Study on the Effect of Processing Method and Type of Reinforcements on Titanium Matrix Composite Properties

摘要

Titanium and its alloys are very attractive materials for advanced applications. However, furtherimprovements are needed to make them competitive with high-strength steels or Ni-based alloys. Thisdemand continues to drive material development efforts to explore new concepts like titanium matrixcomposites (TMCs). Specifically, the presence of reinforcement in titanium alloys can significantlyincrease their stiffness, being very interesting for structural applications This work evaluates theproperties of TMCs using different reinforcements and a novel processing method. Two types ofreinforcements (TiB and TiC) were obtained by SHS where a highly loaded master alloy (80% of TiBor TiC) mixed with Ti-6Al-4V was produced. They were ground and diluted with more Ti-6Al-4Vpowder to obtain the final TMC compositions. Finally, samples were sintered using Spark PlasmaSintering. The microstructure and crystallographic phases of the reinforcements and TMCs arepresented. Preliminary mechanical properties of TMCs are detailed and compared with Ti-6Al-4V.