Infiltration of titanium alloy-matrix composites

Titanium alloy-matrix composites were prepared by a rapid infiltration process. The process comprises heating the alloy and the fibres rapidly (typical rate of the order of 100-200 C/s) in a furnace under an argon atmosphere. The fibres were arranged inside a graphite crucible and a measured amount of the alloy was placed on top of the fibres. Infiltration was done without the application of any external pressure at temperatures about 50 C above the liquidus of the alloy. The total time taken for the process was about 1-2 min. The controlled reaction matrix composites showed small and controllable reaction zones and room-temperature tensile values comparable with those of currently available titanium-matrix composites. 14 refs.