Study on Interface Behavior of SiC/SiO2/Al and SiC/Ni/Al

High-temperature oxidation and electroless nickel plating are two common surface modification processes to improve the wettability of SiC/Al interface. The structure and properties of SiC/SiO2/Al and SiC/Ni/Al interface layers were studied for the preparation of aluminum alloy drill pipe. Two kinds of 6.5%SiC/Al–Cu–Mg–Zn composite ingot were prepared using vacuum melting/casting method, and the added SiC particles in the composites were modified by high-temperature oxidation and electroless nickel plating, respectively. Analysis of structure demonstrates that the interface structures of composites ingot are SiC/SiO2/Al structure and SiC/Ni/Al structure, respectively. For SiC/SiO2/Al interface structure, a smooth and dense SiO2 film is well bonded to SiC and Al by chemical bonding. For SiC/Ni/Al interface structure, there is a very thin Ni film between SiC and Al and the bonding strength between Ni and Al is not so strong. Results of the performance test of the composites indicate that the tensile strength and compressive strength of the composites with SiC/SiO2/Al interface structure, respectively, increase by 7.51% and 24.90%, compared with the composites ingot with SiC/Ni/Al interface structure.