A comparative study of mechanical properties and wear behaviour of Al-4Cu-TiB₂ and Al-4Cu-TiC in-situ composites

Abstract

Al-4Cu based composites reinforced by in-situ TiB₂ and TiC particles were fabricated by the reaction of molten Al with halide salts and graphite. The processing conditions were controlled to get only TiB₂ and TiC particles by suppressing the formation of brittle Al₃Ti phase in these composites. The composites show significant improvement in strength without any significant loss of ductility. The mechanical properties are better than the conventional Al-SiC and Al-Al₂O₃ composites. The wear results indicate that the addition of reinforcement decreases the wear rate significantly and an increase in the amount of the reinforcement increases the wear resistance of the composites.