The effect of different sintering temperatures on microstructure and hardness in Al-7Si%10B4C composite material production

In this study, Al-7Si%10B4C metal matrix composite material was produced by adding 10 wt. % B4C in weight into the Al-%7Si powder mixture, using powder metallurgy method. The prepared powder mixtures were subjected to cold press under a pressure of 450 MPa and sintered for 60 minutes at different sintering temperatures (550°C, 570°C and 590°C) in an argon gas atmosphere. Microstructures of Al7Si%10B4C composite materials produced at different sintering temperatures were characterized by SEM+EDS, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and hardness measurements. As a result of the study, it was observed that Al3,21Si0,47 in matrix phase and AlB12, AlB10, phase and compounds between matrix and reinforcement were formed by increasing the sintering temperature. Furthermore, it was determined that there is a significant increase in hardness values due to the increase in temperature values