Melting kinetics of SiC_w/LD2 composite

In order to accurately control the proportion of solid phase and liquid phase, the start melting temperatures and the end melting temperatures of SiC_w/LD2 composite and LD2 alloy were measured by DSC at heating rates of 5, 10 and 50°C/min. It is found that the start melting temperature and the end melting temperature of the SiC_w/LD2 composite are lower than those of LD2 alloy, and due to the un-uniform distribution of alloy elements in SiC_w/LD2 composite, melting starts at lower temperatures in the region where the alloy element concentration is higher. The melting kinetics was calculated by the absorption quantity of heat for per mass of materials during the melting process. The melting of composites is faster than that of aluminum alloy, because there are a lot of interfaces between SiC whiskers and aluminum and the high density of dislocations in the composite, therefore much energy was accumulated in the composite to increase the melting rate.