Fabrication, microstructure and properties of electron beam-physical vapor deposited TiAl sheet and TiAl/Nb laminated composites

The TiAl-based alloys sheet with 150 mmx100 mmx0.4 mm and the TiAl/Nb laminated composites with 150 mmX 100 mmX0.2 mm were fabricated by using electron beam-physical vapor deposition(EB-PVD) method, respectively. The microstructure and properties of the sheet were investigated by AFM, SEM and EDS. The results show that the TiAl based alloys sheet has a good surface quality, and its microstructure is columnar crystal. The component of the alloys indicates a regular and periodical gradient change which leads to the spontaneous delamination along the normal direction of substrate. In the TiAl/Nb laminated composites alternating overlaid by TiAl of 24 layers and Nb of 23 layers, the interface of each layer evenly distributed throughout the cross-section is transparent, and the interlayer spacing is about 8 μm. The component of TiAl layers also changes regularly along the normal direction of substrate, but no delamination phenomenon is found. The TiAl/Nb laminated composites have better ductility than the TiAl-based alloys sheet.