Grain refinement and wear properties evaluation of aluminum alloy 2014 matrix-TiB2 in-situ composites

A salt base exothermic reaction process has been employed to produce aluminum alloy 2014 matrix-TiB2 composites using an exothermic reaction process at 850 °C using K2TiF6 and KBF4 salts. The period of exothermic reaction was varied from a minimum of 15 min to a maximum of 45 min to investigate the relationship between the degree of reaction and the growth behavior of TiB2 formed. These have been compared with commercially available aluminum alloy 2014 material. Structural and wear properties have been measured. These show that TiB2 is extremely effective in enhancing wear properties in addition to significantly reducing the coefficient of friction. The microstructure and phase composition of the materials obtained were studied using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Very fine ceramic particles were obtained in the aluminum alloy matrix.

Research highlights
► Exothermic reaction process was employed to produce Al alloy 2014-TiB2 composites.
► The degree of reaction and the growth behavior of TiB2 formed were investigated.
► Structural and wear properties have been measured.