Squeeze cast co-continuous ALN/AL composites

The co-continuous AlN composites with different Al contents were fabricated through the squeeze casting of porous AlN preform with varied porosities obtained by carbothermal reduction. The effects of volume fraction of Al phase and the heat treatment temperature on the mechanical properties of composites were investigated. The change of the mechanical properties of composites with the Al content was in line with the mixed rule. With an increase in the Al content, the fracture toughness increased, the Vickers hardness and the flexural strength decreased. The toughen mechanism of composites included ductile rupture and microcrack toughening. The avoiding of excessive interface reaction between AlN and Al was beneficial to the mechanical properties of composites. With an increase in the heat treatment temperature, the stress and the dislocation due to mismatch in the coefficients of thermal expansion increased, the fracture toughness decreased, the vickers hardness and the flexural strength increased.