Improvement of hardness and wear resistance in SiC/Ti/6Al/4V

surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam

irradiation
Jun Cheol Oh
a
, Eunsub Yun
a
, Mikhail G. Golkovski
b
, Sunghak Lee
a,
*
a
Center for Advanced Aerospace Materials, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang 790-784 South Korea
b
The Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
Received 31 July 2002; received in revised form 18 October 2002
Abstract
This study is concerned with the microstructural analysis and the improvement of hardness and wear resistance of SiC/Ti /6Al /
4V surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam. The mixtures of SiC, SiC/TiC, or SiC/Ti powders and CaF
2
flux
were deposited on a Ti /6Al /4V substrate, and then electron beam was irradiated on these mixtures. In the specimens processed
with flux addition, the surface composite layers of 1.7/2.1 mm in thickness were homogeneously formed without defects, and
contained a large amount (over 44 vol.%) of precipitates such as Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC in the martensitic matrix. This microstructural
modification including the formation of hard precipitates and hardened matrix in the surface composite layers could be explained
from a Ti /Si /C ternary phase diagram, and greatly improved hardness and wear resistance 2 and 5/25 times higher than the Ti
alloy substrate, respectively. These findings suggested that high-energy electron beam irradiation was useful for the development of
Ti-base surface composites with improved hardness and wear properties.
# 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Surface composite; High-energy electron beam irradiation; Ti /6Al /4V alloy; SiC; TiC; Flux; Hardness; Wear resistance
1. Introduction
A Ti /6Al /4V alloy has high specific strength and
stiffness due to its relatively low density and excellent
corrosion resistance due to the formation of an oxide
film on the alloy surface, and thus has been used for
structural and engine parts of ultrasonic airplanes,
materials for defense industry. However, its poor
resistance to wear has required surface treatments.
Thus, studies on the development of surface treatments
or of new advanced materials having enhanced surface
properties have been conducted to achieve surface
hardening or surface alloying [1/7]. Physical deposition
techniques such as ion implantation [4] and plasma
spray coating [5], and thermochemical surface treat-
ments such as nitriding [6], carburization and boriding
[7] have been used in order to improve surface properties
of Ti alloys. The former techniques, however, are prone
to interfacial separation under repeated loading condi-
tions. In the latter cases fabricated at high temperatures,
a substrate may be twisted or surface properties may
deteriorate. To overcome these shortcomings and to
improve surface properties, surface composites have
been newly developed by depositing ceramic powders
such as TiC, TiN [8], TiB
2
[9], and SiC [10] on a Ti /
6Al /4V alloy substrate and by irradiating high-energy
pulsed laser beam or electron beam. Taking advantages
of ceramics such as excellent resistance to heat, corro-
sion, and wear, surface composites having more excel-
lent surface properties than the substrate can be
fabricated.
* Corresponding author. Tel.: /82-54-279-2140; fax: /82-54-279-
2399.
E-mail address: shlee@postech.ac.kr (S. Lee).
Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108
www.elsevier.com/locate/msea
0921-5093/02/$ - see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 9 2 1 - 5 0 9 3 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 8 2 1 - 3
These high-energy beam irradiation methods can
achieve required surface properties, while maintaining
substrate properties, since fast cooling on the substrate
surface can be obtained from energy irradiation meth-
ods and input energy hardly affects the substrate [11,12].
Laser beam method needs some absorption materials to
increase absorption ratio, and has overlapping problems
when a large surface area should be treated. Conven-
tional electron beam method has been mainly applied to
welding of relatively small parts because it needs a
vacuum chamber. However, high-energy (several MeV
energy range) electron beam irradiation method can be
continuously performed in air, and thus can treat a very
large area at one time, which makes it advantageous for
the fabrication of large structures or parts. Upon
irradiating the metal surface with high-energy electron
beam, high kinetic energy of electrons, being struck into
the material lattices and forming phonons, is trans-
formed to thermal energy, which can easily melt
ceramics [13]. When the Ti /6Al /4V alloy substrate,
on which ceramic powders are evenly deposited, is
irradiated with electron beam, both ceramic powders
and the substrate surface are melted. In this process,
ceramic elements are dispersed and infiltrated into the
substrate, thereby fabricating ceramic/Ti /6Al /4V sur-
face composites.
The present study is concerned with the fabrication of
SiC/Ti /6Al /4V surface composites by high-energy
electron beam irradiation. For the formation of the
surface composite layer through surface melting and
solidification processes, flux has to be used to protect
melted ceramic powders and substrate from the air and
to promote homogeneous melting. By varying ceramic
powders, three different surface composites were fabri-
cated, and their microstructure, hardness, and wear
properties were comparatively analyzed to understand
the mechanisms of surface property enhancement.
2. Experimental
The substrate material used in the present study was a
Ti /6Al /4V alloy (ASTM-B-265, Grade 5) obtained
from OREMET Co.(Albany, OR) and its chemical
composition was Ti-6.27Al-3.82V-0.17Fe-0.17O-0.01C-
0.01N-0.0006H (wt.%). Ceramic powders used for the
fabrication of surface composites were SiC and TiC
powders having high hardness and melting point and
excellent thermal and wear resistance [14]. Ti powders
having lower melting points than TiC powders were also
used in order to obtain the same precipitation effect of
TiC, to reduce defects such as powder agglomerates or
microspores, and to obtain more homogeneous micro-
structure due to sufficient melting of Ti powders.
Physical properties and sizes of SiC, TiC, and Ti
powders are shown in Table 1.
CaF
2
powders (density; 3.18 g cm
3
, melting tem-
perature; 1423 8C) were used as flux [15], and were
mixed with SiC, TiC, and Ti powders at a flux mixing
ratio of 50 wt.% to fabricate three kind of ceramic/flux
mixtures, i.e., (SiC)/flux, (SiC/TiC)/flux, and (SiC/
Ti)/flux. These ceramic/flux mixtures were evenly de-
posited on the Ti alloy substrate of 50/100/12 mm
3
in size, and then pressed with a 120 kPa pressure
(powder mass thickness; 0.2 g cm
2
). For convenience,
a specimen containing SiC powders mixed with 50%
flux, i.e., 50SiC/50CaF
2
, is referred to as S, while
specimens containing SiC and TiC powders or SiC and
Ti powders mixed with 50% flux, i.e., 25SiC/25TiC/
50CaF
2
and 25SiC/25Ti /50CaF
2
, are referred to as
ST and STi, respectively.
A high-voltage electron accelerator at the Budker
Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk, Russia, was
used for electron beam irradiation. This accelerator has
energy ranges of 1.0/2.5 MeV and maximum power of
100 kW. In this study, other process parameters except
beam current were fixed at the optimal conditions
established by the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics
as shown in Table 2. Beam current was determined by
evaluating hardness and surface roughness of the sur-
face composite layer for each specimen. CaF
2
flux forms
slag crusts after irradiation, and thus no flux exists in the
surface composite layer. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram
showing the fabrication procedures.
The surface composite specimens were sectioned
parallel to the irradiation direction, polished, and etched
by a Kroll solution (100 ml H
2
O/10 ml HNO
3
/5 ml
HF). Their microstructures were observed by an optical
microscope and an SEM. Phases and elements present
inside the surface composite layer were analyzed by X-
ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy
(EDS), and their volume fractions were measured by
an image analyzer. Hardness was measured from the
surface down to the substrate by a Vickers hardness
tester under a 500 g load, and microhardness of matrix
and precipitates was measured by an ultra-micro-Vick-
ers hardness tester under a 10 g load.
Abrasive wear resistance test was conducted by a dry
sand/rubber wheel abrasion wear test method in accor-
dance with ASTM G65-85 specifications [16]. After
grinding the surface of the surface composite specimens,
wear test specimens of 25/50/12 mm
3
in size were
prepared. These specimens were worn in contact with
sands (average diameter; 0.5 mm) between rubber-lined
wheels under a testing load of 20 kg, and weight loss was
evaluated as resistance to abrasive wear. Wear testing
was performed at room temperature without using a
lubricant, and total wear distance was 600 m. After the
wear test, the worn surface and cross-section of the
specimens were observed by an SEM.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 99
3. Results
3.1. Microstructure
Fig. 2(a/c) are low-magnification optical micro-
graphs of Ti /6Al /4V surface composite specimens.
Ceramic powders and the substrate surface were melted,
showing a clear interface between the melted and the
unmelted regions. All the specimens show evenly thick
surface composite layers (melted regions) without pores.
The specimen fabricated without flux addition has
pores, cracks, and powder agglomerates in the surface
composite layer because ceramic powders were not
homogeneously melted [17], indicating the definite
requirement of flux in the electron beam irradiation.
Average thickness of the surface composite layer was
measured, and the results are shown in Table 3. The
thickness ranges from 1.7 to 2.1 mm, and decreases in
the order of the S, STi, and ST specimens. Heat affected
zone (HAZ) of about 2 mm in thickness lies beneath the
composite layer.
Optical and SEM microstructures of the S specimen
are shown in Fig. 3(a) and (b). A considerable amount
of large hexagonal-pillar-shaped primary Ti
5
Si
3
particles
are distributed in the martensitic matrix (Fig. 3(a)). The
primary Ti
5
Si
3
particles are formed inside the melted
metal and grown in a hexagonal pillar shape [18,19]. In
the SEM micrograph of Fig. 3(b), spherical TiC and
needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
particles are also found as indi-
cated by arrows. TiC particles are generally bonded with
Ti
5
Si
3
particles, and the matrix consists of martensite.
An SEM micrograph and the EDS mapping analysis
data of Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC particles are shown in Fig. 4(a/
d). Spherical, hexagonal-pillar-shaped, and needle-
shaped particles are found in Fig. 4(a). More Si is
detected in hexagonal-pillar-shaped or needle-shaped
particles (Fig. 4(b)), whereas C is mostly detected in
spherical particles (Fig. 4(c)). This shows that the
hexagonal-pillar-shaped or needle-shaped particles are
Ti
5
Si
3
, whereas the spherical particles are TiC. Since the
former contains a small amount of Al (Fig. 4(d)), it
should be actually Ti
5
(Si,Al)
3
.
Optical and SEM microstructures of the ST specimen
are shown in Fig. 5(a) and (b). The ST specimen consists
of large hexagonal-pillar-shaped primary Ti
5
Si
3
, fine
needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
, and spherical TiC as in the S
specimen. On the other hand, fine needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
and spherical TiC particles are observed in the STi
specimen as indicated by arrows in Fig. 5(c) and (d).
Large hexagonal-pillar-shaped primary Ti
5
Si
3
particles
are not found here.
The volume fraction of Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC precipitated in
the surface composites are listed in Table 3. In the S and
ST specimens, a number of hexagonal-pillar-shaped
primary Ti
5
Si
3
, fine needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
, and spherical
TiC exist, and thus their total volume fraction of
precipitates reaches 64/66 vol.%. The STi specimen
contains 31.6 vol.% of eutectic Ti
5
Si
3
and 12.5 vol.% of
TiC, and the total volume fraction of precipitates is the
Table 1
Physical properties and sizes of SiC, TiC, and Ti powders used [14]
Powder Melting temperature (8C) Vickers hardness (VHN) Density (g cm
3
) Powder size (mm)
SiC 2760 2600 3.22 15/20
TiC 3067 2800 4.92 2/5
Ti 1650/1670 60 4.54 50/100
Table 2
Irradiation conditions used
Electron energy 1.4 MeV
Beam moving speed 24.5 mm s
1
Scanning width 50 mm
Beam current 27/29 mA
Scanning frequency 19 Hz
Beam size (diameter) 12 mm
Fig. 1. Schematic diagram showing the fabrication procedures of the SiC/Ti /6Al /4V surface composites.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 100
Fig. 2. Low-magnication optical micrographs of the SiC/Ti /6Al /4V surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation: (a) S;
(b) ST; and (c) STi specimens. Ceramic powders and the surface of the substrate were melted to form a surface composite layer.
Table 3
Thickness of the surface composite layer and volume fraction of precipitates formed in the surface composite layer
Specimen Thickness of surface composite layer (mm) Volume fraction (%)
TiC Ti
5
Si
3
Total
Hexagonal Needle-shaped
S 2.109/0.07 15.5 36.1 12.8 64.4
ST 2.069/0.05 12.5 / 31.6 43.7
STi 1.669/0.17 25.3 30.6 10.5 66.4
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 101
lowest of the three specimens because of the lack of
hexagonal-pillar-shaped primary Ti
5
Si
3
.
Phases present in the surface composite layer were
identified by X-ray diffraction analysis, and the data are
shown in Fig. 6(a/c). Peaks of a-Ti, TiC, and Ti
5
Si
3
are
found in the S, ST, and STi specimens, together with a
small peak of b-Ti. The matrix of the specimens consists
of a-Ti, which might be martensite (a?-Ti) formed by
fast cooling because a-Ti and a?-Ti phases are hardly
differentiated by the X-ray diffraction analysis. These
X-ray diffraction data are matched with the microstruc-
tural analysis data.
3.2. Hardness
Hardness was measured from the surface down to the
substrate, and the results are shown in Fig. 7(a/c).
Overall bulk hardness and microhardness of precipitates
and matrix are also shown in Table 4. The bars
associated with each hardness data point represent the
standard deviation of each hardness measurement. The
maximum hardness of the S specimen is about 820
VHN, showing a great increase over that of the
substrate (320 VHN) (Fig. 7(a)). This is because the
surface composite layer contains 36 vol.% of hard (/
930 VHN) Ti
5
Si
3
and 16 vol.% of very hard (/1980
VHN) TiC (Tables 3 and 4). The hardness of the
martensitic matrix is considerably higher (415 VHN)
than that of the substrate, and contributes to the
hardness improvement of the composite layer. The
hardness stays steady at 570/820 VHN down to the
interfacial region, where it drops to 330/350 VHN. The
HAZ composed of martensite has slightly higher hard-
ness than that of the substrate.
The ST specimen also shows a similar hardness trend
to the S specimen, but overall bulk hardness is some-
what higher (730 VHN) (Fig. 7(b)). This is because both
the volume fraction of Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC and the matrix
hardness (460 VHN) are higher than those of the S
specimen (Tables 3 and 4). The maximum hardness of
the STi specimen containing fine needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
and spherical TiC is the lowest (570/600 VHN) of the
three specimens because the total volume fraction of
precipitates and the matrix hardness are the lowest (Fig.
7(c)). These hardness data indicate that the hardness of
the surface composite layer increases in the order of the
STi, S, and ST specimens, and that it is mainly affected
by the volume fraction of hard Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC, together
with the additional effect of the matrix hardness.
3.3. Wear resistance
Abrasive wear loss data of the surface composites and
substrate are shown in Table 4. The wear loss decreases
in the order of the STi, S, and ST specimens, and S and
ST specimens show an improvement of 13/25 times
over that of the substrate. The wear resistance of the STi
specimen is the lowest of the three specimens because the
volume fraction of hard TiC is the lowest and large
hexagonal-pillar-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
particles do not exist
here. Of the S and ST specimens whose total fraction
of precipitates is similar, the ST specimen containing a
larger amount of TiC has the higher wear resistance.
This implies that the wear resistance improves as the
volume fraction of precipitates, very hard TiC particles
in particular, increases.
Fig. 8(a/d) are SEM micrographs of the worn surface
of the wear specimen. The surface of the Ti substrate
shows a typical abrasive wear mode in which deep
grooves are formed in the wear direction (Fig. 8(a)).
Some particle protrusions due to selective wear of the
matrix are observed on the worn surface of the S
specimen, although grooves are not found here (Fig.
8(b)). The wear behavior of the ST specimen is similar to
that of the S specimen (Fig. 8(c)). Since the micro-
structure of the ST specimen is relatively homogeneous
with lots of precipitates formed, grooves are not present,
Fig. 3. (a) Optical and (b) SEM micrographs of the surface composite
layer of the S specimen.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 102
Fig. 4. (a) SEM image and (b) /(d) EDS mapping data of C, Si, and Al, respectively, of precipitates in the S specimen.
Fig. 5. (a) and (b) Optical and SEM micrographs of the ST specimen and (c) and (d) optical and SEM micrographs of the STi specimen.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 103
and an almost flat surface is maintained. In the STi
specimen, a few grooves are found as indicated by
arrows in Fig. 8(d), implying that its wear resistance is
less than any other surface composite specimens.
Fig. 9(a/f) are SEM micrographs of the cross-
sectional area near the worn surface. The surface of
the Ti substrate is nearly flat and smooth (Fig. 9(a)).
That of the S specimen is considerably roughened
because of the selective wear of the matrix, and some
particles are cracked as shown in Fig. 9(b). Closer
examination of the cross-sectional area (Fig. 9(c))
reveals the cracking at Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC particles near
the worn surface. The worn surface of the ST specimen
is in good condition because the matrix and precipitates
are simultaneously worn because the cracking of pre-
cipitates hardly occurs (Fig. 9(d)). The STi specimen has
more cracked particles than the S specimen because
needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
particles are easily cracked, thereby
showing rougher surface (Fig. 9(e)).
4. Discussion
When SiC/flux powder mixtures are deposited on the
surface and then irradiated by high-energy electron
beam, the mixtures and part of the substrate are melted
to form a molten metal containing Si, C, and Ti. Here, C
and Si atoms interact with Ti atoms of the substrate to
form TiC and Ti
5
Si
3
, respectively [18]. The solubility of
carbon in b-Ti is very small (0.15 wt.%), and thus TiC is
always formed during solidification [20]. The residual Si
atoms are solved in the matrix to induce solid solution
hardening. EDS quantitative analysis data of the matrix
of the three surface composites indicate that 2.4/2.8
wt.% of Si is contained in the matrix. Thus, the hardness
of the solid solution hardened matrix (380/460 VHN,
Table 4) is quite higher than that of the substrate.
Fig. 6. X-ray diffraction patterns of the surface composite layer of the
(a) S; (b) ST; and (c) STi specimens.
Fig. 7. Vickers hardness versus depth from the irradiated surface of
the (a) S; (b) ST; and (c) STi specimens.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 104
As the molten metal is cooled by the thermal transfer
into the substrate, solidification is in progress. The
solidification occurs as the temperature decreases ex-
ponentially, while the cooling rate can be similar to that
of air cooling. It is thus expected that the solidification
of the molten metal would show a similar trend to that
of Ti /Si /C alloy, and the solidification process can be
expected from the Ti /Si /C ternary phase diagram [21].
Because there exist no flux components in the layer, it is
possible to use this ternary phase diagram. Fig. 10 shows
a liquidus projection of the Ti-rich region. Provided that
the substrate surface and ceramic powders were com-
pletely melted to form a surface composite layer, the
liquid phase composition can be estimated from the
fraction of precipitates formed in the surface composite
layer. The liquid phase compositions of the S and ST
specimens are projected as points A and B in the (L/
Ti
5
Si
3
) region, respectively, while that of the STi speci-
men is presented as a point C in the (L/TiC) region.
When the temperature of the liquid phase of the S
specimen drops below the liquidus line, primary Ti
5
Si
3
starts nucleating and growing, while the liquid phase
composition moves from the composition point A and
moves to a point A
1
located on the ab eutectic line
(starting temperature of eutectic reaction). When the
ab line is reached, eutectic Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC start to form,
and continue growing until the temperature reaches the
b point (completion temperature of eutectic reaction,
1300 8C). At the b point, all the remaining liquid is
transformed to eutectic Ti
5
Si
3
, eutectic TiC, and b-Ti,
which is then transformed to martensite upon rapid
cooling. Enhancements of the hardness and wear
Table 4
Vickers hardness and wear test data of the surface composites
Specimen Vickers hardness (VHN) Weight loss (g)
Matrix
a
Precipitates
a
Overall bulk
b
Ti
5
Si
3
TiC
Substrate 320 / / 320 1.28
S 415 927 1978 715 0.10
ST 460 915 2015 728 0.05
STi 380 878 2030 584 0.28
a
Vickers microhardness values measured under a 10 g load.
b
Vickers hardness values measured under a 500 g load.
Fig. 8. SEM micrographs of the worn surface of the (a) Ti alloy substrate; (b) S; (c) ST; and (d) STi specimens.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 105
resistance in the S specimen over the substrate are
attributed to the 64% precipitation of hard TiC and
Ti
5
Si
3
particles in the martensitic matrix. A small
amount (/2.4 wt.%) of solved Si in the martensitic
matrix also contributes to the increase in hardness and
wear resistance.
The solidification behavior of the ST specimen is
similar to that of the S specimen because the initial
liquid composition of both the specimens lies in the (L/
Ti
5
Si
3
) region. Its final microstructure contains a
number of hexagonal-pillar-shaped primary Ti
5
Si
3
, fine
needle-shaped Ti
5
Si
3
, and spherical TiC in the marten-
sitic matrix. However, the size and volume fraction of
hexagonal-pillar-shaped primary Ti
5
Si
3
are smaller than
those of the S specimen because the BB
1
line is shorter
than the AA
1
line, and the amount of eutectic Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC is larger because the B
1
b line is longer than the
A
1
b line (Fig. 10 and Table 3). The total volume
fraction of precipitates is somewhat larger than that of
the S specimen. Owing to abundant precipitation, the
hardness and wear resistance increase 2 and 25 times,
respectively, as much as the substrate (Table 4).
Particularly, the wear resistance is enhanced over the S
specimen because of the larger amount of hard TiC.
This implies that the wear resistance improves as the
volume fraction of precipitates, very hard TiC particles
in particular, increases. Since the ST specimen has a
network-shaped structure where most of precipitates are
connected each other and the hardened matrix (460
VHN, Table 4), the selective wear of the matrix and the
cracking or fallen-offs of precipitates are considerably
reduced, thereby leading to the almost flat worn surface
during the wear process (Fig. 8(c) and Fig. 9(d)).
Therefore, the ST specimen has the best hardness and
Fig. 9. SEM micrographs of the cross-section of the (a) Ti alloy substrate; (b) and (c) S; (d) ST; and (e) STi specimens. (c) is high-magnication SEM
micrograph of the S specimen.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 106
wear resistance of the three surface composites. The
microstructure and properties of the ST specimen might
be additionally improved by properly controlling the
mixing ratio of SiC and TiC powders, although the fixed
powder mixing ratio of 50:50 was used in the present
study.
The initial liquid phase composition of the STi
specimens is located in the (L/TiC) region. When the
temperature cools down below the liquidus line, primary
TiC nucleates and grows. Eutectic TiC and Ti
5
Si
3
are
formed as the liquid composition moves from a point
C
1
to a point b along the ab eutectic line. At the b
point, all the remaining liquid phase is transformed to
eutectic Ti
5
Si
3
, eutectic TiC, and b-Ti, and the reaction
is terminated as b-Ti is finally transformed to martensite
at further lowered temperatures. The hardness of the
composite layer reaches 580 VHN, and the wear
resistance is improved by 5 times over that of the
substrate. However, the wear resistance is the lowest of
the three specimens (Table 4) because of the selective
wear of the matrix (hardness; 380 VHN) and the
subsequent cracking and falling-off of needle-shaped
Ti
5
Si
3
. Wear debris formed from these fallen-off Ti
5
Si
3
particles continue scratching off the matrix, resulting in
the rougher worn surface and the decrease in the wear
resistance.
5. Conclusions
(1) When electron beam was irradiated on the ceramic
powder mixtures containing 50% CaF
2
flux, the powders
and substrate surface were melted without defects,
forming the surface composite layer after the subsequent
solidification. The thickness of the surface composite
layer was nearly homogeneous at 1.7/2.1 mm.
(2) Microstructure of the surface composites consisted
of the surface composite layer, HAZ, and unaltered
substrate. The surface composite layer contained a
number of precipitates such as Ti
5
Si
3
and TiC in the
martensitic matrix. The HAZ consisted of martensite
because of fast cooling.
(3) Upon electron beam irradiation, SiC/flux powder
mixtures and part of the substrate were melted to form a
molten metal containing Si, C, and Ti. Here, C and Si
atoms interacted with Ti atoms to form TiC and Ti
5
Si
3
,
respectively, and the matrix was composed of martensite
because of fast cooling during solidification. Micro-
structural modifications including melting, solidifica-
tion, precipitation, and phase transformation processes
could be explained well from a Ti /Si /C ternary phase
diagram.
(4) A large amount (up to 66 vol.%) of precipitates
improved the hardness and wear resistance of the
Fig. 10. Liquidus projection of the ternary Ti /Si /C phase diagram [21]. Liquid phase compositions of the S, ST, and STi specimens are indicated as
points A, B, and C, respectively.
J.C. Oh et al. / Materials Science and Engineering A351 (2003) 98/108 107
surface composite layer 2 and 5/25 times, respectively,
greater than that of the substrate. In the surface
composite fabricated by the deposition of SiC and TiC
powders having a network-shaped structure of abun-
dant TiC and Ti
5
Si
3
precipitates, the selective wear of
the matrix and the cracking or fallen-off of precipitates
were considerably reduced, thereby leading to the best
hardness and wear resistance.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Professors Yangmo
Koo and Nack J. Kim of POSTECH, and Dr N.
Kuksanov of Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics for
their helpful discussion on the fabrication of the SiC/Ti /
6Al /4V surface composites.
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