Boride reinforcement

Key words Titanium in-situ composites, discontinuous reinforcement, silicide reinforcement, boride reinforcement, mixed silicide-boride reinforcement, ductile reinforcement, microstructure, a -phase, (3-phase, mechanical properties, fracture mechanisms. 

The boride reinforcement contributes significantly to hot hardness (0.5-1 GPa) up to the temperature of sharp softening. 

The key particle-reinforced MMCs, include titanium carbide-reinforced steel, aluminum reinforced with silicon carbide and with alumina particles, titanium carbide particle-reinforced titanium, and titanium boride-reinforced titanium. 

Metal-Matrix Composites. A metal-matrix composite (MMC) is comprised of a metal ahoy, less than 50% by volume that is reinforced by one or more constituents with a significantly higher elastic modulus. Reinforcement materials include carbides, oxides, graphite, borides, intermetahics or even polymeric products. These materials can be used in the form of whiskers, continuous or discontinuous fibers, or particles. Matrices can be made from metal ahoys of Mg, Al, Ti, Cu, Ni or Fe. In addition, intermetahic compounds such as titanium and nickel aluminides, Ti Al and Ni Al, respectively, are also used as a matrix material (58,59). P/M MMC can be formed by a variety of full-density hot consolidation processes, including hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing, extmsion, or forging. 

Recent research has explored a wide variety of filler-matrix combinations for ceramic composites. For example, scientists at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute have been studying a composite made of silicon carbide fibers embedded in a silicon carbide matrix for use in high-temperature applications, such as spacecraft components and nuclear fusion facilities. Other composites that have been tested include silicon nitride reinforcements embedded in silicon carbide matrix, carbon fibers in boron nitride matrix, silicon nitride in boron nitride, and silicon nitride in titanium nitride. Researchers are also testing other, less common filler and matrix materials in the development of new composites. These include titanium carbide (TiC), titanium boride (TiB2), chromium boride (CrB), zirconium oxide (Zr02), and lanthanum phosphate (LaP04). 

Although few applications have so far been found for ceramic matrix composites, they have shown considerable promise for certain military applications, especially in the manufacture of armor for personnel protection and military vehicles. Historically, monolithic ("pure") ceramics such as aluminum oxide (Al203), boron carbide (B4C), silicon carbide (SiC), tungsten carbide (WC), and titanium diboride (TiB2) have been used as basic components of armor systems. Research has now shown that embedding some type of reinforcement, such as silicon boride (SiBg) or silicon carbide (SiC), can improve the mechanical properties of any of these ceramics. 

Eq. (11) is not written as a simple exchange reaction, but rather includes the stable titanium aluminide and aluminum boride phases expected to be in equilibrium with molten Al. Consideration of the formation of inter-metallics must not be overlooked during analysis of reinforcement stability because these, not the free element, are the most likely phases to form (presuming, of course, they exist at the growth temperature). 

In investigations [21-22] our attention was paid mainly to the development of natural composites with boride and silicide hardening, in which reinforced phase is formed through eutectic crystallization. 

Titanium-based composites discontinuously reinforced with silicides, borides and their mixtures are an attractive candidate to be a material with... 

The purpose of the work given was to study the features of structure and mechanical behavior of Ti in-situ composites reinforced with silicide, boride and their joint phases arising in Ti-Si and Ti-B-systems being in as-cast and deformed states. 

Key words titanium, boride, aluminium, eutectic, Si, Ge, Sn, V, Nb, phase equilibrium, reinforcement, hardness, strength, alloy... 

Taking into account that the volume content, size, distribution and properties of the reinforcing boride phase practically do not change with the alloying studied here, the strengthening of the ternary and quaternary eutectic alloys should be attributed practically in full to solid- solution strengthening of the titanium alloy matrix. 

Besides these developments, which are directed at specific applications, NijAl alloys are used for the development of inter-metallic matrix composites which contain reinforcing particles or fibers of borides, carbides, oxides or carbon (Fuchs, 1989 Lee et al., 1990 Tortorelli et al., 1990 Al-man and Stoloff, 1991 Kumar, 1991 McKamey and Carmichael, 1991 Muk-herjee and Khanra, 1991 Brennan etal., 1992). Apart from the mechanical properties and the necessary corrosion resistance, the chemical compatibility of the used phases is of primary importance with respect to the long-term stability. It was found that SiC, B4C, and TiBj react extensively with Nij Al alloys, whereas very little reaction has been observed with AljOj or Tie in NijAl (Fuchs, 1989 Lee etal., 1990 Brennan etal., 1992). It should be noted that NijAl alloys are used not only as the matrix material, but also as a reinforcing phase in, e.g. an Al alloy to form a metal-matrix composite (Metelnick and Varin, 1991). 

H. C. Yi and A. Petrie, Combustion synthesis of Ti-Al-Nb matrix composites reinforced by titanium borides, J. Mater. Synth. Proc. 1994, 2, 161-167. 

M. K. Bmn, R. A. Giddings, and S. Prochazka, Silicon Carbide Composite with Metal Boride Coated Fiber Reinforcement. U.S. Patent No. 5,316,851, May 31, 1994. General Electric Comp. USA. 

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