Microstructural evolution during the ignition/quenching of pre-heated Ti/3Al powders

In this paper, a pre-heated compact of Ti/3Al powders was ignited and quenched by means of an improved combustion front quenching method (CFQM). The microstructural evolution in the quenched sample was observed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and analyzed with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometry. In addition, the temperature–time profile was measured and the phase constituent of the final product was inspected by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Based on these experimental results, a dissolution–precipitation mechanism for the combustion reaction was proposed, and a model corresponding to the mechanism was drawn. Also, incompleteness of the synthesis was found, and it was because the reaction is a less-exothermic reaction.