Effects of TiB2 content and alloy elements (Mg, Mo, V) on the compression properties of high-volume-fraction TiB2/Al composites

The compression yield strength and hardness of the TiB2/Al composites increase with the increase in the TiB2 content, while the fracture strain decreases, and the ultimate compression strength first increases and then decreases. The addition of Mg improves the ductility of the 50 vol% TiB2/Al composite along with maintaining the ultimate compression strength. The fracture strain of the TiB2/Al–Mg composite increases from 8.18% to 10.68%. The addition of Mo significantly improves the compression yield strength and hardness of the composite while sacrificing the ductility. The compression yield strength and the hardness of the TiB2/Al–Mo composite are, respectively, 296 MPa and 107.5 Hv higher than that of the TiB2/Al composite, but the fracture strain decreases to 4.41%. With the addition of V, the TiB2/Al–V composite possesses the highest ultimate compression strength and relatively good ductility. The ultimate compression strength of the TiB2/Al–V composite is 218 MPa higher than that of the TiB2/Al composite, and the fracture strain is 6.73%.