Fabrication and tensile properties of continuous-fiber reinforced Ni3Al–Al2O3 composites

Continuous-fiber reinforced metal-matrix composites consisting of Ni3Al alloys and Saphikon Al2O3 single crystal fibers were fabricated by hot-pressing of fiber-foil lay-ups. Two matrix compositions were employed, namely, IC50 (Ni–22.5Al–0.5Zr–0.1B, at. %) and IC396M (Ni–15.9Al–8.0Cr–0.5Zr–1.7Mo–0.02B, at. %). Etching of the foils in aqueous FeCl3 solution prior to lay-up and hot-pressing tended to improve fiber-matrix bonding and the density-normalized room temperature yield stress. Whereas strength improvements for the IC50 matrix were only moderate, significant improvements were found for an IC396M composite reinforced with 10 vol. % of Saphikon fibers.