Deformation strengthening mechanism of in situ TiC/TC4 alloy nanocomposites produced by selective laser melting

In this study, in situ-formed TiC/TC4 alloy nanocomposites were fabricated using the selective laser melting (SLM) process with TC4 and graphene nanoplates (GNPs) powders, and the deformation strengthening mechanism of the Ti matrix reinforced with TiC nanoparticles was investigated. The results from microstructure observation and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that the appearance of nanoscale TiC reinforcement favoured the formation of deformation twinning, which promoted that the atoms of the TiC/TC4 alloy nanocomposites maintained an orderly arrangement during deformation. Further, a dual strengthening mechanism of that the severe lattice distortion at the interface formed by different orientations and the deformation twinning suppressed the movement of the dislocation has been put forward to describe the occurring of dislocation pinning effects. All these findings provide a feasible perspective to strengthen mechanical performance by addressing the long-standing issue in the SLM of TC4 alloy nanocomposites.

Automated summary

In this study, TiC/TC4 alloy nanocomposites were successfully fabricated using the selective laser melting (SLM) process, and the deformation strengthening mechanism of Ti matrix reinforced with TiC nanoparticles was investigated in depth. The results showed that nanoscale TiC reinforcement promoted the formation of deformation twinning, maintaining an orderly arrangement of atoms in the TiC/TC4 alloy nanocomposites during deformation. Additionally, a dual strengthening mechanism involving severe lattice distortion and deformation twinning was proposed to describe the occurrence of dislocation pinning effects.