A primary challenge associated with TiAl alloys is their low ductility at room temperature. One approach to overcome this flaw is attaining ultrafine grains in the alloy’s final microstructure. The powder metallurgy (PM) processing route favours the synthesising of ultrafine grains in TiAl alloys. This paper features the mechanical alloying (MA) process and rapid consolidation through the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique, which comprises the PM process. Furthermore, a second approach discussed covers microalloying TiAl alloys. An evaluation of the influence of high oxygen content is also presented, including the formation of α-Al2O3. A section of the review delves into the dynamic recrystallisation mechanisms involved in elevated temperature deformation of TiAl alloys. The final section highlights the efficacy of ternary element additions to TiAl alloys against oxidation.
The laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is an additive manufacturing technology involving a gradual build-on of layers to form a complete component according to a computer-aided design. The LPBF process boasts of manufacturing value-added parts with higher accuracy and complex geometries for the transport, aviation, energy, and biomedical industries. TiAl-based alloys and high-entropy alloys (HEAs) are two materials envisaged as potential replacements of nickel-based superalloys for high temperature structural applications. The success of these materials hinge on optimization and implementation of tailored microstructures through controlled processing and appropriate alloy manipulations that can promote and stabilize new microstructures. Therefore, it is important to understand the LPBF technique, and its associated microstructure-mechanical property relationships. This paper discusses the metallurgical sintering processes of LPBF, the effects of process parameters on densification, microstructures, and mechanical properties of LPBFed TiAl-based alloys and HEAs. This paper also, presents updates and future studies recommendations on the LPBFed TiAl-based alloys and HEAs.
Microstructural phase evolution during melting and casting depends on the rate of cooling, the collective mobility of constituent elements, and binary constituent pairs. Parameters used in mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering, the initial structure of binary alloy pairs, are some of the factors that influence phase evolution in powder-metallurgy-produced HEAs. Factors such as powder flowability, laser power, powder thickness and shape, scan spacing, and volumetric energy density (VED) all play important roles in determining the resulting microstructure in additive manufacturing technology. Large lattice distortion could hinder dislocation motion in HEAs, and this could influence the microstructure, especially at high temperatures, leading to improved mechanical properties in some HEAs. Mechanical properties of some HEAs can be influenced through solid solution hardening, precipitation hardening, grain boundary strengthening, and dislocation hardening. Despite the HEA system showing reliable potential engineering properties if commercialized, there is a need to examine the effects that processing routes have on the microstructure in relation to mechanical properties. This review discusses these effects as well as other factors involved.
As a follow-up study, the present work evaluates the tribocorrosion behavior of Al-SiC nanocomposites produced using spark plasma sintering. The tribocorrosion tests were carried out using a ball-on-disk tribometer with the sliding contact fully immersed in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. Post-mortem characterization studies of the worn surfaces included scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with an energy dispersive spectroscopy. From the results, oscillations in chronopotentiometry values characterize the in situ tribocorrosion behaviors of the composites. Shifts to the cathodic region at the beginning of sliding and immediate shift to the anodic region of the curve as sliding continues accounts for the oscillations in chronopotentiometry values. The SEM analyses infer the formation of adherent and modified tribolayers in the worn surfaces of the composites during sliding. The inert character and increasing resistance of the tribolayers enhance the tribocorrosion performance of the composites compared to the unreinforced Al alloy.
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