Effect of applying a direct current on wettability of liquid Sn-Pb/solid Cu

摘要

THE; phenomena of wetting on strengthening phases by liquid matrix metals is significant in manufacturing metal matrix composites. Many methods have been proposed for improving the wettability of liquid metals on solids, which include physical methodsand chemical methods. Applying direct current (DC) is one of the physical methods. It has advantages in keeping the liquid metal clean as desired over the chemical methods like coating on the strengthening phase or adding alloy elements to the matrix. Applying DC is easy to operate, compared with other physical methods such as agitated casting, liquid metal pressing, supersonic oscillating which may pollute the liquid metal by absorbing the gas or inclusions. In the family of the metal matrix composites, binary eutectic systems like Al-Si, Al-Mg and Fe-C are often chosen as matrix, with conductor like tungsten fibers, graphite and carbon fibers as strengthening phases. This note, by the sessile drop method, presents the study on the wetting process of typical binary eutectic Sn-Pb on solid Cu with applying direct current. We analysed it by use of Gouy-Chapman model and Stern model at the interface.