In this study, the effects of inhomogeneous alumina (Al2O3) and titanium hydride (TiH2) reinforcement distributions were studied in homogeneously dispersed, iron aluminide reinforced, aluminum matrix composites. Materials were processed using powder metallurgy and induction heating methods. Microstructural and compositional variations were elucidated through Archimedes’ principle, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effects of porosity content, ceramic and intermetallic reinforcement were studied via Vicker’s hardness, compression testing and non-destructive ultrasonic measurements. Interestingly, the amount of total porosity decreased with increasing TiH2 and increased with increasing Al2O3. The highest porosity of 22.3 vol% was observed for the composition containing the highest Al2O3 content. Microhardness and compressive strength values decreased overall with additional TiH2 and increased with added Al2O3. A maximum compressive strength of 311 MPa and microhardness of 76HV were achieved with a mix ratio of 1 wt.% (Al-2 wt.%TiH2) / 99 wt.% Al-10 wt.% (Al2O3).
