First-principles Analysis of SiC/Al Composites Interface

Abstract

The interface of SiCp/Al composites is an important factor affecting the properties of materials, Different interface layers have different interface bonding strengths, which have different effects on the properties of SiCp/Al composites. In this paper, the possible binding energy of interface in SiCp/Al composites is studied, then the influence of the interfacial binding energy on the SiCp/Al composites is analyzed, and the method of controlling the interface of SiCp/Al composites is proposed. Firstly, three interface models that may exist in SiCp/Al composites were constructed in Material Studio software, and the model structure was optimized, then the first-principles simulation of the optimized interfaces model of SiCp/Al composites was carried out, and the interfacial bonding energy of SiC-Al, SiC-SiO 2-Al and SiC-Al 2 O 3-Al was calculated respectively. The order of the interfacial binding energy was: SiC(100)-Al(100) < SiC(100)-SiO 2 (100)-Al(100) < SiC(100)-Al 2 O 3 (100)-Al(100). It can be known from the simulation results that the interfacial bonding energy of the interface layer containing the oxide is large, since the oxide can improve the wettability between the matrix and the reinforcement. Therefore, in order to obtain a well-bonded SiCp/Al composite, the SiC particles are usually surface-modified to regulate the interface of the SiCp/Al composite. Thereby, the SiCp/Al composite material with high interface bonding strength and excellent performance is obtained.