材料期刊网

The microstructure of interfaces in a 6061 aluminium composite reinforced with aluminium borate whiskers has been investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), mostly by high-resolution TEM (HRTEM). It was found that the magnesium atoms segregate at the whisker/aluminium interfaces and the interfacial reactions mostly occurred on the (100) side surfaces of the Al18B4O33 whisker prisms during the squeeze casting of the composite. The interfacial reaction products at the whisker/aluminium interfaces were determined to be the Al2MgO4 phase, which generally showed specific orientation relationship with the whiskers. The possible interfacial reactions giving the observed microstructure are discussed.