No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
A new class of intermetallic matrix composites (IMC's) based on orthorhombic titanium aluminides offer attractive properties for high-temperature structural components at temperatures up to 760°C. Results from an ongoing study on the microstructural stability and mechanical properties of the orthorhombic-based alloy Ti-22Al–23Nb (at%), in both monolithic and composite forms, are discussed. Oxygen acquired during processing or as a result of high-temperature exposure in air or vacuum has a pronounced influence on the microstructure of the monolithic and composite materials. Two-phase lath microstructures of ordered beta (βo) + orthorhombic (O) phases produced by processing low oxygen material above the beta transus are morphologically stable at 760°C. Conversely, in higher-oxygen three-phase microstructures containing O+βo+ α2(Ti3Al), lath coarsening and additional precipitation of α2 in oxygen-enriched sheet surface regions is observed. At 760°C/69MPa the two-phase lath microstructure has a higher creep resistance and lower tensile strength compared to the three-phase α2- containing microstructures of the higher oxygen material.