Microstructure and mechanical properties of GTA weldments of titanium matrix composites prepared with or without current pulsing

The effects of current pulsing on the microstructure, hardness and tensile properties at different temperatures of gas tungsten arc （GTA） weldments of titanium matrix composites were studied. Full-penetration butt joints were made with or without current pulsing. Optical microscopy, hardness test and scanning electron microscopy were employed to evaluate the metallurgical characteristics of welded joints. Tensile properties of weldments at different temperatures were studied and correlated with the microstructure. The results exhibit that current pulsing leads to the refinement of the weld microstrucmre and TiB whisker and the redistribution of reinforcements resulting in higher hardness, tensile strength and ductility of weldments in the as-welded condition.

Microstructure and formation mechanism of titanium matrix composites coating on Ti-6Al-4V by laser cladding

Laser cladding experiments were done on a 5-kW continuous wave CO2 laser to synthesize TiC and TiB rein- fowed titanium matrix composite coatings on Ti-6AI-4V alloy with a mixture of Ti and B4C precursor powder. The ther- modynamics of the reactions were calculated and analyzed. The microstructure and phase evolution of TiB and TiC com- posites were investigated. The results showed that the chemical reaction between Ti and B4C would release much heat, and these compounds, TiC, TiB, and small amount of TiB2, can be formed on the surface of Ti-6AI-4V alloy if the supplied en- ergy is sufficient to excite the reaction among the initial products. A good metallurgical bond between the coating and the substrate can be achieved. The microhardness of coating was irregular and the maximum value was approximately HV600.

Dynamic recrystallization and silicide precipitation behavior of titanium matrix composites under different strains

In order to elucidate the microstructure evolution and silicide precipitation behavior during high-temperature deformation,TiB reinforced titanium matrix composites were subjected to isothermal hot compression at 950℃,strain rate of 0.05 s^(−1) and employing different strains of 0.04,0.40,0.70 and 1.00.The results show that with the increase of strain,a decrease in the content,dynamic recrystallization of theαphase and the vertical distribution of TiB along the compression axis lead to stress stability.Meantime,continuous dynamic recrystallization reduces the orientation difference of the primaryαphase,which weakens the texture strength of the matrix.The recrystallization mechanisms are strain-induced grain boundary migration and particle stimulated nucleation by TiB.The silicide of Ti_(6)Si_(3) is mainly distributed at the interface of TiB andαphase.The precipitation of silicide is affected by element diffusion,and TiB whisker accelerates the precipitation behavior of silicide by hindering the movement of dislocations and providing nucleation particles.

Wear modes in open porosity titanium matrix composites with TiC addition processed by spark plasma sintering

This work focused on the influence of TiC reinforcing particles on the tribological properties of titanium matrix composites(TMCs)with open porosity,processed by spark plasma sintering(SPS).Materials composed of an equimolar mixture of Ti and TiH2 with 0,3,10 and 30 vol.% of TiC were sintered at 850 ℃.Nanoindentation and wear tests were carried out to assess the nanohardness and the wear resistance in a tribometer with a reciprocating sliding ball-on-flat configuration.Results showed a nanohardness increment from 5 to 14 GPa with increasing TiC content.The coefficient of friction(CoF)showed a minimum of 0.2 for 10% TiC grade,which also showed the lowest wear rate.For the low TiC content sample,adhesive wear with severe plastic deformation was identified.Meanwhile,medium content TiC sample showed a mechanical mixed layer(MML),whereas high TiC content composite showed abrasive as the main wear mechanism.In conclusion,the wear mechanisms,CoFs and wear volume changed with TiC content.

Research on development of in situ titanium matrix composites and in situ reaction thermodynamics of the reaction systems

The in situ synthesis method for titanium matrix composites （TMCs） has obvious technical and economical advantages over other traditional methods. Ultrafine reinforcement particles were formed in situ by chemical reaction between elements or between elements and compounds. Using the approach, contamination at the composite matrix/reinforcement particle interface did not occur, interface bonding was good, and the reinforcement particle was thermodynamically stable. The stage of development of the preparation process for in situ TMCs as well as the thermodynamic analysis of the possible in situ reaction systems was described.

Milling Machinability of TiC Particle and TiB Whisker Hybrid Reinforced Titanium Matrix Composites

The milling machinabilities of titanium matrix composites were comprehensively evaluated to provide a theoretical basis for cutting parameter determination. Polycrystalline diamond （PCD） tools with different grain sizes and geometries, and carbide tools with and without coatings were used in the experiments. Milling forces, milling temperatures, tool lifetimes, tool wear, and machined surface integrities were investigated. The PCD tool required a primary cutting force 15 % smaller than that of the carbide tool, while the uncoated carbide tool required a primary cutting force 10% higher than that of the TiA1N-eoated tool. A cutting force of 300 N per millimeter of the cutting edge （300 N/mm） was measured. This caused excessive tool chipping. The cutting temperature of the PCD tool was 20%-30% lower than that of the carbide tool, while that of the TiA1N-coated tool was 12% lower than that of the uncoated carbide tool. The cutting temperatures produced when using water-based cooling and minimal quantity lubrication （MQL） were reduced by 100 ~C and 200 ~C, compared with those recorded with dry cutting, respectively. In general, the PCD tool lifetimes were 2--3 times longer than the carbide tool lifetimes. The roughness Ra of the machined surface was less than 0.6μm, and the depth of the machined surface hardened layer was in the range of 0.15-0.25 mm for all of the PCD tools before a flank wear land of 0.2 mm was reached. The PCD tool with a 0.8 mm tool nose radius, 0% rake angle, 10% flank angle, and grain size of （30＋2） μm exhibited the best cutting performance. For this specific tool, a lifetime of 16 rain can be expected.

Evaluation the Properties of Titanium Matrix Composites by Melting Route Synthesis

The main purpose of this study is an in-situ synthesis of （TiB＋TiC） hybrid titanium matrix composites （TMCs） by vacuum induction melting method and to verify its mechanical properties.The melting route was adopted to synthesize the commercial pure titanium （cp Ti） and granular boron carbide （B-4C）.The reinforcements,the fraction of 10 vol.pct,were formed by adding 1.88 wt pct B-4C to cp Ti.After in-situ synthesis of TMCs,electron probe micro-analysis elemental mapping was carried out to confirm the distribution and shape of reinforcements.The cone-on-disk type sliding wear test was also done for the identification of TMCs.It is concluded that （TiB＋TiC） hybrid TMCs can be in-situ synthesized and has better wear properties than H13.

Reaction Processes of the Titanium Matrix Composites Fabricated from Ti-Al-B2O3 System

Titanium matrix composites reinforced with a-Al2O3 and TiB2 particles were fabricated by in situ synthesis from a Ti-Al-B2O3 system. The reaction processes and microstructure were analyzed by using differential scanning calorimetry（DSC）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and X-ray diffraction（XRD）. The results showed that the reactions in the Ti-Al-B2O3 system can occur spontaneously and consist of three steps： 1） 15 Al ＋ 7B2O3 → 7α-Al2O3 ＋ AlB12 ＋ 2B; 2） 14 B ＋ 2Al → AlB12 ＋ AlB2 and 3） 7Ti ＋ AlB（12） ＋ AlB2 → 7TiB2 ＋ 2Al. The final reinforcements were composed of α-Al2O3 and TiB2 particles, which were uniformly distributed in the titanium matrix.

Mechanical properties and thermal deformation behavior of low-cost titanium matrix composites prepared by a structure-optimized Y_(2)O_(3) crucible

A porous yttrium oxide crucible with both thermal shock resistance and erosion resistance was developed by structural optimization.The structure-optimized yttrium oxide crucible was proved to be suitable for melting highly reactive titanium alloys.Low-cost(TiB+Y2O_(3))-reinforced titanium matrix composites were prepared by vacuum induction melting using the prepared crucible.The thermal deformation behavior and microstructure evolution of(TiB+Y2O_(3))-reinforced tita-nium matrix composites were investigated at deformation temperatures of 900-1100℃with strain rates of 0.001-1 s-1.The results showed that the prepared yttrium oxide crucible had both thermal shock and erosion resistance,the low-cost titanium matrix composites could be prepared by the developed yttrium oxide crucibles which were homogeneous in composition and highly sensitive to strain rate and deformation temperature,and the peak and theological stresses decreased with increasing deformation temperature or decreasing strain rate.In addition,the average thermal deformation activation energy of the composites was calculated to be 574.6 kJ/mol by establishing the Arrhenius constitutive equation in consideration of the strain variables,and the fitting goodness between the predicted stress value and the measured value was 97.624%.The calculated analysis of the hot processing map showed that the best stable thermal deformation zone was located in the deformation temperature range of 1000-1100℃and strain rate range of 0.001-0.01 s^(-1),where the peak dissipation coefficient wasη=71%.In this zone,the deformation of the reinforcement and matrix was harmonious,the reinforcement was less likely to fracture,dynamic recrystallization occurred more fully and the alloy exhibited near steady rheological characteristics.

Comparative Assessment on Microstructure and Properties of in-situ TiC+Ti_(5)Si_(3)Reinforced TiAl-Sn-Zr Matrix Composites by Spark Plasma Sintering and Argon Protected Sintering

The effects of SiC particles(SiCp)on high temperature oxidation behavior of titanium matrix composites(TMCs)under different powder metallurgy processes were investigated.In situ Ti C+Ti_(5)Si_(3)reinforced titanium matrix composites were prepared by discharge plasma sintering(SPS)and argon protective sintering(APS).The results show that the two processes have a negligible effect on the composition and hardness of the samples,but the hardness of the two samples is significantly improved by adding SiCp.The apparent porosity of SPS process is obviously smaller than that of APS process,whereas,the apparent porosity increases slightly with the addition of SiCp.The oxide layer thickness and mass gain of the samples obtained by SPS process are smaller than those obtained by APS process.The oxide thickness and mass gain of both processes are further reduced by adding SiCp.The SPS composites showed the best high temperature oxidation resistance.Therefore,TMCs with Si Cp by SPS can effectively improve the high-temperature oxidation behavior of the materials.

Improved mechanical properties in titanium matrix composites reinforced with quasi-continuously networked graphene nanosheets and in-situ formed carbides

In order to construct quasi-continuously networked reinforcement in titanium(Ti)matrix composites,in this study,Ti-6 Al-4 V spherical powders were uniformly coated with a graphene nanosheet(GNS)layer by high energy ball milling and then consolidated by spark plasma sintering.Results showed that the GNS layer on the powder surface inhibited continuous metallurgy bonding between powders during sintering,which led to the formation of quasi-networked hybrid reinforcement structure consisting of insitu Ti C and remained GNSs.The networked GNSs/Ti64 composite possessed noticeably higher tensile strength but similar ductility to the Ti64 alloy,leading to both better tensile strength and ductility than the GNSs/Ti composite with randomly dispersed GNSs and Ti C.The formation mechanism and the fracture mechanism of the networked hybrid reinforcement were discussed.The results provided a method to fabricate Ti matrix composites with high strength and good ductility.

Rapid in-situ reaction synthesis of novel TiC and carbon nanotubes reinforced titanium matrix composites

In-situ TiC and remained multi-walled carbon nanotubes（MWCNTs） reinforced Ti composites were synthesized using vacuum hot-press sintering and hot rolling. The effect of weight fraction of MWCNTs on microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the Ti composites was investigated. The results indicated that both proportion and particle size of TiC increased in proportion to MWCNTs content, which resulted in different matrix microstructure, and the grains were obviously refined after rolling deformation. The hardness tests indicated that MWCNTs addition could make the composites harden, and 18.4%improvement in hardness was obtained after hot rolling. The significant improvement in both strength and hardness could be attributed to grain refinement, solid solution strengthening of carbon and dispersion strengthening of TiC particles and remained MWCNTs. A good combination of strength and ductility were achieved in Ti–1 wt% MWCNTs composites, which were in accordance with the uniform distribution of smaller-sized TiC particles in Ti matrix.

High Temperature Properties of Discontinuously Reinforced Titanium Matrix Composites:A Review

Further improvement on high temperature durability is one of the most important aims except for high specific strength, high specific stiffness, and excellent wear resistance, to design and fabricate discontinuously reinforced titanium matrix composites （DRTMCs）. Their superior properties render them extensive application potential in aerospace and military industries due to the urgent demand for the materials with characteristics of lightweight, high strength, high stiffness and high temperature durability. With development on fabrication methods and room temperature properties, testing, characterizing, evaluating and further increasing high temperature properties of DRTMCs are becoming more and more important to promote their applications. This review provides insights and comprehensions on the high temperature tensile properties, superplastic tensile properties, creep behaviors, and high temperature oxidation behaviors of DRTMCs,

Manufacturing Titanium Metal Matrix Composites by Consolidating Matrix Coated Fibres

Titanium metal matrix composites （TiMMCs） reinforced by continuous silicon carbide fibres are being developed for aerospace applications. TiMMCs manufactured by the consolidation of matrix-coated fibre （MCF） method offer optimum properties because of the resulting uniform fibre distribution, minimum fibre damage and fibre volume fraction control. In this paper, the consolidation of Ti-6Al-4V matrix-coated SiC fibres during vacuum hot pressing has been investigated. Experiments were carried out on multi-ply MCFs under vacuum hot pressing （VHP）. In contrast to most of existing studies, the fibre, arrangement has been carefully controlled either in square or hexagonal arrays throughout the consolidated sample. This has enabled the dynamic consolidation behaviour of MCFs to be demonstrated by eliminating the fibre re-arrangement during the VHP process. The microstructural evolution of the matrix coating was reported and the deformation mechanisms involved were discussed.

Insight into the formation mechanism and interaction of matrix/TiB whisker textures and their synergistic effect on property anisotropy in titanium matrix composites

Considerable studies on processed pure titanium and titanium alloys have proved the possibility of prop-erty anisotropy induced by crystallographic textures,but limited information is available for the intrinsic coupling of matrix and reinforcement textures and their synergistic effect on property anisotropy in tita-nium matrix composite(TMCs).In the present work,an advanced EBSD/EDS coupling method was used to investigate the formation mechanism of primaryαand secondaryαtextures in the matrix alloy.It is revealed for the first time that the reinforcement TiB_(w)displays a{100}<010>texture after hot rolling and has little effect on the matrix texture component but weakens texture intensity.Significant anisotropies in the tensile strength and ductility can be all noted at room and high-temperatures,which is the syn-ergistic effect of the matrix texture and the aligned TiB_(w).The mean Schmid factor of each slip system was calculated to evaluate the influence of matrix texture on the minimum active stress of slip deforma-tion in the different tensile directions.The analysis shows that the strong T-type matrix texture results in higher strength but lower ductility when loaded in the transverse direction.Moreover,a generalized shear-lag model was modified to quantitatively evaluate the strengthening contribution of aligned TiB_(w),which decreases with increasing off-axis angle and test temperature.A new parameter,defined as the critical aspect ratio of the off-axis whisker,was proposed to rationalize why the TiB_(w) failure mechanism converts from TiB_(w) fracture to TiB_(w)/matrix interfacial debonding with increasing off-axis angle and test temperature.

Microstructure evolution and improved properties of laminated titanium matrix composites with gradient equiaxed grains

With the purpose of improving both the strength and ductility,gradient equiaxed grains were successfully achieved in the matrix of the laminated TiB/Ti-TiB/Ti-6.58Al-1.76Zr-1.04V-0.89Mo composite via water quenching(WQ) and thermal compressing deformation. Gradient equiaxed grains varied from approximately 1.0 μm in TiB/Ti-6.58Al-1.76Zr-1.04V-0.89Mo layer to 5.5 μm in TiB/Ti layer. The formation of the gradient structure was related to the alloying elements diffusion during the initial sintering process,and the equiaxed shape was constructed by dynamic recrystallization during thermal compressing. WQ treatment before thermal compressing was adopted to obtain fine lamellar structure,which promoted the segmentation of αlamellae,and accelerated the dynamic recrystallization process. Raising the quenching temperature can increase the proportion of equiaxed grains in the composite,which improved both the bending strength and ductility. Compared with the as-sintered specimen,the specimen with gradient equiaxed grains exhibited nearly 30% enhancement in flexural strength(from 1719 to 2218 MPa),and the ultimate bending fracture strain was increased from 7.0% to 17.2%. This significant improvement should be attributed to the coordination deformation by interface gradient grains,the grain refinement strengthening and the good balance between strength and ductility of the recrystallized equiaxed grains.

Finite element modeling of consolidation process of Si C fiber-reinforced titanium matrix composites via matrix-coated fiber method

The consolidation process of SiCf/Ti-6Al-4V composites by matrix-coated fiber (MCF) method via hot pressing was investigated using finite element modeling (FEM). By analyzing the elastic–plastic contact deformation of the representative aligned coated fibers, the consolidation maps delineating the time–temperature–pressure relationship for full densification were constructed. Both the flow coefficient and the contact area coefficient used to describe the contact deformation were calculated according to the model. In addition, the effect of fiber content on matrix stress distribution was analyzed. The results show that fiber content is a significant factor that influences the densification process. Higher fiber content will lower the consolidation rate.

Grinding behavior and surface appearance of(TiC_p+ TiB_w)/Ti-6Al-4V titanium matrix composites

（TiCp＋ TiBw）/Ti-6Al-4V titanium matrix composites（PTMCs） have broad application prospects in the aviation and nuclear field. However, it is a typical difficult-to-cut material due to high hardness of the reinforcements, high strength and low thermal conductivity of Ti-6Al-4V alloy matrix. Grinding experiments with vitrified CBN wheels were conducted to analyze comparatively the grinding performance of PTMCs and Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Grinding force and force ratios, specific grinding energy, grinding temperature, surface roughness, ground surface appearance were discussed. The results show that the normal grinding force and the force ratios of PTMCs are much larger than that of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Low depth of cut and high workpiece speed are generally beneficial to achieve the precision ground surface for PTMCs. The hard reinforcements of PTMCs are mainly removed in the ductile mode during grinding. However, the removal phenomenon of the reinforcements due to brittle fracture still exists, which contributes to the lower specific grinding energy and grinding temperature of PTMCs than Ti-6Al-4V alloy.

Interconnected microstructure and flexural behavior of Ti_(2)C-Ti composites with superior Young’s modulus

To enhance the Young’s modulus(E)and strength of titanium alloys,we designed titanium matrix composites with intercon-nected microstructure based on the Hashin-Shtrikman theory.According to the results,the in-situ reaction yielded an interconnected microstructure composed of Ti_(2)C particles when the Ti_(2)C content reached 50vol%.With widths of 10 and 230 nm,the intraparticle Ti lamellae in the prepared composite exhibited a bimodal size distribution due to precipitation and the unreacted Ti phase within the grown Ti_(2)C particles.The composites with interconnected microstructure attained superior properties,including E of 174.3 GPa and ultimate flexural strength of 1014 GPa.Compared with that of pure Ti,the E of the composite was increased by 55% due to the high Ti_(2)C content and interconnected microstructure.The outstanding strength resulted from the strong interfacial bonding,load-bearing capacity of interconnected Ti_(2)C particles,and bimodal intraparticle Ti lamellae,which minimized the average crack driving force.Interrupted flexural tests revealed preferential crack initiation along the{001}cleavage plane and grain boundary of Ti_(2)C in the region with the highest tensile stress.In addition,the propagation can be efficiently inhibited by interparticle Ti grains,which prevented the brittle fracture of the composites.

Microstructural characterization and mechanical properties of(TiC+TiB)/TA15 composites prepared by an in-situ synthesis method

Titanium matrix composites reinforced with ceramic particles are considered a promising engineering material due to their combination of high specific strength,low density,and high modulus.In this study,the TA15-based composites reinforced with a volume fraction of 10% to 25%(TiB+TiC)were prepared using powder metallurgy and casting technique.Microstructural characterization and phase constitution were examined using optical microscopy(OM),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),and X-ray diffraction(XRD).In addition,the microhardness,room temperature(RT)and high temperature(HT)tensile properties of the composites were evaluated.Results revealed that the reinforcements are distributed uniformly even in the composites with a high volume of TiB and TiC.However,as the volume fraction exceeds 15%,TiB and TiC particles become coarsening and exhibit rod-like and dendritic-like morphology.Microhardness increases gradually from 321.2 HV for the base alloy to a maximum of 473.3 HV as the reinforcement increases to 25vol.%.Tensile test results indicate that a reinforcement volume fraction above 20% is beneficial for enhancing tensile strength and yield strength at high temperatures,but it has an adverse effect on room temperature elongation.Conversely,if the reinforcement volume fraction is below 20%,it can improve high-temperature elongation when the temperature exceeds 600℃.