UAB SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

The Uses of Metal

Matrix Composites in
Bicycles
Kerry Bisset
Submitted to: Dr. Chawla

Abstract:
The use of metal matrix composites have been expanding to all different
applications including recreational uses. The need for a lighter yet durable frame is
needed for bicycle, and the way to make these demands possible is through
material alteration. Bicycle frames switched to light-weight aluminum alloys to
lower the weight. There was a need for better properties in the bicycle frame, and

the material alteration went to a metal matrix composite, which the base alloy was
still aluminum. This allowed for a weight reduction and was a stiffer material that
meet the specifications of the application.

Table of Contents
Abstract:................................................................................................................... 1
I.

Introduction....................................................................................................... 3

II. The Processing for MMCs in Bicycles............................................................5

III.

IV.

Why are MMCs used in Bicycles..................................................................7

a.

Aluminum-SiC................................................................................................ 8

b.

Aluminum-Boron Carbide............................................................................. 10
Problems with use of MMCs in Bicycles...................................................11

V. Conclusions of MMCs in Bicycles..................................................................12

VI. Works Cited......................................................................................................... 14

I.

Introduction
Metal matrix composites have been increasing in production in the last 50

years. The production of metal matrix composites (MMCs) has been used in the
lower melting temperature metals because of the easy of production. One of the
most common metals for MMCs is aluminum. This metal is chosen for its low melting
point, high strength, and low density for specific weight applications. The
reinforcement additive is selected by the wettability and the modulus of the
reinforcing additive (Chawla K. K., 2012). The process for aluminum matrix
composites requires preparation steps before the reinforcement additive can be
added.
MMCs have such a wide variety of uses and properties, but the MMCs found in
bicycles can be used for many other applications. Products can range from disc
used as substrates for hard drives in computer systems to nuclear shielding
applications. The other recreational applications that MMCs can be found in are golf
clubs, tennis rackets, archery equipment, and casing for toys. The same MMCs
found in bicycles can be found in more industrial applications such as landing gear
for airplanes and marine applications such as propellers.
An important part of composites in general is the form of the reinforcement
additive. The forms can be fibers, whiskers, or particulates. These different forms
can change of the properties of the material in general. The fibers and whisker will
directionally strengthen the materials while particulates will make the material
nearly

anisotropic

(Moore,

1998).

The

general

affect

that

the

different

reinforcements of the different shapes can be seen in Figure 1. The main

reinforcements used as reinforcements for aluminum are SiC, TiC, TaC, WC, and
B4C. These ceramic particle also add a resistance to corrosions. Some typical

strength for fiber reinforced composites can be seen in Table 1. This table shows the
increase in modulus over the typical modulus for aluminum: 70 MPa.

Figure 1. Increase in Young's modulus of an MMC as a function of reinforcement

volume fraction for continuous fiber, whisker, or particle reinforcement (Chawla K.
K., 2012).

Table 1. Mechanical properties for given aluminum composites for longitudinal and
transverse directions (Chawla K. K., 2012).

Bicycles undergo fatigue stress and also impact stress, understanding where
these stress concentration are will influence the material of the bicycle. Also, the

understanding of what failures that occur influence the choice of the material. In
general, as the maximum loading predicted through buckling and yielding do not
suggest regular failures. The main causes of failures are caused by fatigue, crack
growth, material defects, or corrosion (Reina, 2007). Using finite element analysis
(FEA), the strains in a bicycle frame can be seen in Figure 2. The FEA simulation
shows that the material needs to be able to have a strong joint connection. The
frame also needs a material with a great stiffness to prevent the warping of the
frame. With ceramic reinforcements, metal matrix composites allow for the addition
stiffness needed to improve the bicycle frame.

Figure 2. Maximum principle strains for square element model in a finite element
analysis (Reina, 2007).

II.

The Processing for MMCs in Bicycles

The rise in bicycling enthusiast has created demand for a better bicycle with

higher performance structure. The properties of fatigue, stress fracturing, and

structural shattering are usual consequences of the impact forces seen in more and
more rough terrain biking, especially on the wheels of the bicycle. There are several
solutions to making the bicycle more protected against these failures that have
been tested: composite polymeric fiber-resin matrix rims, others alter the truss style
of the rim profile, and using metal matrix composites. The composite polymeric

fiber-resin matrix rims absorb the shock, lower the weight, and have the range in
strengths to meet the customers requirement. The drawback to this material is the
brake to rim interface does not create sufficient braking power and the wheels
constantly need to be realigned because of the low stiffness. The design of the truss
design allows for a higher stiffness, but created stress sights that caused more
fractures. Aluminum metal matrix composites offer the ideal property set for bicycle
rims.
There are other MMCs that can be found in bicycles to make up the frame or
the wheels. These two components are the most common to be made up of MMCs.
The matrix of MMCs commonly used in bicycles are aluminum, magnesium, or
titanium. Each on has their own specific application. The aluminum is the most
common and widely produced. Magnesium MMCs are found in race bikes where the
lightest weight helps the racer. Titanium MMC bicycles are found for the roughest
condition for bicycles. The additive materials differ from company to company. The
most common reinforcing additives are alumina, boron carbide, and other carbides.
Aluminum is a lightweight and easily deformable material, but it is also a
moderately brittle material with lower than average resistance to abrasion.
Aluminum MMCs are commercially available for extrusion. These billets are being
produced using powder metallurgy, spray and casting. Aluminum MMCs have an
even distribution of fully wetted particles in the matrix.
MMCs bicycles can be tuned for some of the most extreme enthusiast. While
the bicycles get more tuned for the rider the cost of the bicycle comes to a peak.
MMCs are only seen in top end bicycles because for everyday mass transit bicycles
these strength requirements are not necessary. These bicycles also cost more
because of the processing needed to make the bicycles.

The extrusion of aluminum matrix composites how most of the frame is

made. The ingots though can be produced from two methods: casting and sintering.
The method to form most metal matrix composites for bicycles is to melt an
aluminum ingot, add the ceramic reinforcement, stir, and cast into an extrusion
billet. This process can be seen in Figure 3. The two important parts of this process
are the stirring of the molten composite to get a homogenous distribution of the
reinforcement phase and the solidification of the billet. The importance of the
homogenous distribution of the reinforcing phase has a great effect on the
mechanical properties. The solidification of the ingot is important because of the
thermal stresses generated. The metal will have a thermal conductivity and in
general a higher thermal expansion than the ceramic phase. This thermal mismatch
will create a stress and if chilled to quickly the ceramic phase will be fractured.

Figure 3. Schematic of the Duralcan process that is typical for MMCs (Chawla &
Chawla, 2004).

III.

Why are MMCs used in Bicycles

Bicycles are generally made up of very common material such as steel and

aluminum. These are still make up the majority of bicycles found today. These
materials are common because they have been around longer, have been studied,
and the process to make these materials is industrialized. The materials needed to
further the advancement of bicycles are more complex than just plain carbon steel.
Composites have offer the further advancement of materials such as metal
reinforced composites. This is the most common type of MMC in bicycles is
aluminum reinforced composite.
As previously denoted the main places that use MMCs in bicycles are in the
frame and in the rim of the wheels. There is a great difference in the two in the two
parts and that is how the parts interact with the other features on the bicycle. The
frame has to go under some joining operation while the rims rely on mechanical
connections to interact with the rest of the bicycle. The method of joining commonly
seen in bicycles is welding, however this is not the case in MMCs. The most common
method to join MMC bicycle frames is through an adhesive bond. This allows for
interatomic attachments without the damaging effects of welding. In production
these adhesive frames take a shorter amount of time to prepare than welded
frames, in addition to the new adhesives having similar mechanical properties to
welding.
The development in MMCs bicycles is mainly in the processing of the MMCs,
especially in the aluminum matrix composites. Aluminum is one of the easier metals
to make into a composite because of the lower melting temperature and the metals
fluidity so that it wets the reinforcing phase. One of the major advancements in
composites is the pretreatment of the reinforcement phase and the monitoring of

the size of the reinforcing phase (Chawla K. K., 2012). As particle reinforced MMCs
are most type in bicycles the particle size and volume must be monitored to make
sure the properties do not vary.

a. Aluminum-Silicon Carbide
Aluminum matrix with silicon carbide reinforcement is on the common MMCs
used in bicycles. The effect of the volume percent of the reinforcement phase on the
tensile can be seen in Figure 4. The amount of the reinforcement phase will allow for
a higher modulus and higher ultimate tensile strength. The drawback is the effect of
the reinforcement on the formability and the elongation. The size of the particulate
phase also effects the strength properties which can be seen in Figure 5. As the
particulate size average gets finer, the strength increases. Ideally, the aluminum
reinforced with the silicon carbide particles would be made up of around 30%
volume percentage and the particle size would be around 5 microns.

Figure 4. Tensile test data that shows how the volume percentage of the particulate
silicon carbide phase (Chawla K. K., 2012).

Figure 5. Tensile test data showing the variance in the tensile testing data with the
particle size varying (Chawla K. K., 2012).

One of the most described alloys used in MMCs is bicycles is aluminum with
silicon carbide (SiC) particulate reinforcement. The amount of reinforcement and
particulate size is up to the company making the bicycle. Figure 6 shows aluminum
with 30 percent SiC particles that are used in bicycle frames (Moore, 1998).

Figure 6. Optical micrograph of polished AlSiC cross section. SiC particulate phase
(dark contrast) and Al metal-matrix (white contrast) fill porosity of SiC preform
completely to form a fully dense AlSiC-composite microstructure (Occhionero,
2005).

b. Aluminum-Boron Carbide
While silicon carbide is the most common particle in MMCs used for bicycles,
boron carbide is also another particular reinforcement that will be examined. Boron
carbide is the hardest material produced by tonnage (US/California Patent No.
5,980,602, 1999). The fabrication to produce the boron carbide MMC is different
than that of other typical MMCs because it is not made through molten process. The
boron carbide MMC is produced through powder metallurgy then subjected to high
pressure to convert the elements into ingots. These ingots can be further process
through extrusion to make the shape necessary for bicycles. The average size of
these particles is around 8.4 microns, and is generally around 12% by weight. The
strength of boron carbide particulate MMC is similar to that of chromoly steel
(US/California Patent No. 5,980,602, 1999). One of the benefits of the boron carbide
MMC is the readiness for welding. An example of boron carbide in aluminum can be
seen in Figure 7. This microstructure shows the particulate reinforcement that has
been used in bicycle fabrication.

Figure 7. Micrograph of aluminum matrix with boron carbide particulate

reinforcement (US Patent No. 8,030,234, 2011).
Boron fibers and particulates are used because of the high strengths that are
obtained. These properties, as can be imagined, are only needed for the most
extreme circumstances for bicycles. The strength of the borsic fibers can be seen in
Figure 8. The strength to weight ratio, specific strength, for these composites is also
very high which means less material has to be used. The specific strengths for
various material can be seen in Figure 9.

Figure 8. Strengths of various aluminum alloys and composites (Askeland, Fulay, &
Wright, 2011).

Figure 9. Specific strengths of various materials showing that boron-aluminum

composites have a high specific strength (Askeland, Fulay, & Wright, 2011).

IV.

Problems with use of MMCs in Bicycles

A commonly found ceramic particle in aluminum MMCs is silicon carbide. In

these particular MMCs, the silicon carbide is thermodynamically unstable in the

molten aluminum, which leads to the formation of aluminum carbide. This formation
of aluminum carbide at the interface is believed to have a negative effect on the
mechanical properties of the composite. This detriment is because of the interface
strength and composition. This reaction makes this common composite more
difficult to obtain and thus causing a price increase because of the careful
processing techniques that must be practiced (US/California Patent No. 5,980,602,
1999).
Joining a material is a crucial part of making a bicycle frame. The most
common and reliable way to join materials in a bicycle frame is through welding the
frame pieces together. The welding procedure has a major impact on the materials
microstructure and therefore impacts the properties of the material at that point.
The microstructure of a MMC is subjected to grain over enlargement (Moore, 1998).
This grain enlargement is seen in all materials, but the local grain growth around
the reinforcing particles.
There are many processing techniques for MMCs, but for the solidification of
the ingots to go to the different processes such as a foundry or an extrusion plant.
Extrusion of these ingots can cause a problem because of the reinforcing phase
causing faster die wear, in boron carbides MMCs the extrusion die is made up of
titanium diboride. The main problem with metal matrix composites in bicycles is the
cost, and with tungsten and titanium dies needed for the MMCs raises the cost to
make common items such as bicycles out of the range for typical consumers.

V.

Conclusions of MMCs in Bicycles

Bicycles have been made out of basic materials such as steels and aluminum

in the past. The revolutions is metal matrix composites have made an impact on
most applications, but now it spans to recreational uses. Bicycles enthusiast require
a bicycle that will withstand the most rigorous circumstances. MMC bicycle offer
more tuned properties to allow for the more extreme cases. The parts on the bicycle
that experience the most stress are the rim of the wheels and the bicycle frames.
These are usually made from aluminum, and now can be made with aluminum
matrix composites.
These bicycles are more expensive than regular bicycles have easier
processing techniques and there less demand for MMC bicycles than regular
bicycles which increases production cost. MMC bicycles can be produced in many
methods, but the methods include reducing inter-dendritic triple points, which are a
major start point for cracks. The specific MMCs pertaining to those used in bicycles
add stiffness, fatigue life, and strength to the frame and the rims. There are also
thermodynamic reactions that must be considered when making metal matrix
composites because of the weaker phased that could be formed if the processing is
prepared wrong.
There are several draw backs to producing MMCs: joining issues, cost, and
consistency. While adhesive have become stronger, the adhesives needed for the
MMC bicycles are not quite as strong as welding joint. MMCs cannot be welded
because of their microstructure and the reinforcing phase. The microstructure of
MMC is hard to control through the sintering process, but the amount and type of
reinforcing phase allows for the material to be nearly anisotropic.

VI. Works Cited

Askeland, D. R., Fulay, P. P., & Wright, W. J. (2011). The Science and Engineering of
Materials. Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Carden, R. A. (1999). US/California Patent No. 5,980,602.
Chawla, K. K. (2012). Composite Materials. New York: Springer.
Chawla, K., & Chawla, N. (2004). Metal-Matrix Composites. Springer.
Dixon, W., & Spencer, B. M. (2000, Feb 15). United States of America Patent No.
6,024,413.
Moore, C. (1998). Investingaing the Modern Use and Fabrication of Metal Matrix
Composites and Bonding Adhesives for Bicycles in Mass Transit. ME333T
Technical Communication.
Nussbaum, A. (1997). New applications for aluminum-based metal matrix
composites. Light Metal Age.
Occhionero, M. A. (2005). AlSiC Microprocessor Lids Handle the Heat. SMT Magazine
Archive.
Pyzik, A. J., Newman, R. A., Chartier, M. A., Wetzel, A. M., & Haney, C. N. (2011). US
Patent No. 8,030,234.
Reina, J. (2007, Nov 29). Structural Analysis of a Bicycle Frame using Finite Element
Techniques.