Effects of various proportions TiB2p-TiCp reinforced Al–Cu–Mg composites in high-temperature mechanical properties and sliding wear behaviors

Synergistic reinforcement of dual-phase particles with different sizes was always considered superior to single-phase reinforcement in composites, but there were few studies to investigate the role of each part in enhancing properties. In this work, 40 vol.% (TiB2p-TiCp)/Al-Cu-Mg composites with different proportions of TiB2p and TiCp (3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3), were fabricated by the combustion synthesis to contrast the strengthening effect of dual-phase particles from the interface stability and the characteristics of dual-phase particles. Calculated by the first principle, TiB2 (3.12 J/m2) presented better interfacial stability with Al matrix than TiC (1.61 J/m2). Under the circumstance of the same volume fraction, the composites with a higher proportion of TiB2p usually show higher yield and maximum compressive strength and effectively prevent the crack growth of composites. However, excess submicron sized TiB2p tends to produce cracks at the hexagon edge when the loads were applied and formed crack loops delaminating materials. When the TiB2p/TiCp proportion was 1:1, the plasticity and strength were beneficially balanced at the elevated temperature. Otherwise, the composite with TiB2: TiC=3:1 possessed the best wear resistance (coefficient of friction: 0.22) at a sliding velocity of 0.32 mm/s, 30N load) among other composites (, , , and ) at 473 K, which reduced 45%, 64%, 73% and 86%, respectively. The main wear mechanism was abrasive wear when the TiB2 proportion was dominant. Submicron sized TiB2p with better interface bonding can keep the rigidity of the composites to resist the plastic flow, while TiC nanoparticles are easier to be extracted during the wear process.