Work of Adhesion in Al/SiC Composites with Alloying Element Addition

In the current work, a general methodology was proposed to demonstrate how to calculate the work of adhesion in a reactive multicomponent alloy/ceramic system. Applying this methodology, the work of adhesion of Al alloy/SiC systems and the influence of different alloying elements were predicted. Based on the thermodynamics of interfacial reaction and calculation models for component activities, the equilibrium compositions of the melts in Al alloy/SiC systems were calculated. Combining the work of adhesion models for reactive metal/ceramic systems, the work of adhesion in Al alloy/SiC systems both before and after the reaction was calculated. The results showed that the addition of most alloying elements, such as Mg, Si, and Mn, could increase the initial work of adhesion, while Fe had a slightly decreasing effect. As for the equilibrium state, the additions of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Ti, and La could increase the equilibrium work of adhesion, but the additions of Mg and Zn had an opposite effect. Si was emphasized due to its suppressing effect on the interfacial reaction.