Janos Dobranszky
MTA–BME Research Group for Composite Science and Technology, Hungary
Title: Producing of aluminium matrix composite wire
Biography
Biography: Janos Dobranszky
Abstract
Continuous fibre reinforced aluminium matrix composite wires were perspective materials as reinforcing core wire whether in electrical conductors or preferentially reinforced castings. Since the last years of the 2nd millennium composite cores were developed as reinforcement instead of a steel core in the high-tension electrical conductors. The much lower thermal expansion and the much higher specific strength were their advantages. Actually the leading type between these special products is the aluminium conductor composite core (ACCC) cable, in which the reinforcing is made of polymer composite tube that is filled with carbon fibre. Another type of low sag electric conductors is the ACCR cable (aluminium conductor composite reinforced), in case of that high strength steel or invar alloy core wires are replaced by aluminium matrix, alumina fibre reinforced composite wires. In the long-term practice, only two solutions were successfully applied for producing aluminium matrix composite wires. The first one is the 3M’s ultrasonic-assisted infiltration and the second one is the Blucher’s process. This last one applies continuous infiltration with gas pressure, but only the first infiltration is used on an industrial scale. The most critical step of the Blücher’s process is that, the reinforcing fibre roving is pulled across the molten aluminium containing gas-pressure system. The Blucher’s process was developed at the Metal Matrix Composite Laboratory of the Northeastern University (Boston MA, USA), but in 2005 the laboratory was transferred to Budapest University of Technology and Economics. The article describes those results, which were achieved in the new working period of the Metal Matrix Composite Laboratory.