Production of Decorative Cast Metal Matrix Composites with a Complex Relief and Nonmetal Reinforcement Phase

The present paper is relevant to the research of possibilities for the production of decorative complex relief metal matrix composites (MMCs) of the “invitro” type, with unformed and unchanging reinforcement (strengthening) phase in the process of creating a composite. The research on the methods of metal matrix composites development in this paper has been brought to the application of different space vacuum schemes for composite synthesisof vacuuming the space for composites synthesis by using the notion of the “capillary forming”. In this method the metal matrix (copper alloy melt) was infiltrated in the space between the pellets of reinforcement phase (quartz particles ? SiO2), whereas the classical method adopted for the obtaining MMCs “in vitro”, uses a mechanism of forced insertion of the reinforcement phase into the ready for use melt, followed by homogenization of the composite structure. In the particular case, because the obtained composite will have a complex relief three-dimensional surface, the conditions for compacting the building phases in the three directions x, y, z should be virtually equalized. In order to accomplish the task set, a laboratory system is developed. The experiments were conducted with laboratory equipment elaborated on the base of another equipment for "capillary forming" with extra vacuum. The structures of the obtained MMCs were tested by metallographic analysis.