Preparation Of In-Situ Binary Niobium-Titanium-Carbide (Nb,Ti)C Reinforced Cu Based Composite by Mechanical Alloying ☆

The aim of the present work is to investigate the feasibility of the synthesis of in-situ binary niobium-titanium carbide (Nb, Ti) C in a copper matrix via mechanical alloying (MA) from elemental Cu, Nb, Ti and graphite. The mixture of starting powders with composition corresponding to Cu-30vol.% (Nb, Ti) C was mechanical alloyed using a planetary ball mill for 5, 10, 20 and 30 hours under argon atmosphere. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns acquired on the as-milled powders showed that the niobium-titanium carbide phase was precipitated after 10 hours of milling and reached the maximum volume fractions after 20 hours of milling. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs exhibited a good dispersion of (Nb, Ti) C nanosized particles within copper matrix with an excellent interfacial bonding