At present, there is growing interest in the investigation of economic options for the development of aluminum matrix composites. In this context, the characterization of a cane bagasse ash from a Cuban clay, both in its natural state and after being calcined for 4 h at 1000C, for its possible use as a reinforcement material in matrix composites of aluminum (AMCs), is described. The ash was collected directly from the boiler of the turbogenerator of the “Luis Arcos Bergnes” plant in Camajuaní and the clay is a kaolinite from an area near to the town of Miller, both in the province of Villa Clara. Using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), it was observed that the ash is composed mainly of silicon (around 80%), expressed as SiO2, and that the phases present are mostly cristobalite and tridymite. In the case of clay, in addition to these characterization techniques, thermogravimetric analysis (DTG) was also used. The comparative study of natural and calcined clay showed that quartz, magnesium-hornblende, diopside, albite and muscovite phases are present in the latter. Most of the phases present in the ash and calcined clay are typical of high hardness ceramic materials, which gives these two materials suitable properties to be used as reinforcements in AMCs and other metal matrix composite materials.

Key words: Characterization, composites of aluminum, reinforcement.
 

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