DETERMINATION OF HEAT TRANSFER THROUGH METAL FOILS AND CERAMIC FIBER MATS DURING COMPOSITE FABRICATION

Heat transfer behavior during consolidation of metal matrix composites (MMCs) was investigated. Such composites are often fabricated by putting foils and fiber mats in a layup under pressure and heating to the consolidation temperature; the applied pressure is then increased to the final value. In the present work, experiments were carried out in which plies made of foils and fiber mats are placed together in a layup and pressed between a hot top die and a cool lower die. Various combinations of foils and fiber mats were compressed under different loads while the temperature transients in the lower die were recorded. From the resulting plots, the thermal conductance for different combinations of foils and fiber mats and for a single ply are determined. The deformation history of the foils and fiber are analyzed on the basis of micrographs taken after the compression tests.