Compressive response and microstructural evolution of in-situ TiB_(2)particle-reinforced 7075 aluminum matrix composite

The hot forming behavior,failure mechanism,and microstructure evolution of in-situ TiB_(2)particle-reinforced 7075 aluminum matrix composite were investigated by isothermal compression test under different deformation conditions of deformation temperatures of 300−450℃ and strain rates of 0.001^(−1)s^(−1).The results demonstrate that the failure behavior of the composite exhibits both particle fracture and interface debonding at low temperature and high strain rate,and dimple rupture of the matrix at high temperature and low strain rate.Full dynamic recrystallization,which improves the composite formability,occurs under conditions of high temperature(450℃)and low strain rate(0.001 s^(−1));the grain size of the matrix after hot compression was significantly smaller than that of traditional 7075Al and ex-situ particle reinforced 7075Al matrix composite.Based on the flow stress curves,a constitutive model describing the relationship of the flow stress,true strain,strain rate and temperature was proposed.Furthermore,the processing maps based on both the dynamic material modeling(DMM)and modified DMM(MDMM)were established to analyze flow instability domain of the composite and optimize hot forming processing parameters.The optimum processing domain was determined at temperatures of 425−450℃ and strain rates of 0.001−0.01 s^(−1),in which the fine grain microstructure can be gained and particle crack and interface debonding can be avoided.

Microstructural evolution of copper-titanium alloy during in-situ formation of TiB_2 particles

Bulk Cu-Ti alloy reinforced by TiB2 nano particles was prepared using in-situ reaction between Cu 3.4%Ti and Cu-0.7%B master alloys along with rapid solidification and subsequent heat treatment for 1-10 h at 900 ℃. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM） characterization showed that primary TiB2 nano particles and TiB whiskers were formed by in-situ reaction between Ti and B in the liquid copper. The formation of TiB whiskers within the melt led to coarsening of TiB2 particles. Primary TiB2 particles were dispersed along the grain boundaries and hindered grain growth at high temperature, while the secondary TiB2 particles were formed during heat treatment of the alloy by diffusion reaction of solute titanium and boron inside the grains. Electrical conductivity and hardness of the composite were evaluated during heat treatment. The results indicated that the formation of secondary TiB2 particles in the matrix caused a delay in hardness reduction at high temperature. The electrical conductivity and hardness increased up to 8 h of heat treatment and reached 33.5% IACS and HV 158, respectively.

Comparative study on high temperature deformation behavior and processing maps of Mg-4Zn-1RE-0.5Zr alloy with and without in-situ sub-micron sized TiB2 reinforcement

Mg-4Zn-1RE-0.5Zr (ZE41) Mg alloy is extensively used in the aerospace and automobile industries.In order to improve the applicability and performance,this alloy was engineered with in-situ Ti B2reinforcement to form Ti B2/ZE41 composite.The high temperature deformation behavior and manufacturability of the newly developed Ti B2/ZE41 composite and the parent ZE41 Mg alloy were studied via establishing constitutive modeling of flow stress,deformation activation energy and processing map over a temperature range of 250℃-450℃ and strain rate range of 0.001 s-1-10 s-1.The predicted flow stress behavior of both materials were found to be well consistent with the experimental values.A significant improvement in activation energy was found in Ti B2/ZE41 composite (171.54 k J/mol) as compared to the ZE41 alloy (148.15 k J/mol) due to the dispersed strengthening of in-situ Ti B2particles.The processing maps were developed via dynamic material modeling.A wider workability domain and higher peak efficiency (45%) were observed in Ti B2/ZE41 composite as compared to ZE41 alloy (41%).The Dynamic recrystallization is found to be the dominating deformation mechanism for both materials;however,particle stimulated nucleation was found to be an additional mode of deformation in Ti B2/ZE41 composite.The twinning and stress induced cracks were observed in both the materials at low temperature and high strain rate.A narrow range of instability zone is found in the present Ti B2/ZE41 composite among the existing published literature on Mg based composites.The detailed microstructural characterization was carried out in both workability and instability domains to establish the governing deformation mechanisms.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-TiB_2/TiC in situ composites improved via hot rolling

A kind of Al-TiB2/TiC in situ composite with a homogenous microstructure was successfully prepared through in situ reaction of pure Ti and Al-B-C alloy with molten aluminum.In order to improve the distribution of the particles and mechanical properties of the composites,subsequent hot rolling with increasing reduction was carried out.The microstructure evolution of the composites was characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM)and the mechanical properties were studied through tensile tests and microhardness measurement.It is found that both the microstructure uniformity and mechanical properties of the composites are significantly improved with increasing rolling reduction.The ultimate tensile strength and microhardness of the composites with90%rolling reduction reach185.9MPa and HV59.8,respectively,140%and35%higher than those of as-cast ones.Furthermore,the strengthening mechanism of the composite was analyzed based on the fracture morphologies.