In-Situ Synthesis, Microstructure, and Mechanical Properties of TiB(2)-Reinforced Fe-Cr-Mn-Al Steel Matrix Composites Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

In-situ synthesis, microstructure, and mechanical properties of four TiB(2)-Reinforced Fe-Cr-Mn-Al Steel Matrix Composites have been researched in this work. The microstructure and phases of the prepared specimens have been characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction technique, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The sintered specimens consisted of Fe(2)AlCr, CrFeB-type boride, and TiB(2). The mechanical properties, such as hardness and compression strength at room temperature (RT) and at elevated temperatures (600 °C and 800 °C) have been evaluated. The compressive strength and Vickers hardness of the sintered specimens increase with the volume fraction of TiB(2) in the matrix, which are all much higher than those of the ex-situ TiB(2)/Fe-15Cr-20Mn-8Al composites and the reported TiB(2)/Fe-Cr composites with the same volume fraction of TiB(2). The highest Vickers hardness and compressive strength at room temperature are 1213 ± 35 HV and 3500 ± 20 MPa, respectively. As the testing temperature increases to 600 °C, or even 800 °C, these composites still show relatively high compressive strength. Precipitation strengthening of CrFeB and in-situ synthesis of TiB(2) as well as nanocrystalline microstructure produced by the combination of mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) can account for the high Vickers hardness and compressive strength.