Microstructure and Mechanical properties of TiB2/Al Composites

TiB2/Al composites were prepared by the melt in situ reaction fabrication using Al-3B master alloy and Ti powder as the reactive materials. The phase composition and the microstructure of the as-prepared composites were investigated by XRD, SEM. The results indicate that the reinforcements are TiB2 and a small amount of Al3Ti. TiB2 particles are in the shape of irregular polygon or rectangle, and its size is 0.5-21 mu m. Compared with the matrix material, the ultimate tensile strength, microhardness of as-prapred composites increase by 51%, 68.8%, 85.2%, and 33.4%, 43.8%, 55%, respectively. However, the elongation decrease with the volume fraction of the reinforcements increased.