Liquid state infrared processing of SCS-6/Ti-6Al-4V composites

SiC fiber-reinforced Ti-6Al-4V composites are candidates for high-strength structural applications in aerospace industries. These composites are commonly consolidated by solid-state diffusion bonding processes such as vacuum hot pressing or hot isostatic pressing. Long exposures to elevated temperatures in a mechanically pressurized vacuum environment are required during diffusion bonding. Such processes make these composites expensive. As one of the very few efforts in investigating liquid state processing of titanium matrix composites (TMCs), an infiltration process using infrared heating, the rapid infrared manufacturing (RIM) process, has been developed at the University of Cincinnati. The RIM process is characterized by extremely fast heating, typically in the order of 100 C/s to 200 C/s, in an ambient inert gas atmosphere, to above the melting point of the alloy, followed by short holding time and subsequent fast cooling to below the solidus of the alloy. The entire process is generally completed in only 1 to 2 minutes