EVALUATION OF THE MODIFYING EFFECT OF HIGHLY DISPERSED TITANIUM CARBIDE PHASE OBTAINED BY THE SHS METHOD IN ALUMINUM ALLOYS

Modification of the grain structure of aluminum alloys in order to improve their physical and mechanical properties is an urgent task of modern materials science. One of the most promising methods of modification is the introduction of highly dispersed ceramic particles into the composition of alloys as modifiers of the second kind. However, in traditional conditions of foundry production it is rather difficult to realize their mechanical mixing, as the particles are prone to agglomeration, and also there is a concomitant saturation of the melt with undesirable gaseous products and impurities. In this connection, the method of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS), which makes it possible to obtain high-dispersity phases directly in the melt from micron-sized elemental powders. This makes it possible to bypass the purchase of expensive nanoscale precursors, as well as to reduce energy consumption and time to obtain the final product. The results of SHS of highly dispersed phase of titanium carbide (size 110 ‒ 300 nm) in the amount of 10 % (by mass) in the composition of widely used industrial aluminum alloys of different systems (AMg2, AMg6, AM4,5Kd, AK10M2N, D16 and B95) are presented. It is shown that the SHS method provides obtaining and uniformity of ceramic phase distribution over the matrix volume. Hardness evaluation proves that the presence of titanium carbide allows to achieve higher values in comparison with matrix alloys. The modifying effect of the presence of carbide phase particles has been evaluated, and the results show that matrix grain refinement by 2‒7 times is achieved. This leads, according to calculations and experimental data, to an increase in strength by 15‒40 MPa and hardness by 8‒42 NV. The method of SHS of ceramic phase of titanium carbide in the composition of industrial aluminum alloys is a promising method of modifying the grain structure of alloys.

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