Investigation on microstructures and mechanical behavior of in-situ synthesized TiC and TiB reinforced Ti6Al4V based composite

To enhance the friction and wear behavior of the Ti6Al4V alloy, titanium matrix composites (TMCs) were prepared by the single TiC, single TiB, and (TiC + TiB) hybrid reinforced with the volume fraction of 2, 6, and 10%, respectively. To investigate the effect of reinforcements on compressive and wear properties, the x-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Electron Probe Micro-analyzer (EPMA), compression test, and pin-on-disk friction tests were applied. The results indicated that compressive strength increased with the addition of the reinforcement, and wear properties were improved due to the uniform distribution of reinforcements, which enhanced the resistance against tangential forces associated with the sliding wear. The wear mechanism appeared to be mainly based on the severe adhesive and oxidative wear, gradually transitioned to slight adhesion, abrasive, and oxidative wear.