Reactive infiltration processing and secondary compressive creep of NiAl and NiAl-W composites

Reactive infiltration processing was used to fabricate bulk NiAl and fiber-reinforced NiAl composites. Homogenous, pore-free materials were obtained by chemical reaction between nickel and aluminum after complete infiltration with liquid aluminum of preforms of nickel wires (containing tungsten wires for the composites) with low surface-to-volume ratio, high permeability, and regular infiltration paths. Reactively-processed, monolithic NiAl exhibited compressive creep properties at 715 °C and 1025 °C in good agreement with those of conventionally processed NiAl. The compressive creep behavior of NiAl composites reinforced with 5 to 20 vol pct W was also characterized at the same temperatures. At 715 °C, the NiAl-W composites exhibited secondary creep with little primary and tertiary creep, while at 1025 °C, the composites displayed all three stages. Microstructurally, secondary creep was characterized by pure uniaxial compression of tungsten fibers. The measured composite secondary creep rates could be predicted reasonably well with the role-of-mixtures isostrain model developed for composites where both phases undergo creep deformation using tensile creep data measured on the as-received tungsten fibers.