Construction of an in-situ TiC and (TiZr)5Si3 dual-scale network hierarchical structure in titanium matrix composites and its effect on mechanical properties

Qiang Wang, Zhao Hui Zhang*, Xiao Tong Jia, Yang Yu He, Jin Zhao Zhou, Yuan Hao Sun, Xing Wang Cheng*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this study, the pyrolysis products of polycarbosilane were used as sources of carbon and silicon to synthesize (TiZr)5Si3 and TiC reinforcements, enhancing the performance of titanium matrix composites. By controlling the particle scale of the matrix alloy powders, the scale of the reinforcement network structure was successfully manipulated. The microstructural features and mechanical behavior of the (TiC+(TiZr)5Si3)/TA15 composite were systematically examined. The findings show that the (TiZr)5Si3 and TiC reinforcements create a multi-scale hierarchical network structure within the composite, effectively inhibiting β grains coarsening. The TiC particles have an average size of approximately 3.1 μm, while the (TiZr)5Si3 particles are around 95 nm in size. Relative to pure TA15 alloy, the β grains were refined from 474.7 μm to 40.6 μm. Moreover, the strength of the composite decreased as the network structure size increased, with the maximum yield strength reaching 1423 MPa, a 47.3 % improvement over the TA15 matrix. Meanwhile, the maximum hardness reaches 402.1 HV, corresponding to a 15.8 % increase compared to the TA15 matrix. This improvement primarily results from the refined grains and the uniform dispersion of reinforcements, while the composite's plasticity remained nearly unaffected by the network structure dimensions.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102437
JournalComposites Communications
Volume57
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2025
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Mechanical properties
  • Microstructure
  • Spark plasma sintering
  • Titanium matrix composites

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