U.S. patent application number 12/592084 was filed with the patent office on 2010-03-25 for fully-dense discontinuosly-reinforced titanium matrix composites and method for manufacturing the same.
This patent application is currently assigned to Advance Material Products Inc.(ADMA Products, Inc.). Invention is credited to Volodymyr A. Duz, Vladimir S. Moxson, Alexander E. Shapiro.
Application Number | 20100074788 12/592084 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38712162 |
Filed Date | 2010-03-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100074788 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moxson; Vladimir S. ; et
al. |
March 25, 2010 |
Fully-dense discontinuosly-reinforced titanium matrix composites
and method for manufacturing the same
Abstract
The invention is suitable for the manufacture of flat or shaped
titanium matrix composite articles having improved mechanical
properties such as lightweight plates and sheets for aircraft and
automotive applications, etc. The method for manufacturing TMCC is
comprised of the following steps: (a) preparing a basic powdered
blend containing matrix alloy or titanium powders, dispersing
ceramic and/or intermetallic powders, and powders of said complex
carbide- and/or silicide particles, (b) preparing the Al--V master
alloy containing .ltoreq.5 wt. % of iron, (c) preparing the
Al--V--Fe master alloy fine powder having a particle size of
.ltoreq.20 .mu.m, (d) mixing the basic powdered blend with the
master alloy powder to obtain a chemical composition of TMCC, (e)
compacting the powder mixture at room temperature, (f) sintering at
the temperature which provides at least partial dissolution of
dispersed powders, (g) forging at 1500-2300.degree. F., and (h)
cooling. The resulting TMCC has density over 98% and closed
discontinuous porosity after sintering that allows making hot
deformation in air without encapsulating.
Inventors: |
Moxson; Vladimir S.;
(Hudson, OH) ; Duz; Volodymyr A.; (Hudson, OH)
; Shapiro; Alexander E.; (Upper Arlington, OH) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Yefim Kreydin
201 East 28 Street #2E
New York
NY
10016
US
|
Assignee: |
Advance Material Products Inc.(ADMA
Products, Inc.)
Twinsburg
OH
|
Family ID: |
38712162 |
Appl. No.: |
12/592084 |
Filed: |
November 19, 2009 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10748619 |
Dec 27, 2003 |
|
|
|
12592084 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
419/2 ; 419/11;
419/15; 419/17; 75/240; 75/241 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C22C 32/0052 20130101;
B22F 2999/00 20130101; B22F 2003/1106 20130101; B22F 2998/10
20130101; B22F 2999/00 20130101; B22F 3/14 20130101; C22C 14/00
20130101; B22F 3/10 20130101; B22F 3/1109 20130101; B22F 2998/10
20130101; C22C 32/0084 20130101; C22C 1/0458 20130101; C22C 1/051
20130101; B22F 2998/10 20130101; B22F 2998/10 20130101; B22F 3/15
20130101; C22C 1/0491 20130101; B22F 3/10 20130101; B22F 3/10
20130101; B22F 3/18 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
419/2 ; 419/15;
419/17; 419/11; 75/240; 75/241 |
International
Class: |
B22F 3/11 20060101
B22F003/11; B22F 3/12 20060101 B22F003/12 |
Claims
1. A method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
comprising the following steps: (a) preparing a basic powdered
blend containing a matrix alloy or titanium powders which have a
particle size over 20 .mu.m for 95% of the powder, dispersing
ceramic and/or intermetallic powders, and powders of complex
carbide- and/or suicide particles that are at least partially
soluble in the matrix at sintering or forging temperatures such as
Ti.sub.4Cr.sub.3C.sub.6, Ti.sub.3SiC.sub.2, Cr.sub.3C.sub.2,
Ti.sub.3AlC.sub.2, Ti.sub.2AlC, Al.sub.4C.sub.3, Al.sub.4SiC.sub.4,
Al.sub.4Si.sub.2C.sub.5, Al.sub.8SiC.sub.7, V.sub.2C, (Ti,V)C,
VCr.sub.2C.sub.2, and V.sub.2Cr.sub.4C.sub.3, (b) preparing a
aluminum-vanadium master alloy containing 0.01-5 wt. % of iron, (c)
preparing a Al--V--Fe master alloy fine powder having a particle
size of 20 .mu.m or less, (d) mixing the basic powdered blend (a)
with the master alloy powder (c) in a predetermined ratio to obtain
a chemical composition of titanium matrix composite material, (e)
compacting the powder mixture at room temperature by cold isostatic
pressing, die pressing, or direct powder rolling, (f) sintering at
a temperature providing at least partial dissolution of dispersing
ceramic and/or intermetallic powders, (g) forging at a temperature
range of 1500-2300.degree. F., (h) cooling.
2. The method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 1, wherein the basic powdered blend is prepared
in a form of elemental powder blend or combination of elemental
powders and prealloyed powders blend.
3. The method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 1, wherein the dispersing ceramic and/or
intermetallic powders are selected from the group consisting of
TiC, B.sub.4C, SiC, ZrC, TaC, WC, NbC, TiAl, Ti.sub.3Al,
TiAl.sub.3, TiAlV.sub.2, Al.sub.8V.sub.5, and TiCr.sub.2.
4. The method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 1, wherein carbon powder is introduced in the
basic powder blend.
5. The method for manufacturing the fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 4, wherein the carbon powder is in the form of
graphite, black carbon, or pyrolytic carbon.
6. The method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 1, wherein the sintering is carried out at a
temperature of 2300.degree. F. (1260.degree. C.) and higher to
provide complete densification and provide oversaturated solid
solution that will result in a formation of coherent reinforced
carbidic and/or intermetallic particles in the matrix alloy during
the cooling.
7. The method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 1, wherein hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing,
or hot rolling are carried out after sintering in any
combination.
8. The method for manufacturing a fully-dense
discontinuously-reinforced titanium matrix composite material
according to claim 1, wherein a resulting composite material is
characterized by density over 98% of theoretical value and
discontinued porosity after sintering that makes it possible
forging, hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing, or hot rolling
without any special protective coating, encapsulating, or
canning.
9. Use of near-full density titanium matrix composite material
manufactured according to claim 1 in the as-sintered state
characterized by density over 98% of theoretical value and
discontinued porosity.
10. Use of fully-dense titanium matrix composite material
manufactured according to claim 1 in the near-net shape state after
forging, hot pressing, hot isostatic pressing, or hot rolling
performed without any special protective coating, encapsulating, or
canning, and without finishing of final product by machining and/or
chemical milling.
Description
[0001] The present application is a Divisional Application of U.S.
application Ser. No. 10/748,619 filed Dec. 27, 2003, the entire
contents of which incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to sintered titanium metal
matrix composites discontinuously-reinforced with dispersed
particles ceramics and intermetallics such as titanium carbides,
tungsten carbides, titanium aluminides, etc.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Titanium-based or titanium alloy-based metal matrix
composites (TMMC) are of particularly great interest in the
following areas: the aerospace and automotive industries, medical
implants and chemical-resistant applications due to their high
specific strength, their high stiffness, low weight, and relatively
high wear resistance. The titanium or titanium alloy matrix in
these composites are reinforced by fibers or particles which have a
substantially higher hardness and elastic modulus than the matrix
alloy. Reinforcing components should be thoroughly and uniformly
dispersed in the volume of the matrix alloy to achieve the maximum
mechanical properties of the composite material. In addition, the
strength of the composite material depends on the size of the
reinforcing particles, strength of the bond between the hard
particles and the matrix, and the porosity of sintered composite
materials.
[0004] Despite more than twenty years of experience in industrial
applications, conventional TMMC are far from perfection and used on
a limited scale in industrial applications. They do not completely
realize the strength benefits of the reinforced structure due to
not optimal composition and technology, and especially, due to
remaining interconnecting porosity of resulting composite
materials.
[0005] For example, the method for manufacturing the Ti-6A1-4V/TiC
composite disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,037 provides the
density of the resulting material only about 93% of the theoretical
value even after vacuum sintering for 4 hours at 1300.degree. C.
The method includes formation of reinforcing TiC particles in the
titanium matrix by chemical reaction with hydrocarbon gas that is
more effective in the porous matrix than in the dense one.
[0006] In the U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,115 granted to Abkowitz, et al.,
a TiC/titanium alloy composite cladding material and process for
manufacturing the same are disclosed, in which blended components
are compacted by cold isostatic pressing and sintered at
2200-2250.degree. F. However, this method does not provide
sufficient density of the material, and to improve the density, the
invention further includes encasing the sintered pre-form and hot
isostatic pressing (HIP) at 1650-2600.degree. F. followed by finish
forging, rolling, or extruding. This method is not cost-effective
due to additional HIP step and encasing (canning) that should be
removed from the final product by grinding or chemical milling.
Moreover, the HIP process does not permit production of articles
with close tolerances of their sizes. The presence of encasing
testifies that the sintered composite material has interconnected
porosity that results in the necessity to protect against oxidation
during the hot deformation steps.
[0007] T. Kaba, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,353) proposed
compacting a powdered component blend by cold isostatic pressing,
atomizing the product by melting and spraying, and finally,
sintering the atomized powder by HIP at 1100.degree. C.
(2012.degree. F.). The final product has improved bending strength
at room temperature, but includes atomizing in a protective
atmosphere, and it still has an interconnected porosity which
requires additional encapsulating step for the HIP with a
consequent increase in production costs.
[0008] All previous technologies of fabricating dense titanium
matrix composites from matrix and reinforcing powders have
considerable drawbacks that make them undesirable in terms of
density, strength, and ductility of resulting products, sufficient
protection from oxidation, cost, and production capacity. The
interconnected porosity causes very rapid oxidation of the reactive
titanium powder to a substantial depth, and capsules or cases (that
are required for subsequent consolidation to near full density in
known inventions) do not fully protect the sintered article from
rapid oxidation, and also increase production costs. A significant
difference in structural and mechanical properties between sintered
material and the capsule produced from non-reactive wrought metal
results in non-uniform deformation and stress concentration in the
TMMC during the hot deformation. Cracks occur in various areas of
the sintered material during the first cycles of hot deformation
because of interconnected porosity and stress concentration. These
cracks do not allow maintaining a reliable and reproducible
manufacturing process through forging or hot rolling.
[0009] Therefore, it would be desirable to provide (a) a
high-strength and fully-dense titanium matrix composites having
discontinuous porosity after sintering, and (b) a cost-effective
method for producing such composites using blended elemental
powders or combination of pre-alloyed and elemental metal powder
blends, as well. A new composition and method should improve the
mechanical performance of resulting materials and further eliminate
destructive porosity and oxidation during subsequent
high-temperature processing that is required in order to achieve a
near full density with acceptable mechanical properties.
[0010] This present invention achieves this goal by using complex
carbides as additional reinforcing components in the Ti/TiC
composite structure, and by providing a method through which the
sintered structure has only the discontinuous porosity at the near
full density, while at the same time, the composite material
exhibits acceptable mechanical properties in the as-sintered
conditions, and/or it is manufactured during foregoing hot
deformation without any encasing, canning, or encapsulating if more
complicated shapes with improved size control of the finished parts
or improved properties are required.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0011] It is therefore an object of the invention to produce a
fully-dense, essentially uniform structure of flat and shaped
titanium metal matrix composite consisting of high-strength and
ductile matrix that is gradually-reinforced with carbide particles,
which provides improved mechanical characteristics such as
toughness, flexure strength, impact strength, and wear
resistance.
[0012] Another object of this invention is to avoid interconnected
porosity and provide the sintered structure with only discontinuous
porosity at maximal possible density after sintering, e.g., over
98% of the theoretical value.
[0013] Yet, another object of this invention is to produce
near-full density parts from a titanium matrix composite material
that has acceptable mechanical properties without a need for
further hot deformation.
[0014] It is yet another object of this present invention is to
provide a powder metallurgy technique for manufacturing near-net
shape sintered TMMC that can be used as final product in the
as-sintered state or in the state after hot deformation without
finishing by machining or chemical milling.
[0015] It is yet another additional object of the invention to
establish a continuous cost-effective process to produce
fully-dense flat and shaped titanium alloy matrix composite parts
with controlled size tolerances from either blended elemental
powders and from a combination of the pre-alloyed and elemental
powders blend.
[0016] The nature, utility, and features of this invention will be
more apparent from the following detailed description with respect
to preferred embodiments of the invented technology.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0017] While the use of a number of technologies for sintering and
hot deformation has previously been contemplated in the titanium
matrix composite industry as mentioned above, problems related to
the formation of dense pre-form able to suit a composite structure
even during low-temperature consolidation, process stability,
controlled sizes with close tolerances, and production costs,
defective microstructure, residual porosity, and insufficient
mechanical properties of dense TMMC articles, have not been solved.
This invention overcomes shortcomings in the prior art.
[0018] The goals of the invention are (a) to change the type of
porosity of the sintered semi-product from the interconnecting
porosity to only discontinuous porosity at maximal possible
density, e.g., over 98% of the theoretical value after sintering,
and (b) to reduce a cost of production process for manufacturing
fully-dense titanium matrix composite with improved mechanical
properties.
[0019] We focused on the manufacturing engineering aspects of TMMC
and TMMC-reinforcing component fabrication with the goal of
stabilizing the production of these materials. To this end, we have
developed an affordable process utilizing both reactive powder
alloys and a cost-effective manufacturing approach that has made a
possible transition to production.
[0020] An attempt was made to produce discontinuously reinforced
TMMC using a blended elemental powder metallurgy approach. A newly
developed process allows uniform distribution of reinforcing
particles in the ductile matrix while improving the bond strength
between the reinforcing particulate and the matrix alloy.
[0021] A combination of unique properties of (i) high strength and
stiffness at temperatures up to 1500.degree. F., (ii) good
mechanical properties at room temperature including good ductility,
(iii) improved resistance to matrix cracking, and (iiii) very close
controlled tolerances of sizes of the finished parts which is
achieved in the resulting material by forming a discontinuous
porosity of sintered semi-product followed by effective
densification during hot deformation steps.
[0022] The invented composition and method are suitable for the
manufacture of flat or shaped titanium matrix composite articles
having improved mechanical properties such as lightweight plates
and sheets for aircraft and automotive applications, heat-sinking
lightweight electronic substrates, bulletproof structures for
vests, partition walls and doors, as well as sporting goods such as
helmets, golf clubs, sole plates, crown plates, etc.
[0023] The subsequent objects, features, and advantages of our
invented material and process will be clarified by the following
detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION AND PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0024] As discussed, the present invention relates generally to the
manufacture of titanium matrix composites that are reinforced by
ceramic and/or intermetallic particles using the combination of
elemental and pre-alloyed powders (obtained by atomization or other
method), elemental metal powder blends, and/or titanium hydrides,
or a combinations thereof (i.e. combination of pre-alloyed,
elemental and/or hydrides powders as raw materials).
[0025] The use of preliminary prepared fine powder of Al--V--Fe
master alloy plays an unique role in this process which result in
the formation of a highly-dense structure during the sintering in
order to obtain a semi-finished product or finished product having
solely closed discontinuous porosity at density over 98% of the
theoretical value. No previously known methods, mentioned in
References, allow producing such composite structure after
sintering by using traditional approaches.
[0026] The addition of complex carbide- and/or silicide particles
that are at least partially soluble in the matrix such as
Cr.sub.3C.sub.2, Ti.sub.4Cr.sub.3C.sub.6, Ti.sub.3SiC.sub.2,
Ti.sub.3AlC.sub.2, Ti.sub.2AlC, Al.sub.4C.sub.3, Al.sub.4SiC.sub.4,
Al.sub.4Si.sub.2C.sub.5, Al.sub.8SiC.sub.7, V.sub.2C, (Ti, V)C,
VCr.sub.2C.sub.2, and V.sub.2Cr.sub.4C.sub.3 dispersed in the
matrix in the amount of .ltoreq.20 vol. % allows not only control
ductility of the matrix during any hot deformation of the sintered
pre-form, but also significantly improves the effect of particle
reinforcement of the resulting composite material.
[0027] Complex carbides combine merits of both metals and ceramics.
Like metals, they are resistant to thermal shock, but like
ceramics, they have high strength, hardness, and thermal stability.
Such complex carbides as Ti.sub.3AlC.sub.2,
Ti.sub.4Cr.sub.3C.sub.6, Ti.sub.3SiC.sub.2, and Ti.sub.2AlC have
unique compressive plasticity at room and high temperature that
allows plastic deformation of the reinforced matrix without
cracking. When the sintered composite material pre-form is heated
to 1500-1700.degree. F. for forging or hot rolling, the complex
carbides are partially dissolved in the matrix, and the matrix
alloy being freed of the carbide reinforcements is easily deformed
at these temperatures. Complex carbide phases are precipitated
during cooling after hot deformation and fix fine grain structure
of forged or hot rolled composite material.
[0028] The invented composition and method provide manufacturing
fully-dense flat and shaped titanium matrix composites with
improved mechanical properties while using the cost-effective
production approach.
[0029] The foregoing examples of the invention are illustrative and
explanatory. The examples are not intended to be exhaustive and
serve only to show the possibilities of the invented
technology.
EXAMPLE 1
[0030] A carbide-reinforced titanium composite material based on
the Ti-6A1-4V alloy matrix was manufactured by (a) preparing a
basic powder blend containing titanium powder and having a particle
size over 20 .mu.m for 95% of the powder, 5% of graphite, 2.5% of
dispersing TiC powder, and 2.5% of dispersing powders of
Ti.sub.3AlC.sub.2 and Ti.sub.2AlC complex carbide particles
partially soluble in the matrix at 1500-2300.degree. F., (b)
preparing a Al--V--Fe master alloy containing 2% of iron, (c)
making a powder of Al--V--Fe master alloy having a particle size of
10 .mu.m and less, (d) mixing the basic powder blend with the
master alloy powder, in the ratio of 9:1 to obtain a chemical
composition of titanium matrix composite material, (e) compacting
the powder mixture at room temperature by cold isostatic pressing,
(f) sintering at 2300.degree. F., (g) forging at 1600.degree. F.,
and (h) cooling.
[0031] Sintered semi-product had density 98.7% with closed
discontinuous porosity that allowed to carry out forging in air
without encapsulating (or encasing). The resulting TiC/Ti-6A1-4V
composite material has 100% density, and exhibits improved yield
strength at room temperature and at 930.degree. F. (500.degree.
C.).
EXAMPLE 2
[0032] A carbide-reinforced titanium composite material based on
the Ti-6A1-4V alloy matrix was manufactured by (a) preparing a
basic powder blend containing titanium powder having a particle
size over 20 pm for 95% of the powder, 2% of graphite, 5% of
dispersing TiC powder, and 2.5% of dispersing Cr.sub.3C.sub.2
particles partially soluble in the matrix at 1500-2300.degree. F.,
(b) preparing a Al--V--Fe master alloy containing 2% of iron, (c)
making a powder of Al--V--Fe master alloy having a particle size of
10 .mu.m and less, (d) mixing the basic powder blend with the
master alloy powder, in the ratio of 9:1 to obtain a chemical
composition of titanium matrix composite material, (e) compacting
the powder mixture at room temperature by die-pressing, (f)
sintering at 2350.degree. F., (g) forging at 1600.degree. F., and
(h) cooling.
[0033] Sintered semi-product had a density of 99% with closed
discontinuous porosity that allowed it to carry out forging in open
air without encapsulating (or encasing). The resulting
carbide-reinforced Ti-6A1-4V matrix composite material has 100%
density, and it exhibits improved yield strength at room
temperature and at 930.degree. F. (500.degree. C.), and satisfied
oxidation resistance up to 1470.degree. F. (800.degree. C.).
EXAMPLE 3
[0034] The titanium matrix composite was manufactured using the
same raw materials for Ti-6A1-4V matrix alloy and carbide
reinforcements, and the same mode of sintering as in Example 1. The
final hot deformation was made by hot rolling at 1650.degree. F.
instead of forging.
[0035] The resulting TiC/Ti-6A1-4V composite material also had 100%
density, and exhibited satisfied yield strength at room temperature
and at 930.degree. F. (500.degree. C.).
EXAMPLE 4
[0036] The carbide-reinforced titanium composite material based on
the Ti-6A1-4V alloy matrix was manufactured by (a) preparing a
basic powder blend containing titanium powder having a particle
size over 20 .mu.m for 95% of the powder, 5% of graphite, 2.5% of
the dispersing TiC powder, and 2.5% of the dispersing
Cr.sub.3C.sub.2 and Ti.sub.4Cr.sub.3C.sub.6 complex carbide
particles partially soluble in the matrix at 1500-2300.degree. F.,
(b) preparing a Al--V--Fe master alloy containing 2% of iron, (c)
making a powder of Al--V--Fe master alloy having a particle size of
10 .mu.m and less, (d) mixing the basic powder blend with the
master alloy powder at the ratio of 9:1 to obtain a chemical
composition of titanium matrix composite material, (e) compacting
the powder mixture at room temperature by cold isostatic pressing,
(f) sintering at 2450.degree. F., and (g) cooling.
[0037] The resulting composite material has density 99.2% of the
theoretical value with closed discontinuous porosity and exhibits
acceptable yield strength at room temperature and at 930.degree. F.
(500.degree. C.). The cost-effective plate of this material was
used as final product without hot deformation.
* * * * *