POWDER METAL PROCESSES FOR TITANIUM METAL MATRIX COMPOSITES PRODUCTION

摘要

Titanium Metal Matrix Composite (TMC) research has progressed over the last 15 to 20 years to the current status of a pre-production engineered material. Over that time numerous demonstration articles have been fabricated and tested with encouraging results TMC's have been demonstrated to be useful in a wide variety of aerospace applications for airframes and propulsion systems. The remaining challenge is the manufacturing development of TMC and TMC reinforced components that simultaneously satisfy the market driven requirements of affordability, performance and reliability. Atlantic Research Corporation (ARC) has, for the last ten years, focused on the manufacturing engineering aspects of TMC and TMC reinforced component fabrication with the goal of establishing a production base for these products. Toward this end, ARC has developed affordable processes utilizing powder metal, efficient manufacturing facilities, and a zero defect manufacturing approach that has made it the leading contender for transition to production. The comparative benefits of powder based TMC processes will be discussed. Issues and approaches relative to manufacturing engineering of TMC components and quality will be reviewed.