Effect of the Ti/B4C mole ratio on the reaction products and reaction mechanism in an Al-Ti-B4C powder mixture

The effect of the Ti/B4C mole ratio on the fabrication behavior of Al composites is investigated using Al-Ti-B4C powder mixtures as reactants. The quick spontaneous infiltration (QSI) process combined with the combustion reaction and DTA analysis were used. According to the thermodynamic predictions, which are verified in the experimental results, TiB2 is formed in all the samples whereas TiC is only formed in reactants with a Ti/B4C mole ratio of more than two. The C atoms from the reacted B4C do not move into TiC but instead they move into Al3BC or Al4C3 when the Ti/B4C mole ratio is less than two. In addition, the reaction mechanism with a Ti/B4C mole ratio of 0.75 is investigated extensively.