Microstructural aspects of titanium metal matrix composites in consolidation processing

Foil-fiber-foil (FFF) method together with vacuum hot pressing (VHP) has been used for the development of titanium metal matrix composites (NMCs). Heterogeneous microstructures prior to and following consolidation have been quantified, and the relations to densification behavior investigated. As shown by the results, dramatic variations of the microstructures including equiaxed alpha, transformed beta and Widmanstatten alpha are obtained during the process according to the fiber distributions. The dependence of microstructures on the consolidation then has been explained in terms of the change in mechanisms such as gain growth and recrystallization that occur with changing levels of inhomogeneity of deformation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.