© Copyright by International OCSCO World Press. All rights reserved. 2008 VOLUME 27 ISSUE 1 March 2008 Short paper 99 of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering of Achievements in Materials and Manufacturing Engineering Manufacturing of aluminium matrix composite materials reinforced by Al 2 O 3 particles A. Włodarczyk-Fligier, L.A. Dobrzański*, M. Kremzer, M. Adamiak Division of Materials Processing Technology, Management and Computer Techniques in Materials Science, Institute of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, ul. Konarskiego 18a, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland * Corresponding author: E-mail address: leszek.dobrzanski@polsl.pl Received 22.01.2008; published in revised form 01.03.2008 Manufacturing and processing AbstrAct Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to show and compare of modern method composite materials with aluminium alloy matrix reinforced by Al 2 O 3 particles manufacturing. Design/methodology/approach: Material for investigation was manufactured by two methods: powder metallurgy (consolidation, pressing, hot extrusion of powder mixtures of aluminium EN AW-AlCu4Mg1(A) and ceramic particles Al 2 O 3 ) and pressure infiltration of porous performs by liquid alloy EN AC AlSi12 (performs were prepared by sintering of Al 2 O 3 powder with addition of pores forming agent – carbon fibers). Findings: The received results show the possibility of obtaining the new composite materials with required structure joining positive properties composite materials components. Practical implications: Tested composite materials can be applicate among the others in automotive industry but it requires additional researches. Originality/value: Worked out technologies of composite materials manufacturing can be used in the production of small elements near net shape and locally reinforced elements. Keywords: Powder metallurgy; Composites; Pressure infiltration 1. Introduction An increased interest is observed in last years in metal matrix composite, mostly light metal based, which have found their applications in many industry branches, among others in the aircraft industry, automotive-, and armaments ones, as well as in electrical engineering and electronics, etc. [1,2]. Aluminium based composite materials are leading ones in this area, they are fabricated using many methods, including powder metallurgy processes, and then formed, e.g., by hot extrusion. Powder metallurgy makes materials properties relatively easy to control by mixing materials with different properties in various proportion. The metal matrix composite can be reinforced with particles, dispersoids or fibres. However, the biggest interest in composite materials is observed for those reinforced with hard ceramic particles due to the possibility of controlling their tribological-, heat- or mechanical properties by selection of the volume fractions, size, and distribution of the reinforcing particles in the matrix [3]. They are used more often, compared with the composite materials of other metals, due to the broad range of their properties, and also due to the possibility of replacing the costly and heavy elements made from the traditionally used materials [4,5]. Two main development directions of manufacturing metal matrix composite materials technology are observed: powder 1. Introduction