Strengthening a multilayered Zr/Ti composite by quenching at higher temperature

By rolling and diffusion bonding, multilayered Zr/Ti composites were fabricated using commercial pure titanium (CP-Ti) and zirconium (Zr702) sheet as raw materials. For the as-fabricated Zr/Ti laminated metal composites (LMCs), quenching at different temperatures were carried out to refine the microstructure. Microstructures of Zr/Ti LMCs before and after the quenching were characterized by scanning electron microscope and electron backscatter diffraction. Micro-hardness and compression tests were performed to reveal the effect of quenching temperature on the mechanical properties of the Zr/Ti LMCs. It indicates that certain part of the microstructure can be refined by phase transition during quenching. The volume fraction of the quenching-affected (refined) microstructure increase with the increase of quenching temperature. Micro-hardness tests show that the hardness is not uniform along the thickness of the Zr/Ti LMCs due to the heterogeneous chemical composition and microstructure. The compressive strength of the Zr/Ti LMCs increases with the increase of the quenching temperature, which is mainly attributed to the fact that more microstructures have been refined in higher temperature quenching.