The Effect of Pressure on the Combustion Synthesis of a Functionally-Graded Material: TiB2-Al2O3-Al Ceramic- Metal Composite System

This article describes some recent research on the synthesis of functionally-graded materials (FGM using combustion synthesis or self- propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS). A model ceramic-metal SHS system was investigated based on the reaction system: 3TiO2 + 3B2O3 + (10 + x)Al = 3TiB2 + 5Al2O2 + xAl in which x was varied between 0 and 17 to achieve the required composition and phase gradients in the FGM. The effects of combustion mode, reactant stoichiometry (xAl), green density, and applied loads on the stability of the SHS reaction and density of the FGM product are described.