High volume fraction TiCx/Al composites with good comprehensive performance fabricated by combustion synthesis and hot press consolidation

In situ high volume fraction (50-70 vol.%) TiCx/Al composites were successfully fabricated by combustion synthesis and hot press consolidation in an Al-Ti-C system. Microstructure characterization of the TiCx/Al composites shows relatively uniform distribution of the TiCx particles with the particle size in the range of about 1-5 mu m. All of the yield strength (sigma(0.2)), hardness and abrasive wear resistance of the TiCx/Al composites increase with the increase in the TiCx content, and the sigma(UCS) firstly increases and then decreases. The sigma(0.2), sigma(UCS), fracture strain (epsilon(f)) and hardness of the 70 vol.% TiCx/Al composite are 576 MPa, 744 MPa, 3.09% and 253.5 +/- 6 Hv, respectively. The abrasive wear resistance of the 70 vol.% TiCx/Al composite is about 4 times higher than that of the cast hypereutectic Al-Si alloy when the applied load is no more than 25 N and the Al2O3 abrasive particle size is no more than 20 mu m. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.