front

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Flow zone
pore
(a) (b) flow area
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Fig.12. Schematic diagram of failure morphology after dynamic compression: (a) No.1 material and (b) No.2
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material.
On the whole, due to the sudden melting and solidification of Al matrix caused by adiabatic
heating among the dynamic compression process [25], the compression deformation of these
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specimens was obvious along the direction of impact loading. But two kinds of materials had
different performance in the concrete form of deformation, as shown in Fig.12. For No.1 material,
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due to the maximum shear stress in the 45° direction of the specimen, the matrix underwent severe
plastic flow and shear fracture occurred in the 45° direction. And the plastic flow area was curved,
because the compression forces loading time was only 80µs. For another material with 50µm SiC
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particle size, however, the signs of plastic flow only existed in the vicinity of the shear fracture
zone and the crack was radial. From the slip mechanism in Al matrix, it can be seen that the
deformation bands can play a positive role in the absorption of impact energy [26,27].
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(a) (b)
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Individual
SiC

Squeezed SiC
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(c) (d)

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Fig.13. The comparison of typical morphology before and after dynamic compression: (a) No.1 material, low
magnification, (b) No.2 material, low magnification, (c) No.1 material, high magnification and (d) No.2 material,

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high magnification.
Impact

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Fig.14. Schematic diagram of ideal failure process for SiC ceramics
SiC ceramic particle has higher hardness and brittleness than Al matrix. Under impact
loading, fracture of SiC ceramics are mainly two categories, as shown in Fig.13 and Fig.14, one is
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the crashed by adjacent SiC ceramic blocks, and another is results from the shock load transmitted
by the matrix. The adhesiveness of SiC particles and the matrix vary with different particle sizes.
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Fig.15 shows the cross-sectional morphology of two materials after dynamic compression. It can
be seen that the SiC particles of No.1 material with average SiC particle size of 10µm hardly fell
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compared with the original even in the plastic flow band at strain rate of 4500s-1. The Al matrix
was still tightly bonded, and there was no obvious interface separation. However, for No.2
material with average SiC particle size of 50µm, it can be seen from the longitudinal section that
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SiC particles on the surface of the matrix has dropped seriously, and the separation from the Al
matrix interface was obvious. The microstructural damage of the No.2 material is consistent with
that of Zhang et al. [28]. They concluded that the interface separation of SiC/Al has a significant
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impact on the dynamic compression behavior of materials. And the interface separation of SiC/Al
is believed to weaken the material's ability to absorb impact energy [29]. The flaws of No.1
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material are significantly less than those of No.2 material. It indicated that interfacial debonding is
rare, which is beneficial to the absorption of impact energy. The test data also has proved it. Due
to the interface separation, the SiC particles did not play a role of reinforcement well in the
dynamic compression process. At the same time, the reasonable ratio of No.1 material avoids the
material performance weakness caused by the agglomeration of SiC particles because of the
excessive mass fraction [30] or too small size of particles [31].
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(a) (b)

less
Flaws more

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Fig.15. Microstructure evolution and failure mechanism of two materials by dynamic compression: (a) No.1
material, 4500s-1 and (b) No.2 material, 2900s-1.

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3.3 Ballistic gun tests
From the compression experiments above, it can be seen that No.1 material with smaller SiC

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particles size exhibits better anti-compression performance. For characterizing the anti-penetration
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performance of this composite, the ballistic gun tests were conducted and compared with the
traditional armor steel. Table 2 lists the results of test. The ballistic limit velocity is generally used
for comparing the anti-penetration performance of different materials at the same thickness. But
for different materials with different thickness, it is more inclined to use specific energy
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absorption to characterize. The Frankford Arsenal method [32] is shown in Eq. (4), ballistic limit
velocity, vb could be obtained.
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 X1 − X 2
vb = va + (v1 − va ) ， X1 > X 2
X1 + X 2
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 X1 − X 2
(4)
vb = va + (v2 − va ) ， X1 < X 2
 X1 + X 2
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In this equation, va is the average of all test velocities; X1 and X2 are the number of
penetration and non-penetration tests, respectively; v1 is the highest of penetration velocities; v2 is
the lowest of non-penetration velocities.
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Then, specific energy absorption, E could be obtained through

mv b2
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E= (5)
2 ρL
In Eq. (5), m is the mass of projectile; ρ and L are the plate’s density and thickness,
respectively.
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Table 2
Summary of ballistic gun test results (the actual density of the No.1 material: 2.864g/cm3)
Material and Surface Impact Penetrated Ballistic limit Specific energy
thickness /mm density/(kg/m2） velocity/(m/s) or not velocity/(m/s) absorption/(J·m2/kg)
522.89 perforated
40 114.56 855.42 perforated - -
1138.46 perforated

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NO.1
606.63 perforated
material
957.52 perforated
43 123.15 1070.87 139.67

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1075.37 penetrated
1185.48 perforated

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(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

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Fig.16. Typical damage instances of No.1 material after penetration testing: (a) the impact side of perforated plate;
(b) the rear side of perforated plate; (c) the impact side of penetrated plate; (d) the rear side of penetrated plate; (e)
orthographic view of the impact side and (f) side view of the impact side.
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According to the studies above, the material has a certain degree of toughness and plasticity.
As shown in Fig 16 (a), (b)and (f), there is obvious flanging at the entrance of the projectile and a
bulge on the back. When the speed of projectile increases to penetrate target plate, the bulge of the
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plate breaks up, and showing a plum blossom shape, as shown in Fig 16 (d).
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160
139.67
140
Specific energy absorption/(J⋅m /kg)
2

120
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100 92.873
86.971
80 78.125

60
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40
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20

0
Q235A 22SiMnTi 10CrNiMo No.1 material
Material

Fig.17. Comparison of anti-penetration performance with steels

As shown in Fig.17, the specific energy absorption of No.1material is about 1.50 times higher
than 10CrNiMo steel and more than 22SiMnTi or Q235A [33] with the same area density. In
conclusion, No.1 material with smaller SiC particle size has a better compression performance
than the larger one and has a satisfied anti-penetration performance under high velocity impact
compared with steel.
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4. Conclusions
In this paper, the effect of SiC particle size on mechanical properties and compressive failure
mechanism of Al/SiC composites with constant mass fraction of each component were studied,
especially at high strain rates. Three main parts are discussed in this study. Firstly, the material
composition test and mechanical properties test have been performed. The micro-morphology and
distribution of the composites used were observed (including EDS, XRD, OM for the analysis of
components and interface distribution). Then the quasi-static compression tests with strain rate of

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0.001s-1 and dynamic compression tests with higher strain rates (2200 s-1-5200 s-1) were carried
out to analyze the variation of yield strength with strain rate. Secondly, the micro-interface and the
existence of SiC particles after compression were observed by optical microscopy. The failure

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mechanism has been further discussed and the variation of yield strength at macro level has been
explained. Finally, the anti-penetration performance of No.1 material with better anti-compression
performance and traditional armor steel was quantitatively compared by specific energy

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absorption. So the main conclusions are as follows.
The yield strength exhibits a positive correlation with strain rate for both of the SiC reinforced
aluminum matrix composites. For No. 1 material with smaller average size of SiC particles, the

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yield strength showed a linear positive correlation trend, while No. 2 material tends to be a
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quadratic positive correlation.
For the composite with smaller average size of SiC particles, SiC particles play a real role of
reinforcement subjected to loading and fractured, while SiC particles are easier to separate from
aluminum matrix for the other one with larger SiC particles. This is the main reason for the
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different trends in yield strength of two composites. Overall, No. 1 material with smaller
average size of SiC particles performs better anti-compression.
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The specific energy absorption of Al/SiC composite with the SiC particle average size of 10µm
is about 1.50 times higher than steel, which has a satisfied anti-penetration performance under
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high velocity impact compared with armor steel.

Acknowledgement
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This work was supported by the Base Construction Project of Industry-University-Research

Joint Education under Grant No. LHPYJD1813 funded by Beijing Institute of Technology. AECC
Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials and China State Key Laboratory of Explosion Science
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and Technology are acknowledged.

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