Development of textile-reinforced carbon fibre aluminium composites manufactured with gas pressure infiltration methods

Purpose: The aim of his paper is to show potential of textile-reinforced carbon fibre aluminium composite with advantage of the lightweight construction of structural components subjected to thermo-mechanical stress. Design/methodology/approach: The manufacture of specimens of the carbon fibre-reinforced aluminium was realised with the aid of an advanced differential gas pressure infiltration technique, which was developed at ILK, TU Dresden. Findings: The gas pressure infiltration technology enables to fabricate complex carbon aluminium composites with fibre or textile reinforcement using moulds of graphite, but in future development the optimization of infiltration process is required. The load-adapted combination of 3D reinforced semi-finished fibre products (textile preforms) made from carbon fibres (CF) with aluminium light metal alloys (Al) offers a considerable lightweight construction potential, which up to now has not been exploited. Research limitations/implications: Gas pressure infiltration technology enables to fabricate complex carbon aluminium composites with fibre or textile reinforcement using precision moulds of graphite, but in future development the optimization of infiltration process is required. Practical implications: Load-adapted CF/Al-MMC, due to the relatively high stiffness and strength of the metal matrix, allow the introduction of extremely high forces, thereby enabling a much better exploitation of the existing lightweight construction potential of this material in comparison to other composite materials. Originality/value: Constantly rising demands on extremely stressed lightweight structures, particularly in traffic engineering as well as in machine building and plant engineering, increasingly require the use of endless fibre-reinforced composite materials which, due to their selectively adaptable characteristics profiles, are clearly superior to conventional monolithic materials.