A MIM Route for Producing Ti6Al4V-TiC Composites

Abstract

Discontinuous reinforced titanium matrix composites have generated significant interest due to their compelling properties such as their specific strength and wear resistance at room and elevated temperatures. For these reasons, these materials have been considered in various applications such as automotive (valve components), aerospace (engine components) and medical devices (implants). Metal injection molding (MIM) has proven to be an efficient near net-shape technology suitable for high volume manufacturing of parts having complex geometries. The MIM technology is particularly attractive for producing composites as the metallic matrix does not go through the liquid state. This helps minimizing the segregation of the hard particles. MIM also reduces the needs for machining. However, the production of titanium components with the MIM process has its own challenges and limitations, such as presence of porosities and coarser microstructures compared to wrought products. The present work introduces the results obtained during the development of a MIM route for producing Ti6Al4V-5wt%TiC composites. The feedstock developed is wax-based and incorporates a pre-alloyed metal powder. The microstructure, mechanical properties at room and elevated temperatures, the wear resistance and the thermal diffusivity of the composites have been characterised. Properties are compared with those of a Ti6Al4V MIM material produced with the same feedstock and process but without TiC as well as with those of wrought Ti6Al4V reported in the literature. The presence of a small amount of TiC promotes densification and grain size refinement and affects the surface finish of the sintered components. Tensile properties of the composites are comparable or better than those of wrought Ti6Al4V (ASTM F1472). Improved mechanical properties compared to unreinforced material are associated to the higher density, finer grain size as well as solution strengthening of the titanium matrix.