General Trends of Structure Formation in Graded Composite Materials Based on the Ti3AlC2 MAX Phase on Titanium

Abstract

This paper considers the main trends of structure formation in graded composite materials based on the Ti3AlC2 MAX phase on titanium under combustion and high-temperature deformation conditions in the unconfined self-propagating high-temperature synthesis compaction method. We demonstrate that a compact graded composite material can be obtained in tens of seconds in one processing step at relatively low pressures (50 MPa). Varying the delay time before applying pressure, we can control the structure and mechanical properties of the resulting composite material. The largest number of carbide grains are formed in the upper part of the material. As the titanium layer is approached, the number of such grains decreases, which is accompanied by an increase in the number of platelike MAX phase grains. We have studied mechanical characteristics of the synthesized materials: variation of microhardness along the height of the composite material and its modulus of elasticity and bending strength.