Influence of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of In Situ Reinforced Titanium Composites by Inductive Hot Pressing

Cristina Arévalo; Isabel Montealegre-Meléndez; Enrique Ariza; Michael Kitzmantel; Cristina Rubio-Escudero; Erich Neubauer

doi:10.3390/ma9110919

Influence of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of In Situ Reinforced Titanium Composites by Inductive Hot Pressing

Materials (Basel). 2016 Nov 11;9(11):919. doi: 10.3390/ma9110919.

Authors

Cristina Arévalo¹, Isabel Montealegre-Meléndez², Enrique Ariza³, Michael Kitzmantel⁴, Cristina Rubio-Escudero⁵, Erich Neubauer⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Engineering and Materials Science and Transportation, School of Engineering, University of Seville, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, Seville 41092, Spain. carevalo@us.es.
² Department of Engineering and Materials Science and Transportation, School of Engineering, University of Seville, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, Seville 41092, Spain. imontealegre@us.es.
³ Department of Engineering and Materials Science and Transportation, School of Engineering, University of Seville, Camino de los Descubrimientos s/n, Seville 41092, Spain. enrarigal1@hotmail.com.
⁴ RHP-Technology GmbH, Forschungs und Technologiezentrum, Seibersdorf 2444, Austria. michael.kitzmantel@rhp-technology.com.
⁵ Department of Computer Languages and Systems, University of Seville, Avenida Reina Mercedes s/n, Seville 41012, Spain. crubioescudero@us.es.
⁶ RHP-Technology GmbH, Forschungs und Technologiezentrum, Seibersdorf 2444, Austria. erich.neubauer@rhp-technology.com.

Abstract

This research is focused on the influence of processing temperature on titanium matrix composites reinforced through Ti, Al, and B₄C reactions. In order to investigate the effect of Ti-Al based intermetallic compounds on the properties of the composites, aluminum powder was incorporated into the starting materials. In this way, in situ Ti_xAl_y were expected to form as well as TiB and TiC. The specimens were fabricated by the powder metallurgy technique known as inductive hot pressing (iHP), using a temperature range between 900 °C and 1400 °C, at 40 MPa for 5 min. Raising the inductive hot pressing temperature may affect the microstructure and properties of the composites. Consequently, the variations of the reinforcing phases were investigated. X-ray diffraction, microstructural analysis, and mechanical properties (Young's modulus and hardness) of the specimens were carried out to evaluate and determine the significant influence of the processing temperature on the behavior of the composites.

Keywords: TixAly intermetallic; boron carbide; inductive hot pressing; titanium matrix composites.