Effect of microstructures on deformation behaviour of aluminium matrix composites in laser bending

It is well known that the mechanical and deformation properties of metal matrix composites (MMCs) are related to their microstructures. However, less work has been carried out in laser bending to examine the dependency of microstructures of MMCs on deformation behaviour. In this paper, two aluminium-based metal matrix composites, Al2009/20 vol% SiC[sub w] and Al2009/20 vol% SiC[sub p] were investigated. A YAG laser was used to scan the composites both parallel and perpendicular to their rolling directions. It was reported that under the same processing conditions, a larger bending angle was obtained for the Al2009/SiC[sub p] composite. No significant change in microstructures was observed for both composites after bending. Experimental findings also revealed that for the particulate reinforced composite, a larger laser bending angle was obtained when the laser scanning direction was perpendicular to the rolling direction, whereas no significant difference was observed for the Al2009/SiC[sub w] composite. These phenomena were shown to relate to the shape and distribution of reinforcements.