Control Of C/Ti Ratio in Titanium Carbide - Copper Master Alloys Produced by SHS Reactions and its Effect on the Carbide Dispersion In Liquid Copper

Titanium carbide is used as an attractive reinforcement to produce particulate metal matrix composites. One of the problems to use this carbide as a reinforcement in copper-based composites is the lack of wetability in Cu-TiC system. This property improves as the C/Ti ratio in carbide decreases. Problems to use this carbide as a reinforcement in copper-based composites is the lack of wetabiity in Cu-TiC system. This property improves as the C/Ti ratio in carbide decreases. A practical method is presented in this paper to improve the dispersion of titanium carbide into liquid copper and emphasis is placed on the C/Ti ratio in the carbide. It was observed that the C/Ti ratio in a raw mixture containing only Ti and C was equal to C/Ti ratio in the carbide after synthesis but when copper powder was added to the raw materials, this ratio was higher than the starting value. Regarding the relationship between the titanium carbide lattice parameter and the C/Ti ratio in the carbide and this ratio in the raw mixture, a graph was drawn that related the C/Ti=1, a network of agglomerated TiC particles with the same C/Ti ratio is formed which cannot be dispersed into liquid copper. When this ratio is decreased to 0.3, particulate titanium carbide with C/Ti=0.5 can be easily dispersed into liquid copper. Keywords: SHS reaction, titanium carbide