Investigation of Manufacturability of TiB2 Particle Reinforced AlCuMg Composites

Abstract

Al and its alloys are used as composite materials in various industries due to their properties (such as high corrosion resistance, heat resistance, electrical properties, strength and toughness) in various industries such as automotive, aerospace, biomedical and aerospace. However, in the industrial use of Al and its alloys, problems are encountered in terms of their mechanical properties. It has been determined that there are very few studies in the literature on studies to increase the mechanical properties of AlCuMg and its alloys. In this study, TiB2 particles were added to the AlCuMg matrix at different rates and mixed with three-dimensional turbula for 1 hour. As a result of experimental studies, it was aimed to produce composite materials with AlCuMg matrix in terms of microstructure and mechanical properties. The samples were produced by powder metallurgy and molten salt protected synthesis method by mixing Al, Cu, Mg and TiB2 powders at different chemical composition ratios during the production phase. The molten salt protected sintering process was preferred to prevent oxidation of the produced samples and for the synthesis process during sintering. In this molten salt protection method, KBr (potassium bromide) is preferred as the salt. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analyzes were applied for the characterization processes of the samples after production. Microhardness measurements were applied for the strength and mechanical characterization of the produced samples. Since TiB2 particles have high melting temperature, high strength and high mechanical properties, it has been determined that AlCuMg alloy increases the microstructure and mechanical properties.