Recent progress in aluminum metal matrix composites: A review on processing, mechanical and wear properties

Abstract

The necessity for high performance and low-cost materials caused the researchers worldwide to switch the focus from monolithic to composite materials. In the recent pasts, a significant effort has been made in this direction to fabricate numerous combinations of metal matrix composites. Among the MMCs, aluminum-based composites are treated as the most promising structural materials due to their high corrosion, wear resistance, specific modulus, and weight for automobile and aerospace applications. Aluminum MMCs were produced by various fabrication process after considering different reinforcement particles, such as borides, carbides, oxides, nitrides, and their combinations. Aluminum MMCs revealed excellent mechanical and wear characteristics owing to the formation of stable reinforcement particles in the composites. In the present review article, recent advances in processing, microstructure, wear, and mechanical characterization of aluminum composites reinforced with different particles are addressed. The future scope of these composites is also briefly discussed at the end of the manuscript. � 2020 The Society of Manufacturing Engineers