Brian Gabbitas

Development and design of binder systems for titanium metal injection molding: An overview

Titanium metal injection molding (Ti-MIM) has been practiced since the late 1980s. Logically, the Ti-MIM practice follows the similar processes developed for the antecedent materials such as stainless steel and ceramics. Although Ti-MIM is a favorite research topic today, the issue of convincing the designers to use Ti injection-molded parts still exists. This is mainly because of the concern about contamination which seems unavoidable during the Ti-MIM process. Much information about the binder formulation, powder requirements, debinding, and sintering is available in the literature. There are several powder vendors and feedstock suppliers. However, most of the binders in the feedstock are proprietarily protected. The disclosed information on the binders used for formulating powder feedstock is very limited, which in turn discourages their adoption by engineering designers. This overview intends to discuss some of major binder systems for Ti-MIM available in the literature. It serves to provide a guideline for the Ti-MIM practitioners to choose a suitable powder feedstock.

Consolidation of Titanium, and Ti-6Al-4V Alloy Powders by Powder Compact Forging

Consolidation of titanium and titanium alloy powders using thermomechanical powder metallurgy (TPM) processes (powder compact forging, extrusion and rolling) is one way that can lead to cost-effective production of high value-added consolidated titanium and titanium alloy products such as near-net shaped components, tubes and plates. This paper provides an overview of the quality, microstructure (to limited depth), porosity level and mechanical properties of disks produced using open die forging of powder compacts of CP titanium and Ti-6Al-4V alloy powders. The general materials science principles underlying the relationships between processing conditions, microstructure and the mechanical properties of the disks made by using the powder compact forging are discussed.

Preparation, Microstructure and Properties of Ti-6Al-4V Rods by Powder Compact Extrusion of Powder Mixture

Ti-6Al-4V (wt%) alloy rods were prepared successfully using a low-cost method that combines mixing elemental and master alloy powders and powder compact extrusion. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the rods and the effects of extrusion temperature on them were investigated. The results showed that the microstructure and mechanical properties of the extruded rods were strongly affected by the extrusion temperature. With increasing extrusion temperature from 1200°C to 1300°C and keeping the powder compact holding time unchanged at 2 minutes, the fraction of undissolved V rich particles in the microstructure of the extruded rod decreased substantially to zero, the level of composition homogenization increased dramatically to the highest level, and the UTS and elongation of the extruded rods increased significantly from 886MPa and 1.2% to 1300MPa and 7.1%, respectively. The tensile properties of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy rods produced by powder compact extrusion of the powder mixture are comparable to those of Ti-6Al-4V alloy produced by ingot metallurgy and thermomechanical processing.

Comparison of blended elemental (BE) and mechanical alloyed (MA) powder compact forging into Ti-6Al-4V rocker arms

Ti-6Al-4V rocker arms for internal combustion engines were produced by forging of compacts of blended powder consisting of elemental hydride-dehydride (HDH) titanium powder and Al60V40 (wt%) master alloy powder or mechanical alloyed (MA) powder synthesized by high energy mechanical milling of a mixture of HDH titanium and Al60V40 master alloy powders. The powder compacts were made by warm compaction, and their relative density was 90%. The mechanical properties and microstructures of as-forged parts made using blended powder were improved significantly with increasing holding time at forging temperature, and close to those of as-forged parts produced by powder compact forging of HDH Ti-6Al-4V pre-alloyed powder. However, the as-forged part produced by powder compact forging of MA powder was brittle, and fractured prematurely during tensile testing.

Tensile behaviour of radiata pine with different moisture contents at elevated temperatures

Abstract The aim of this study was to obtain tensile elastic modulus (EM) information for radiata pine (Pinus radiata D. Don) sapwood in tangential grain direction, over a temperature range of 70°C to 150°C for a wide range of moisture contents. Such information is scarce, probably because of difficulties with research equipment design and process control strategies to perform accurate tests. As expected, EM dramatically decreased with increasing temperature and moisture content. The results were modelled to yield a relationship between stress and strain. The results were also successfully transposed into a mastercurve based on temperature-moisture equivalence through a modified form of the Williams, Landel, and Ferry equation for amorphous polymers. This result is consistent with the view that wood is visco-plastic around the glass transition zone of the ligno-hemicellulosic matrix. It is demonstrated that moisture and temperature can play a significant role in reducing stress during drying, regardless of the drying time. Properties of wood, such as tensile elastic information at elevated temperatures, are important for mechanical design, distortion modelling and understanding the fundamental behaviour of wood in general.

Optimisation of performance of dispersants in aqueous titanium slips

Slip casting is a well-established ceramic casting technique used for large scale fabrication of ceramic products with complex shapes. A homogenous slip with a desired level of stability is required, which is controlled using a dispersant. This paper describes the selection and optimisation of various dispersants used to produce Ti powder slips. A consideration of the effect of concentration and pH of the solvent on the dispersion of anionic polyelectrolyte dispersants (Dispex N-40, Synthecol SD375 & Dolapix CE64) was examined by measuring the sedimentation height and rate, the streaming potential and the slip viscosity. It was found that Dolapix CE64 showed the best deflocculating effect at 0.3dw.% with pH of 7. In particular, the measurements on Dolapix CE64 gave consistent results. This indicated that Dolapix CE64 is an effective dispersant in the preparation of a titanium slip.

Tribological properties of thermally sprayed TiAl-Al2O3 composite coating

The use of thermal spray coatings provides protection to the surfaces operating in severe environments. The main goal of the current work is to investigate the possibility of using a high velocity oxy fuel (HVOF) thermally sprayed wear resistant TiAl/Al2O3 coating on tool steel (H13) which is used for making dies for aluminium high pressure die casting. A feedstock of TiAl/Al2O3 composite powder was produced from a mixture of Al and TiO2 powders by high energy mechanical milling, followed by a thermal reaction process. The feedstock was then thermally sprayed using a high velocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) technique onto H13 steel substrates to produce a composite coating. The present study describes and compares the tribological properties such as friction and sliding wear rate of the coating both at room and high temperature (700°C). The results showed that the composite coating has lower wear rate at high temperature (700°C) than the uncoated H13 sample. At Room temperature without using lubricant there is no much significant difference between the wear rate of the coated and uncoated samples. The experimental results showed that the composite coating has great potential for high temperature application due to its lower wear rate at high temperature in comparison with the uncoated sample at the same temperature. The composite coating was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). This paper reports the experimental observations and discusses the wear resistance performance of the coatings at room and high temperatures.

The Effects of Lubrication on the Density Gradient of Titanium Powder Compacts

In order to investigate the role of lubrication on the density gradient of titanium powder, a coloured layer method was employed. HDH titanium powder mixed with 0-1wt% stearic acid (SA) or magnesium stearate (MgSt) was cold compacted under different pressures. Coloured and uncoloured powders were used to give different layers in the die before compaction. The in situ density of different sections was calculated by measuring the height of the different layers. By using this method, the role of lubrication on the density gradient of titanium powder was experimentally measured. It was found that 0.3wt% of lubricant significantly improves the density variation, but further additions give only a slight improvement. An addition of 0.6wt% of SA provides an optimum density variation. The sintering results show that by using a very small amount of lubricant during processing there are no significant amounts of residual contaminants remaining in the Ti alloy.

Effects of Lubrication on the Powder Metallurgy Processing of Titanium

The role of lubrication on the consolidation behaviour of titanium powder, density increase and change in microstructure on subsequent sintering was investigated. HDH titanium powder mixed with 0-2wt% stearic acid or magnesium stearate was cold compacted. It was found that 0.3-0.6wt% of internal lubricant significantly improves the compressibility. However, more than 0.6wt% of lubricant aids the densification in the low-pressure region but limits the maximum density at high pressure. Moreover, 0.3-0.6wt% of lubricant offers a more uniform density distribution to the powder compact, while greater than 0.6wt% of lubricant leads to a segregation of lubricant in the surface region. The shape retention, ejection behaviour, de-lubrication behaviour and sintered properties were also studied in this work.

Sintering and open die forging process for P/M titanium alloy with additions of trace amount of erbium

Abstract Er powder with a very large particle size was added to Ti metal and Ti–6Al–4V alloy to achieve a supersolidus liquid sintering effect. However, instead of promoting sintering and homogenisation, very big worm-like voids were created by a substantial Er–Ti liquid phase. Such voids were surrounded by Er segregation and made tensile testing of a Ti–Er alloy impossible. An open die forging process was then employed to diminish these pores and homogenise the Er distribution. Fine Er spots or acicular textures were found in the matrix, but some Er segregation still persisted. The material is weakened by segregation. Good mechanical properties are obtained when the testpieces have reduced levels of Er segregation. Further work will be focused on the homogenisation of Er.