The Flexural Strength and Fracture Toughness of TC4-Based Laminated Composites Reinforced with Ti Aluminide and Carbide

Materials (Basel). 2017 Oct 13;10(10):1175. doi: 10.3390/ma10101175.

Abstract

TiC-Ti-Al mixed powders and TC4 titanium alloy foils were overlapped layer-by-layer in the graphite die. The TC4-based laminated composite sheets reinforced by Ti aluminide and carbide were successfully fabricated via spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1100 °C with a well-bonded interface. The composite layers were mainly composed of TiAl, Ti₃Al, Ti₂AlC, and Ti₃AlC₂ phases. The carbides particles distributed in the matrix played an important role in the deflection of cracks and the passivation of microcracks. TC4 titanium alloy layers had an obvious effect on the stress distribution during the loading process, and provided an energy dissipation mechanism, which could improve the mechanical properties of the laminated composite sheets obviously. When the theoretical amount of Ti₂AlC was 20 wt %, the flexural strength and fracture toughness of the laminated composite sheets reached the maximum value in the arrester direction, which were 1428.79 MPa and 64.08 MPa·m1/2, respectively.

Keywords: laminated composite materials; mechanical properties; microstructure; spark plasma sintering (SPS).