Compared to the micro-sized particle-reinforced metal matrix composites, the nano-sized particle-reinforced metal matrix composites possess superior strength, ductility, and wear resistance, and they also exhibit good elevated temperature properties. Therefore, the nano-sized particle-reinforced metal matrix composites are the new potential material which could be applied in many industry fields. At present, the nano-sized particle-reinforced metal matrix composites could be manufactured by many methods. Different kinds of metals, predominantly A1, Mg, and Cu, have been employed for the production of composites reinforced by nano-sized ceramic particles such as carbides, nitrides, and oxides. The main drawbacks of these synthesis methods are the agglomeration of the nano-sized particles and the poor interface between the particles and the metal matrix. This work is aimed at reviewing the ex situ and in situ manufacturing techniques. Moreover, the distinction between the two methods is discussed in some detail. It was agreed that the in situ manufacturing technique is a promising method to fabricate the nano-sized particle-reinforced metal matrix composites.
The （TiC-TiB2）/Cu composites with 50 vol% TiC-TiB2 ceramic particles were successfully fabricated by the combustion synthesis and hot press consolidation in a Cu-Ti-B4C-Cr system. The effects of the Cr content on the microstructures, hardness, compression properties, and abrasive wear behaviors of the composites were investigated. The final products consist of only Cu, TiC, and TiB2 phases, and the ceramic particles are distributed uniformly in these composites. The size of the ceramic particles decreases with Cr addition. As the Cr content increases, the yield strength, ultimate compression strength, microhardness, and abrasive wear resistance of the composites increase, and the fracture strain decreases.
In situ TiC-TiB2 diphase ceramic reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites were successfully fabricated via thermal explosion(TE) reaction in the Al-Ti-B4C system. Using DTA and XRD analyses,the combustion reaction characteristic was examined. The results show that Al serves not only as a diluent but also as a reaction participant,affecting the reaction process and its final products. Combining with the DTA and the TE temperature-time curves,the ignition temperature is estimated to be about 970 K. With increasing Al content,the adiabatic combustion temperature is lowered and the sizes of the TiC and TiB2 particulates decrease. When the Al content in the reactants is more than 50%,Al3Ti intermediate phase is detected in the synthesized products. SEM observations reveal that the nearly spherical TiC particles and hexagonal or rectangular TiB2 particles distribute relatively uniformly in the Al matrix.
Influence of Fe addition on products of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) reaction in 3Ti-Si-2C system was investigated in the present study. Without Fe addition, Ti5Si3 and TiC are the dominant phases along with a small amount of Ti3SiC2 phase and unreacted C left in the final products. As Fe content ranges from 10% to 30%, the products consist of TiC, Ti5Si3, Fe2Ti and unreacted C, but no trace of Ti3SiC2 phase is detected. Furthermore, the amounts of both Fe2Ti and C phases increase with Fe content increasing. Addition of Fe has a great effect on the reaction route and significantly restrains the formation of Ti3SiC2 during the combustion synthesis process, and therefore, the SHS is not an effective fabrication technique to synthesize the ternary Ti3SiC2 ceramic in either 3Ti-Si-2C or Fe-3Ti-Si-2C system. Besides, without Fe addition, Ti5Si3 presents as the coarse irregular appearance with an obviously sintered morphology. In contrast, the shape of Ti5Si3 exhibits more and more spherical (cobblestone-like) and the surface becomes increasingly smooth, because the amount of liquids formed during the SHS reaction increases with the increase of Fe content. On the other hand, with Fe content increasing from 0 to 30 wt.%, the particulate size of TiC decreases from more than 5 μm to 1 μm or less, mainly due to the fact that the combustion temperature decreases with the increase of Fe content in the preforms.
