Effects of High-Intensity Ultrasound on Microstructure and Mechanical Property of In situ TiB2/2A14 Composites

In situ TiB2/2A14 composites with a 3% volume fraction were prepared by mixing salt reaction and high energy ultrasound. The effects of high-intensity ultrasonic on the microstructure and mechanical properties of TiB2/2A14 composites were systematically investigated. The microstructures of the composites were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The phase composition was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that after introducing ultrasonic vibration into the melt, due to the cavitation and acoustic streaming effect, the particle agglomerations were significantly reduced and particles of different sizes were evenly dispersed in the matrix. With ultrasonic vibration treatment of 120 s, the agglomerations were basically eliminated, and the particles were uniformly distributed to the most. The yield strength, tensile strength and elongation of the composites were increased by 53%, 21% and 30%, respectively, compared with that without ultrasonic vibration treatment (UVT).