Titanium composite materials for transportation applications

Discontinuously reinforced titanium alloys containing in-situ formed TiB needles are emerging as candidate materials for advanced applications. This new family of titanium composites presents technical advantages, and it can be less expensive and easily amenable for net-shape manufacturing relative to titanium metal-matrix composites developed to date. The production of a master compound by a novel and cost-effective process called self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) has been studied, This master compound could be subsequently used in an investment casting process to obtain TiB-reinforced net-shape titanium-matrix composites. The SHS technique and its features were investigated in depth before a suitable master compound was defined and produced. Cast samples obtained from the addition of the master compound have been produced and the most important issues concerning the processing, microstructure, and mechanical properties are highlighted in this paper.