Physical Methods of Processing the Melts of Metal Matrix Composites: Current State and Prospects

This review is devoted to known theoretical and experimental results in the field of using physical methods for processing melts in the preparation of metal matrix composite materials in conditions of casting and metallurgical technological processes. The possibilities, advantages, and disadvantages of various methods of physical influences are considered from the standpoint of their influence on the structural and morphological characteristics and physicomechanical and operational properties of cast composite materials based on aluminum and its alloys. A classification is presented and a detailed description of physical methods for processing melts when obtaining metal matrix composites is presented, depending on the state of the melt during the processing period (during melting, pouring, and crystallization) and according to the physical principle of imposed effects (thermal, electromagnetic, cavitation, mechanical, and others). The modern concepts of the laws and mechanisms of the influence of the processing of the melt by physical methods on the processes of structure and phase formation of metal matrix composites in the cast state are presented. From a qualitative and quantitative point of view, the currently known effects of exposure to the structure of composites are described, in particular, those associated with a change in the wettability of particles, their distribution, dispersion, and morphology, as well as with a change in the structural state of the matrix material. Data on the physicomechanical, operational, and technological properties of metal matrix composites obtained with the use of physical effects on the melt during melting and crystallization are systematized. The prospects for the development and practical application of methods of physical effects on melts in the production of metal matrix composites based on various matrix materials and reinforcement systems, including endogenously reinforced, exogenously reinforced, and complex-reinforced composite materials, are shown. Priority areas of theoretical research and experimental development are discussed; areas of discussion and issues in the field of obtaining metal matrix composites using physical effects on melts during melting and crystallization are revealed. On the basis of a systematic analysis of the key problems that limit the widespread industrial use of physical methods for processing melts, areas for future research in this direction are proposed.