Low-cost Ti-6Al-4V containing low content nano-carbon solid solution for achieving high strength and good ductility

With the rapid advancement of the aerospace industry, in addition to higher requirements for material properties, the cost-effective of its production have also attracted more attention. In this work, titanium matrix composite with high performance and low cost was designed using ball milling, spark plasma sintering and hot rolling process, i.e. hydrogenated dehydrogenated Ti and Alsingle bondV powders as the precursor of Ti-6Al-4 V matrix, and a low content (0.15 wt%) reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with high-activity was selected to reinforce the matrix alloy. The as-rolled composite shows obvious texture orientation along the rolling direction without pores and microcracks. The incorporation of rGO led to the activation of the as-rolled composites along the {0001}[1120] type base slip. The as-rolled composite containing only 0.15 wt% rGO exhibits superior yield strength (1308.1 MPa) and ultimate tensile strength (1444.3 MPa), which are 11% and 9.3% higher than those of the matrix alloy, respectively, and the elongation remains at ∼5.6%. The strengthening mechanisms are mainly attributed to the solid solution strengthening effect of interstitial carbon in the matrix after the incorporation of rGO. This work highlights the development potential of low-cost and high-strength titanium matrix composites.