Synthesis and mechanical properties of innovative (TiB/Ti)-Ti3Al micro-laminated composites

(TiB/Ti)-Ti3Al micro-laminated composites have been successfully produced by reaction annealing using in-house fabricated TiB/Ti composite foils and commercial pure Al foils as starting materials. The resulting (TiB/Ti)-Ti3Al composites showed a unique microstructure which was comprised of alternating TiB/Ti composite layers and Ti3Al layers. Microstructure of (TiB/Ti)-Ti3Al micro-laminated composites was characterized systematically by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, formation mechanism of the novel micro-laminated structure was discussed. The (TiB/Ti)-Ti3Al micro-laminated composites exhibited a desired combination of the enhanced tensile strength with the superior ductility as compared to monolithic Ti3Al. This could be likely attributed to the introduction of ductile TiB/Ti composite layers and the formation of unique micro-laminated structure. It is noteworthy that fracture toughness of the (TiB/Ti)-Ti3Al micro-laminated composites had a sharp increase, 1.5 times higher than that of monolithic Ti3Al.