ABSTRACT
Aluminum composites with excellent mechanical and physical properties have been produced at low cost by reinforcing the aluminum matrix with spherical ceramic particles derived from fly ash. These aluminum metal matrix composites (MMCs) produced by Cyco Systems Corp., Melbourne, Australia are a combination of aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) casting alloys and spherical ceramic reinforcing particles. The ceramic particles are derived
CONTENTS
Squeeze Casting .................................................................................................. 369 Fabrication ....................................................................................................... 370 Semisolid Casting ........................................................................................... 371 Slurry on Demand .......................................................................................... 372
Advantages of Semisolid Processing (SSP) ............................................ 372 Cost Advantages ........................................................................................ 373
Salient Results ................................................................................................. 374 Applications ................................................................................................... 374 Other Squeeze Casting MMCs ..................................................................... 374 Robocasting ..................................................................................................... 375 Free-form Fabrication .................................................................................... 375 Robotics ............................................................................................................ 376 Optimization of Processing ........................................................................... 377 Slurry Characteristics ..................................................................................... 377 Casting Al2O3 .................................................................................................. 378 Future for Process ........................................................................................... 379 Thixomolding..................................................................................................380 Types of Alloys ............................................................................................... 381
New Developments ................................................................................... 381 Applications ............................................................................................... 382
References .............................................................................................................383 Bibliography ........................................................................................................383
