Abstract
Mg alloy matrix composites having a combination of their indispensable and superior properties have drawn an attention for various implementations especially in automotive and aerospace industries. Mg in-situ composites were synthesized using Mg-3.2Al-2.4Zn alloy ingot, coarse Ti and B4C powder. Ti and B4C powders were mixed in a plastic bottle with zirconia balls in Ar atmosphere by ball milling. The resulting mixture of these powders was compacted into a cylindrical preform which was infiltrated by Mg-3.2Al-2.4Zn alloy under capillary force. The infiltration of the preform was performed in an electric resistance furnace at the temperatures of 800°C and 900°C for different holding time in Ar atmosphere. The microstructure of the in-situ composites was investigated with a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX). The formation of phases in the in-situ composites during processing was identified using XRD with Cu Kα radiation. SEM revealed different phases in the in-situ composites. It was found in XRD pattern that TiC TiB2, TiB, MgB2, MgB4, B13C2 and Ti2AlC compounds were formed during infiltration of Mg-3.2 Al-2.4 Zn alloy matrix in the composites. The effect of processing parameters on bulk density and Brinell hardness was also discussed.
Highlights
Mg alloy has been considered as a potential matrix material for metal matrix composite (MMC) for its lightweight properties i.e. pure Mg is 35% lighter than Al and over four times lighter than steel [1,2,3]
SEM micrographs of the Mg-Al-Zn alloy in-situ composites synthesized at the temperature of 800°C and 900°C for holding time 1 and 4 hours investigated using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) are shown in Figure 1, Figure 2 and Figure 3
The various sizes of the phases ranging from the submicron to several hundred microns are observed for all the in-situ composites
Summary
Mg alloy has been considered as a potential matrix material for metal matrix composite (MMC) for its lightweight properties i.e. pure Mg is 35% lighter than Al and over four times lighter than steel [1,2,3]. TiC and TiB2 ceramic particles having high melting points, good thermal and chemical stability, high hardness, low densities and excellent wear resistance are considered as good potential reinforcing elements for Mg alloy matrix [11,12]. Using the starting materials Ti and B4C particles via a reactive infiltration technique has been found to be limited in the open literature for synthesizing the Mg alloy matrix TiC and TiB2 in-situ composites [16,17,18,19]. The present work has been performed to the synthesis of Mg alloy matrix composites in-situ MMCs reinforced with stable ceramic particles TiC and TiB2 through infiltration process using Ti and B4C particles as starting materials
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