Low volume fraction nano-titanium particulates for improving the mechanical response of pure magnesium

Abstract

In the present study, new light weight Mg-Ti nanocomposites with superior mechanical properties compared to pure magnesium are synthesized using disintegrated melt deposition technique followed by hot extrusion. The microstructural characterization studies revealed that the samples exhibited fairly uniform distribution of titanium nano particulates with minimal porosity and good interfacial integrity between Mg matrix and Ti particulates. The CTE results revealed that the addition of (0.58, 0.97 and 1.98) vol.%Ti reinforcements marginally improve the dimensional stability of pure magnesium. The room temperature tensile properties of the synthesized nanocomposites revealed a significant increase in the 0.2%YS (∼79% to ∼112%) and UTS (∼ 46% to ∼81%) when compared to pure magnesium, with decrease in ductility. The presence of nano-sized 1.98 vol.%Ti in pure Mg revealed the best tensile properties with an increase in 0.2%YS by ∼112% and UTS by ∼81%, while the ductility decreased by ∼49% but comparable to the other work reported on Mg-Ti microcomposites available in the literature. The room temperature compressive properties of the nanocomposites reveal that the addition of 0.97Ti increases the 0.2%CYS of Mg by ∼59% and with 0.58Ti, the UCS of Mg increased by ∼34% with an inappreciable decrease in the ductility. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.