Characterization of Microstructure of Fe-TiC and Fe-B4C Composites Using Ultrasonic Measurements

Abstract

In this paper, an iron (Fe) matrix reinforced with boron carbide (B4C) and titanium carbide (TiC) was produced by conventional furnace sintering at the same compositions and temperatures. Experimental data on the change in ultrasonic velocity parameter, densities and porosity of these two different microstructure composites during microstructure development are reported. The microstructural phases were characterized by metallographic studies and hardness measurements. The velocities of ultrasonic longitudinal waves were measured by the pulse- echo method using the transmit/receive probe. In the Fe-TiC composite sample, ultrasound longitudinal wave velocity, hardness and porosity increased linearly depending on the increasing amount of TiC. In the Fe-B4C composite sample, on the other hand, there is a linear increase in general depending on the increasing amount of B4C, and there is a sharp decrease in the amount of 8,33% B4C. The reason for this decrease and other results are explained by taking into account SEM and XRD analyzes.