Interfacial reaction process of the hot-pressed WC/2024Al composite

12 vol%WCp/2024Al composite was fabricated from mixed powders by hot-pressing at various tempera-tures. Investigation of the interfacial reaction between the WC phase and the Al alloy matrix was performed by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscope （TEM） and energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）. A multiple layer interface structure, which is composed of Al/ WAl12/AlnC3/WC, is found to form by the interfacial reaction during hot-pressing. Further study shows that the AlaC3 layer forms along with a given crystal orientation of WC phase and might retard the interfacial reaction process.