Fabrication of TiB2 reinforced Al3Ti composite layer on Ti substrate by reactive-pulsed electric current sintering

A TiB2 reinforced intermetallic compound Al3Ti composite coating layer was formed by reactive-pulsed electric current sintering of mechanically alloyed Al–Ti–B or Al–Ti–TiB2 powders, and was simultaneously bonded to a Ti substrate to improve its wear and oxidation properties. The sintering behavior was investigated to obtain a fully dense and homogeneous Al3Ti/TiB2 coating. Bonding to substrate was achieved by the formation of reaction layers at the bonding interface and the reaction kinetics were investigated. Although the wear properties of monolithic Al3Ti coating could be improved by the reinforcement of TiB2, the oxidation properties at high temperature (1273 K) were degraded due to the decomposition of TiB2 to elemental Ti and B.