EFFECT OF MICROSTRUCTURES ON DEFORMATION BEHAVIOUR OF ALUMINIUM MATRIX COMPOSITES IN LASER BENDING

It is well known that the mechanical and deformation properties of metal matrix composites (MMCs) are related to their microstructures. However, less work has been carried out in laser bending to examine the dependency of microstructures ofMMCs on deformation behaviour. In this paper, two aluminium-based metal matrix composites, A12009/ 20vol% SiCwand A12009/20vol% SiCpwere investigated.AYAG laserwas used to scan the composites both parallel and perpendicular to their rolling directions. Itwas reported that under the same processing conditions, a larger bending angle was obtained for the AI2009/SiCp composite. No significant change in microstructures was observed for both composites after bending. Experimental findings also revealed that for the particulate reinforced composite, a larger laser bending angle was obtained when the laser scanning directionwas perpendicular to the rolling direction, whereasno significant difference was observed for the A12009/SiCw composite. These phenomena were shown to relate to the shape anddistribution ofreinforcements.