Mechanical, thermal, electrical, and corrosion properties of microwave-sintered Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo/TiB composites

Abstract

In this study, Titanium boride (TiB) reinforced Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo/XTiB (X = 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt%) composites were successfully fabricated by microwave sintering assisted powder metallurgy process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were used to evaluate the elemental powders individually. The distribution of TiB particles in the sintered Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo composites was observed using optical microscopy (OM) and SEM. The Microhardness of the microwave-sintered samples was evaluated through Micro Vicker’s hardness testing machine. Thermal characteristics were estimated for temperatures ranging from 50 to 250 °C. The electrical conductivity of Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo/TiB composites was calculated from the measured resistance values using the four-point probe method at room temperature. The immersion method was performed to estimate the corrosion properties by suspending the sintered samples in 3.5% NaCl solution for 60 h. The morphology of the corroded surfaces was examined using SEM. The results revealed that Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo/15TiB possessed optimum hardness values from 220 to 260 HV, mechanical properties such as True yield strength from 728 to 814 MPa, ultimate compression strength from 1335 to 1680 MPa, fracture strain of 6.12 to 13.81%. It also revealed less weight loss in a corrosion medium of 0.6 g. The Ti-0.8Ni-0.3Mo/TiB composites had good properties in densification aspects, which is suitable for applications such as marine and airfare components.