Effects of SiO2 and MgO on the Thermophysical and Mechanical Properties of Al/Al2O3 Composites and Their Compatibility with Al-Si Alloys

  • ZHANG Zhilei ,
  • XUE Rongxin ,
  • ZHANG Ruiying ,
  • ZHAO Ge ,
  • LIANG Yahong ,
  • YAN Suying
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  • 1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Hohhot 010051, China
    2. Inner Mongolia Guolong Energy Management Co., Ltd, Hohhot 010090, China

Online published: 2025-05-06

Supported by

This study was supported by the Inner Mongolia Science and Technology Plan Project (2021GG0252), Inner Mongolia Local Science and Technology Development Central Guidance Fund (2024ZY0125), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region University Basic Research Business Fund Special Fund (JY20230063), and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region University Basic Research Business Fund Special Fund (JY20220252).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025

Abstract

Al/Al2O3 is crucial encapsulation composites used in solar thermal storage systems. Al/Al2O3 composites with varying SiO2 and MgO contents were prepared using Al powder and Al2O3 powder as raw materials, with SiO2 and MgO as sintering aids, through a cold-press sintering method. The latent heat, thermal conductivity, and bending strength of the composites were measured. The microstructure of the composites and their compatibility with Al-Si (88%-12% in weight) alloy were observed and analyzed. The relationship between thermal properties, mechanical properties, compatibility, and microstructure was investigated. The results show that as the SiO2 content increases and the MgO content decreases, the comprehensive performance of the composites first improves and then decreases. The composites exhibit the best comprehensive performance when the mass contents of SiO2 and MgO are both 1%, with a bending strength of 79.645 MPa, thermal conductivity of 23.903 W/(m·K), and a latent heat of 93.61 J/g. In the compatibility experiment, as the number of thermal cycles increases, the diffusion distance of Si atoms in the composite first increases and then stabilizes, maintaining a distance of approximately 150 µm, indicating good compatibility.

Cite this article

ZHANG Zhilei , XUE Rongxin , ZHANG Ruiying , ZHAO Ge , LIANG Yahong , YAN Suying . Effects of SiO2 and MgO on the Thermophysical and Mechanical Properties of Al/Al2O3 Composites and Their Compatibility with Al-Si Alloys[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2025 , 34(3) : 996 -1007 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-025-2144-z

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