Thermal expansion behaviour of SiCp/Cu composites prepared by spark plasma sintering and pressureless infiltration

AbstractThe coefficient of thermal expansion and thermal strain response behaviour of SiCp/Cu composites prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and pressureless infiltration were studied. The CTEs decreased with increasing reinforcement content. For a fixed SiC content, pressurelessly infiltrated specimens exhibited lower CTE than the SPS specimens. The CTEs of SPS specimens agreed well with the ROM model while the CTE of pressurelessly infiltrated specimens was close to Kerner's predictions. The strain hysteresis loops were developed during thermal cycling. The residual stress increased with increasing reinforcement content. The SPS specimens experienced large dimensional change due to the weak interfacial bond while the pressurelessly infiltrated specimens showed negligible strain hysteresis. The interfacial condition has a pronounced effect on the strain hysteresis behaviour. The improved interfacial bond was beneficial to the decreasing of the CTE and improving the dimensional stability of the compo...