Abstract: The results show that the tensile strengh retention of the SiC/Al and SiC/LF 6 precursor wire under three kinds of treatments is high(>87%). The three treatments include elevated temperature up to 600℃ in Vacuum; exposure for 144 hours at 400℃ in air; and immersion in distilled water and in 5% NaCl solution at room temperature for 15 days. The SiC/Al precursor wire exhi(?)its excellent corrosion resistance and high themal stability at elevated temperature. The coriosion gases, corrosion products and the solution are examined by means of gas chromatogragh and disperse spectrometer. It is estimated that the reaction mechanism is primarily the electrochemistry corrosion. The corrosion rate of the precursor wire of SiC/Al is much slower than that of C/Al, and only a little damage of the interface between SiC fiber and aluminum matrix is noted.

Key words: Corrosion resistance, Thermal stability, Metal matrix composite, Research