Production of (B4C+FeTi) reinforced and Fe based composites by mechanical alloying

Abstract In this study, the microstructure and mechanical performance of Fe-based composites reinforced by FeTi+B 4 C at various ratios were determined. The study was based on the production of Fe based nano carbide and boride (B 4 C, Fe 2 B, Fe 7 C 3 , TiB 2 ) reinforced composites. Mechanical alloying technique was chosen to reduce the reinforcement material to nano size and distribute it homogeneously. Sintering temperature was used as 1,100 °C and sintering time as 2 h. The reionforcement “FeTi+B 4 C” ratio was raised up to 15 wt.%. The microstructure and phases of the composite samples were descrived by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-RD analysis and hardness. The concentration of voids and the stiffness changes of the samples were determined. The size of TiC and TiB 2 particles reduced significantly with the rise in B 4 C ratio. Since the hardness of TiB 2 was less than that of the B 4 C matrix, the hardness reduced with increasing TiB 2 ratio.