TiB2/Al2O3 ceramic particle reinforced aluminum fabricated by spray deposition

Aluminum matrix ceramic particle reinforced composites (AMCs) is a kind of composite with great importance. Aluminum matrix composite reinforced with TiB2/Al2O3 ceramic particles was successfully in situ synthesized in Al–TiO2–B2O3 system in this paper, using spray deposition with hot-press treatment technique. Five groups of composites with different reinforcement volume contents were prepared and the comparisons of porosity, ultimate tensile strength (UTS), elongation and Brinell hardness (BH) between the composites with and without hot-press treating were carried out. The composite with 21.0% reinforcement volume content was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Energy Disperse Spectroscopy (EDS). The results revealed the formation and uniform distribution of fine reinforcements in the matrix after hot-press treating, while a new intermetallic phase Al3Ti was found besides TiB2/Al2O3 ceramic phase.