Processing and compressive response of Al/SiC functionally graded composites

Compressive behavior of Al/SiC functionally graded composites (FGCs) was experimentally investigated. The FGC specimens are composed of ceramic (SiC) and metal (Al) constituent, varying in a predetermined configuration through the plate thickness. The compressive tests of FGCs manufactured with powder stacking hot-pressing technique were performed at different temperatures ranging from 25 to 150 °C. Al/SiC functionally graded composite specimens having three different compositions: n = 0.1, n = 0.5 and n = 1, were produced and compared to each other. It was found that the compression behavior of the FGCs was highly affected by composition variation through sample thickness. The strength of the composites decreased with the testing temperature. On the other hand, yield strength and ultimate compressive strength values increased with compositional gradient. The ultimate compressive strength of the composites reached 300 MPa. A minimum absorbed energy during the compressive tests was 25.2 × 10−3 J/mm3 and 96.9 × 10−3 J/mm3 for the test temperatures of 25 °C and 150 °C, respectively, for the compositional gradient n = 1.