To improve the thermophysical properties of Al alloy for thermal management materials, the Cu-coated carbon fibers (CFs) were used as reinforcement to improve the thermal conductivity (TC) and the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of Al-12Si. The CFs reinforced Al matrix (CFs/Al) composites with different CFs contents were prepared by stir casting. The effects of the CFs volume fraction and Cu coating on the microstructure, component, TC and CTE of CFs/Al composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy with EDS, X-ray diffraction, thermal dilatometer and thermal dilatometer. The results show that the Cu coating can effectively improve the interface between CFs and the Al-12Si matrix, and the Cu coating becomes Al2Cu with Al matrix after stir casting. The CFs/Al composites have a relative density greater than 95% when the volume fraction of CFs is less than 8% because the CFs uniform dispersion without agglomeration in the matrix can be achieved by stir casting. The TC and CTE of CFs/Al composites are further improved with the increased CFs volume fraction, respectively. When the volume fraction of CFs is 8%, the CFs/Al composite has the best thermophysical properties; the TC is 169.25 W/mK, and the CTE is 15.28 × 10– 6/K. The excellent thermophysical properties of CFs and good interface bonding are the main reasons for improving the thermophysical properties of composites. The research is expected to improve the application of Al matrix composites in heat dissipation neighborhoods and provide certain theoretical foundations.

B4C/Al composite is mainly used for neutron absorbing materials, which is one of the components of equipment that manages spent nuclear fuel. There are various processes for manufacturing neutron absorbing materials, but most of them are based on the powder metallurgy. In this study, B4C/Al composite in which the reinforcement was uniformly dispersed was manufactured by using the stir casting process. The microstructure, thermal neutron absorption rate, mechanical properties and dispersibility of the reinforcement of the prepared B4C/Al composite were analyzed.

In this study, for thermal neutron absorption, an aluminum metal composite in which B4C particles were uniformly dispersed was prepared using stirring casting and hot rolling processes. The microstructure, thermal neutron absorption rate, mechanical properties and dispersibility of the reinforcement of the prepared B4C/Al composite were analyzed. The composite in which the 40 μm sized B4C particles were uniformly dispersed increased the tensile strength as the volume ratio of the reinforcement increased.