Method for preparing aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide mixed reinforced aluminum matrix composite

A method of preparing an aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide mixed reinforced aluminum matrix composite, comprising chemical materials, with gram, milliliter and cubic centimeter as a unit of measurement, including

• 3800 g±1 g of aluminum alloy which is ZAlSi7Mg and a solid bulk,
• 50 g±1 g of aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal which is Al63Cu25Fe12 and solid particles,
• 50 g±1 g of silicon carbide which is SiC and solid particles,
• 100 g±1 g of zinc oxide which is ZnO and solid powders,
• 25 g±1 g of waterglass which is Na2SiO3⋅9H2O and solid powders,
• aluminum foil with the size of 2000 mm×0.5 mm×2000 mm which is Al and a solid,
• graphite with the size of Ø200 mm×400 mm which is C and a solid bulk,
• 800 mL±10 mL of acetone which is C3H6O and liquid,
• 1000 mL±50 mL of deionized water which is H2O and liquid, and
• 100000 cm3±100 cm3 of argon which is Ar and gas,
• the method comprising:
• preparing a casting mould, including
• making a cylindrical casting mould with a cavity having a size of Ø100 mm×200 mm and a surface
• roughness of Ra0.08-0.16 μm, using graphite materials;
• preparing a coating agent including
• weighing out 100 g±1 g of zinc oxide and 25 g±1 g of waterglass,
• measuring out 600 mL+5 mL of deionized water, and
• adding 100 g±1 g of zinc oxide, 25 g±1 g of waterglass and 600 mL±5 mL of deionized water into a slurry mixer and stirring at 50 r/min for 100 min,
• thereby obtaining a suspending liquid as the coating agent after stirring;
• pretreating aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide, including
• ball-milling, including
• weighing out 50 g±1 g of aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and 50 g±1 g of silicon carbide,
• placing 50 g±1 g of aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and 50 g±1 g of silicon carbide into a jar of a ball mill, and
• mixing and ball-milling for 5 hours, thereby obtaining mixed fine powders after ball-milling,
• dispersing and washing by ultrasonic wave including
• placing the mixed fine powders obtained after ball-milling into a beaker,
• adding 400 mL of acetone and mixing, and
• placing the beaker in an ultrasonic dispersion instrument, and
• dispersing and washing by ultrasonic wave for 100 min at the frequency of 28 kHz, and
• obtaining a mixed liquid,
• filtrating, including
• placing the mixed liquid into a Buchner funnel of a suction flask,
• filtrating using a millipore membrane, keeping a filter cake and removing washing liquid, and
• vacuum drying, including
• placing the filter cake into a quartz container, and
• placing the quartz container in a vacuum drying oven and
• drying at the temperature of 200° C. for 60 min under the vacuum degree of 8 Pa,
• thereby obtaining aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide mixed fine powders after drying;
• pretreating aluminum alloy, including
• cutting the aluminum alloy bulk into small pieces of which the size is less than
• 50 mm×50 mm×50 mm using a machine,
• coating the aluminum alloy pieces obtained after cutting using aluminum foils, and
• preheating, including
• placing the coated aluminum alloy pieces into a heating furnace and preheating at the temperature of 200° C. for 60 min;
• smelting to obtain the aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide mixed reinforced aluminum matrix composite, which is performed in an intermediate-frequency induction melting furnace through the process of intermediate-frequency induction heating, vacuumizing, bottom blowing argon, and casting molding, including
• pretreating the cylindrical graphite mould, including
• washing the cavity of the cylindrical graphite mould using acetone to be clean,
• uniformly applying the prepared coating agent to the surface of the cavity of the cylindrical graphite mould, and
• making the coating layer have the thickness of 1 mm, and
• placing the cylindrical graphite mould in a drying oven and
• preheating at the temperature of 200° C.,
• opening the intermediate-frequency induction melting furnace,
• cleaning an inside of a graphite melting crucible, and
• washing using acetone to clean the inside of the crucible,
• placing 3800 g±1 g of the aluminum alloy pieces coated by the aluminum foils at the bottom of the crucible, and
• placing 50 g±1 g of aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and 50 g±1 g of silicon carbide on the aluminum alloy pieces,
• closing and sealing the intermediate-frequency induction melting furnace, including
• opening a vacuum pump,
• removing the air from the furnace to make pressure in the furnace be less than 10 Pa, and
• opening a heater of the intermediate-frequency induction melting furnace and heating at the temperature of 600° C.±5° C.,
• passing a bottom blowing argon tube through the bottom of the graphite crucible,
• transmitting argon to the inside of the crucible at the speed of 1000 cm3/min, so as to
• keep the pressure in the furnace to be 0.045 Mpa, and
• controlling the pressure in the furnace by a gas outlet tube valve;
• and
• continuously heating, and smelting at the temperature of 720° C.±5° C. for 20 min, so as to obtain an aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide mixed reinforced aluminum matrix composite melt,
• casting, including
• closing the bottom blowing argon tube and removing slag on the surface of melt in the crucible, and
• aligning a gate of the preheated cylindrical mould, and
• casting until filled,
• cooling the mould with alloy melt to 25° C. in the air, and
• opening the mould after cooling, thereby obtaining the aluminum-copper-iron quasicrystal and silicon carbide mixed reinforced aluminum matrix composite;
• heat-treating casting, including
• placing the casting in a vacuum heat treatment furnace, and
• heat-treating at the temperature of 535° C.±5° C. under vacuum degree of 8 Pa for 8 h to complete solid solution;
• placing the casting in a mesothermal cooling water tank after heat-treating and quenching using water of 65° C. for 45 s;
• placing the casting in a heat treatment furnace after quenching and performing aging-treatment at the temperature of 180° C.±5° C. for 6 h;
• and
• washing the surface of the casting with acetone to clean each surface.