Mechanically activated combustion synthesis of Fe3Al composite powders reinforced with sub-micrometer TiC particles

摘要

The aim of this work was to develop a process to synthesize Fe3Al matrix composite reinforced with nano scale TiC particles from pure elemental powders as reactants, employing combustion synthesis. The effects of particle size, pre-milling time of precursors on ignition temperature and final powder microstructure were studied. The synthesized composite powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). The targeted powder chemistry, microstructure and optimum spatial distribution of TiC particles were obtained using a pre-milling time of 30 min and a furnace temperature of 1100 degrees C. Powders synthesized in this condition contained only Fe3Al and TiC phases. Because of its high hardness and the presence of nanosized reinforcements, this composite powder can be considered a good candidate for thermal spray applications in manufacturing wear resistant parts. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.