Interfacial phenomena in wettability of TiC by Al-Mg alloys

The present work describes the. interactions that occur between molten-Al-Mg alloys and solid TiC substrates. The sessile drop technique was used to study the wetting behavior of Al-Mg alloys on TiC sintered ceramic substrates under argon in the temperature range of 750-900 degreesC. The effect on the wetting behavior of the interfacial reaction layer was studied. All the Al-Mg alloys react with TiC at the interface. The interface thickness varied with the samples, and depends on the temperature and the time of the test. The spreading kinetics and the work of adhesion were evaluated. The high activation energies values obtained suggested that chemical reaction is the driving force for drop spreading. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.