Microstructure and mechanical properties of in-situ TiB2/A356 composites and a prediction model of yield strength

The in-situ TiB2/A356 composites were successfully synthesized through the mixed salt reaction method. The advantage of this technique was that the particle sizes and morphology can be controlled by the melt reaction. Therefore, the technique can be designed to obtain expected properties, such as high strength at high and room temperatures, high damping capacity, high modulus and good fatigue life. Results showed that in the as-cast state of A356 alloy and TiB2/A356 composites, the eutectic Si phase is normally in the needle shape, and TiB2 particles are mostly in the cubic or near spherical shape, with the size ranging from 30 to 500 nm uniformly distributed in the grains. Also, TiB2 particle clusters are observed in composites. With an increase in TiB2 particles, the average grain size of composites decreases both in as-cast and T6 state. It is found that both the yield stength and ultimate tensile strength increase with an increase in the TiB2 volume fraction. On the contrary, the elongation reduces with the addition of TiB2 particles. Based on the experimental results and Clyne's report, a revised model related to particle strengthening mechanism was proposed to fairly predict yield strengths of TiB2/A356 composites. The satisfactory agreement between the calculated values and experimental data reported in the literature was obtained.