Aluminium–silicon carbide whisker-cast composites: some observations on the distribution, bonding and properties developed

It is often said that whisker/fibre reinforcement would work if perfect unidirectional alignment could be achieved. But this is not always true for most structural materials, perfect unidirectional orientation is neither necessary nor desirable. In most cases, materials with isotropic properties are preferred and therefore reinforcement of composites in three-dimensional random orientation will be necessary. With this aim in mind an exploratory investigation was carried out to study some aspects of whisker distribution, whisker-matrix bond and the composite tensile strength with the system SiC–Al–4.5% Cu alloy. [Continues.]