Effect of Al on the Phase Composition, Microstructure, and Properties of SHS Composites Based on the Ti–B System.

We have studied the effect of a small aluminum addition on the phase composition, microstructure, and physicomechanical characteristics of a Ti–B based metal–ceramic composite produced by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis compaction. The results demonstrate that the addition of 2 wt % aluminum increases the percentage of TiB2 and α-Ti in the structure of the composites. Evaluation of the unit-cell parameters of titanium by the Rietveld method (with Jana2006 software) has shown that co-alloying with oxygen and aluminum reduces the unit-cell volume of titanium and stabilizes α-Ti. The composites alloyed with Al have higher compressive strength and lower microhardness (HV) owing to the larger percentage of the Ti binder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]