International Scientific Journals
of Scientific Technical Union of Mechanical Engineering "Industry 4.0"

Titanium matrix composites reinforced with titanium borides (TiB) represent a promising class of advanced structural materials due to their high specific strength, hardness, wear resistance, and thermal stability. The combination of titanium alloys with ceramic TiB reinforcing phases enables the development of lightweight materials with improved mechanical and эксплуатаційними characteristics for aerospace, biomedical, and engineering applications.
This study investigates the fabrication of Ti/TiB titanium matrix composites using X-Beam 3D printing technology. The process is based on electron-beam additive manufacturing under vacuum conditions, which ensures stable melting conditions, reduced oxidation, and controlled heat input during layer-by-layer deposition. Special attention was focused on the in situ formation of TiB reinforcing phases and their influence on the microstructure evolution of the composite material.
Microstructural analysis was carried out using scanning electron microscopy and metallographic techniques. The obtained results demonstrated the formation of dense composite structures with relatively low porosity and homogeneous distribution of reinforcing phases within the titanium matrix. TiB particles and whisker-like precipitates were observed to form during solidification, contributing to microstructure refinement and strengthening effects.
The fabricated Ti/TiB composites exhibited improved structural uniformity and enhanced hardness compared with unreinforced titanium materials. The morphology and distribution of TiB phases were found to depend on the thermal conditions and processing parameters of X-Beam printing. The results confirm the potential of X-Beam additive manufacturing for producing advanced titanium matrix composites with tailored microstructure and improved performance characteristics.

Titanium–titanium boride (Ti/TiC) metal matrix composites have been widely identified as promising materials for various applications. The traditional ingot metallurgy processing strategies used to fabricate these materials are energy intensive and have fallen short of their perceived mass production potentials. Powder metallurgy processing of Ti/TiC composites from titanium and TiC powder blends, is currently widely used for the cost-efficient production of such composites. Additional processing by the method of hot pressing improves the structure and mechanical properties of this class of materials. The composites have the heterogenous microstructure with areas high hardness area over 1173 HV. While matrix and inclusions had the value of 700 HV.

Titanium–titanium boride (Ti/TiB) metal matrix composites have been widely identified as promising materials for various applications. The traditional ingot metallurgy processing strategies used to fabricate these materials are energy intensive and have fallen short of their perceived mass production potentials. Powder metallurgy processing, especially that aimed at in-situ synthesis of Ti/TiB composites from titanium and TiB2 powder blends, is currently widely used for the cost-efficient production of such composites. Additional processing by the method of hot pressing improves the structure and mechanical properties of this class of materials.

The melt spinning and ball-milling techniques were applied to fabricate powder Al-Si-Ni alloy. The obtained Al-Si-Ni powder was compacted in pellet and solid-state sintered at 530 °C at a pressure of ~200 MPa. The phase composition, structure, coefficient of linear thermal expansion and hardness sintered samples were determined. The coefficient of linear thermal expansion of samples formed after sintering is in the range from 14.7×10-6 K-1 to 17.5×10-6 K-1. It is typical for steel. The synthesized powder composite, contains intermetallic Al3Ni phase, crystalline aluminum, and silicon. The hardness of sintering samples is 113 HV.

Metal matrix composites, containing Al (4 wt.% Cu) as the matrix material and SiC particles as the reinforcement, were produced by hot pressing. SiC(p) content of the composites were in 10 – 50 vol.% range. Appropriate amounts of Al, Cu and SiC powder were dry mixed and pressed at 25MPa at 525 and 550^oC. Obtained composites were subjected to density and hardness measurements, 3 point bending tests and optical microscope investigations. Hardness was seen to increase continuously with the increase in the amount of SiC(p) from 54HB10 (unreinforced matrix) to 148HB10 (50 vol.% SiC). On the other hand, bending strength values of the composites first showed an increase up to 20 vol.% SiC and then decreased. Strain values decreased considerably, with the addition of SiC into the unreinforced matrix and the composites containing 40 and 50 vol.% SiC did not show plastic deformation before fracture. Yield strength and elastic moduli of the composites increased with the increase in the SiC amount. It was seen that the properties of Al%4Cu-SiC(p) composites, such as strength and hardness, can be adjusted by varying their SiC contents.