High temperature deformation with diffusional and plastic accommodation in Ti/TiB whisker-reinforce in-situ composites

A steady-state creep model of a metal matrix composite was proposed considering the accommodation processes of the misfit strain between the matrix and reinforcements in order to comprehensively explain dispersion strengthening, composite strengthening and composite weakening. The proposed model was verified experimentally using the model composites, Ti/TiB in situ composites of 5, 15 and 20vol.%TiB, which have a good interfacial bonding, suitable size and aspect ratio of TiB for a moderate diffusional accommodation rate, and no fine oxides. A sigmoidal curve in a double-logarithmic scale of stress and strain rate was observed in the creep of Ti/15TiB at 1123 K and was classified into a complete-diffusional-accommodation region corresponding to composite weakening, a diffusional-accommodation-controlled region and a plastic-accommodation-controlled region corresponding to composite strengthening with increasing stress. The activation energies in the three regions were close to those of the volume, interface and volume diffusion of Ti, respectively. In the plastic-accommodation-controlled region, the strain rate decreased with increasing volume fraction, while near the complete-diffusional-accommodation region, the strain rate scarcely changed. The strain rate of the transverse creep was ten times that of the longitude creep in the plastic-accommodation-controlled region, while the difference was scarcely observed near the complete-diffusional-accommodation region. (C) 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.