Pulsed-PTA Preparation of B4C-based Titanium Matrix Cermet

Pulsed plasma transferred arc surfacing is presently used in many industrial applications to make protective layers against corrosion, temperature exposition, and excessive wear. Increasing wear resistance is especially important in areas of industry where titanium alloys are used, such as aviation and cosmonautics, because the wear resistance of titanium alloys is often weak. One way how to increase the wear resistance is to deposit or form cermet with a titanium matrix (TMC) on the surface of the part. The present study deals with the fabrication and characterization of TMC based on B4C. TMC with B4C was formed by co-feeding Ti6Al4V and B4C powder into a melting pool. It has been found that the deposited, relatively thick layers have homogeneously dispersed B4C grains in the matrix. The deposits are metallurgically connected with the substrate - Ti6Al4V. The TMCs was investigated in terms of microstructure and chemical composition. Wear resistance was determined using the dry-sand-rubber-wheel test.