In situ synthesis of Al–TiC in aluminum melt

In situ technology for the preparation of Al–TiC composite by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis is considered in this paper. It involves the synthesis of the reinforcement phase TiC from elemental powders directly in aluminum melt. Based on thermodynamic calculations, the composition and molar ratio of powders were chosen for the experiments. The effects of initial melt temperature and fluxes on the character of SHS reaction and TiC recovery were studied. The synthesis was shown to result in the formation of Al and TiC phases. The composites Al–TiC with the uncontaminated macrofracture, with the best TiC recovery and with the smallest TiC particles, can be produced at 1000 °C with fluxes.