Mechanically activated combustion synthesis of Fe3Al composite powders reinforced with sub-micrometer TiC particles

The aim of this work was to develop a process to synthesize Fe3Al matrix composite reinforced with nano scale TiC particles from pure elemental powders as reactants, employing combustion synthesis. The effects of particle size, pre-milling time of precursors on ignition temperature and final powder microstructure were studied. The synthesized composite powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). The targeted powder chemistry, microstructure and optimum spatial distribution of TiC particles were obtained using a pre-milling time of 30 min and a furnace temperature of 1100 °C. Powders synthesized in this condition contained only Fe3Al and TiC phases. Because of its high hardness and the presence of nanosized reinforcements, this composite powder can be considered a good candidate for thermal spray applications in manufacturing wear resistant parts.