In situ formed bulk nanostructured Ti-base composites

The in situ formation of bulk metallic glass-based composites has recently been demonstrated in several multi-component alloy systems, where a high strength glassy matrix is combined with a ductile dendritic solid solution as a toughening phase. Taking advantage of the hints provided by this successful approach, a strategy has been developed for designing primarydendrite/nano- eutectic in situ bulk composites in Ti-base alloy systems. The as-cast micro structure produced by copper mold casting is similar to that obtained upon arc-melting, thus covering the micro structure formation over a range of cooling rates. The multicomponent recipe stabilizes the β-Ti phase and helps to reduce the eutectic spacing to the nanometer scale. The promising benefit i.e., high strength and high ductility, from such a composite micro structure can be manipulated by choosing appropriate composition and adopted casting conditions to tailor the microstructure.