Microstructural and Mechanical Characteristics of in-situ Titanium Metal Matrix Composites

Discontinuously reinforced titanium matrix composites (DRTMCs) are emerging as an alternate to titanium and its alloys for ambient and elevated temperature applications. The present investigation deals with P/M processing of DRTMCs and their characterization. Ti & B4C (1200#, d50 ≈ 3μm ) powders in three different proportions were blended, compacted and pressureless sintered resulting in Ti matrix composites with 10, 20 &30 vol.% of TiB-TiC reinforcements. Completion of reaction between Ti and B4C resulting in Ti, TiB and TiC was confirmed through XRD and microstructural study by SEM. Density, flexural strength, hardness and elastic modulus were measured. TMCs exhibited better mechanical properties in comparison to unreinforced titanium.