archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9

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Original Research Article

Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiC/Ti

matrix composites and Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb alloy joints
brazed with Ti–28Ni eutectic filler alloy

Duo Dong a,b,*, Haitao Xu c, Dongdong Zhu b,*, Gang Wang b, Qing He a,
Junpin Lin a
a
State Key Laboratory for Advanced Metals and Materials, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing
10083, PR China
b
Key Laboratory of Air-driven Equipment Technology of Zhejiang Province, Quzhou University, Quzhou 324000, PR
China
c
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu 241000, PR China

article info abstract

Article history: Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb and TiC/Ti matrix composites were successfully joined using Ti–28Ni
Received 3 March 2019 eutectic filler metal at different brazing temperatures. Microstructure and mechanical
Accepted 20 July 2019 properties of the joints were systematically studied. The results showed that the joints all
Available online showed integral interfaces and the microstructures of the joints for 980 8C/15 min were
detected as Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb/a2-Ti3Al + t3-Al3NiTi2/a2-Ti3Al/Ti(s,s) + d-Ti2Ni + TiC/Ti ma-
Keywords: trix composites. As brazing temperature increased, continuous Ti2Ni layer diminish and
TMCs Ti2Ni phase became more discrete. However, a2-Ti3Al rich layer has thickened which
TiAl alloy deteriorates the properties of the joints. The highest shear strength achieved 469.5 MPa
Brazing as the joint brazed at 1010 8C for 15 min. The evolution of microstructures brazed with
Microstructure different temperatures was studied and its relationship with the shear strength was also
Shear strength revealed in details.
© 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Politechnika Wroclawska.

1. Introduction
Due to significant weight saving and specific strength than
Ni base superalloys, TiAl alloys have been considered as one
of the most attractive materials in aerospace and automo-
bile industry [1,2]. The addition of Nb and Cr elements into
TiAl alloys can not only increase the ductility, but also
improve high temperature strength and creep resistance
above 800 8C [3,4]. In these TiAl alloys, Ti–48Al–2Cr-2Nb has
been applied to critical parts in aerospace, such as aircraft
turbine engines blades in General Electric's GEnex engine, as
a high-temperature as well as weight-saving structural
material [5,6].

* Corresponding author at: Quzhou University Kecheng district, Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
E-mail addresses: dongduohit@163.com (D. Dong), zhudd8@163.com (D. Zhu).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acme.2019.07.005
1644-9665/© 2019 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Politechnika Wroclawska.
2 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9
So far, Ti matrix composites have attracted much attention
and were successfully applied in aerospace, due to their
higher specific strength, relatively lower density and better
mechanical properties at elevated temperatures compared
with traditional Ti alloys [7,8]. Typically, as TiC particle phase
has high modulus, high stiffness, good thermal stability and is
totally compatible with Ti matrix, it is considered as one of the
best reinforcements of Ti matrix composites [9,10]. Thus it is
of great importance to expand the usage of TiAl and TMCs.
However, it is quite expensive to deform TiAl alloys and Ti
matrix composites into components with large dimensions or
complex shapes due to the nature brittleness, poor workabil-
ity and short deforming region. Thus the application of TiAl
alloys and Ti matrix composites is greatly restricted. Take the
excellent properties and poor workability of these two
materials into account, successful joining of the two
materials is thought as an effective way to further extend
the applications of TiAl alloys and Ti matrix composites,
which is of great importance to the weight saving in aircraft
engines.
Until now, various methods have been studied to join TiAl
alloys and Ti matrix composites. For example, H.S. Ren [11]
reported a diffusion bonding of Ti–24Al–15Nb-1Mo alloy and
TiAl intermetallics using two Ti based filler metals. The
highest shear strength of the joints was about 435 MPa. Y.
Wang studied [12] the brazing of Ti2AlNb and TC4 alloys with
Ti–Zr–Cu–Ni + Mo composite filler. It was found that Mo
particle was beneficial for the homogeneity of the joint
microstructure and the formation of b-Ti. The joints showed
good mechanical properties at both of room temperature and
6008. Vacuum brazing was also studied to join TiBw/TC4
composite and Ti60 alloy by X.G. Song [13]. The joint strength
reached the maximum value of 368.6 MPa. However when
brazed at 10608, the formation of coarse lamellar (a+b)-Ti
structure would decrease the joint properties. H.G. Dong [14]
studied the joining of g-TiAl and 40Cr steel with friction
welding and found that the joint strength was degraded by the
formation of martensitic microstructure and TiC phase. J.W.
Mao [15] reported that TiB + La2O3 reinforced Ti matrix
composites were laser welded and the joints exhibit superior
strength but poor ductility because of the existence of a0
martensite and TiBw brittle phase. These joining techniques,
brazing excepted, are always carried out at high temperatures
above the b-transformation temperature of the base metal. As
a result, B2 or b-Ti brittle phase would be formed when Ti or
TiAl alloys are exposed at high temperatures during heating
process [16,17]. It may deteriorate the mechanical properties
greatly. Thus, brazing is taken as the most effective way to join
dissimilar materials, attribute to relatively low joining tem-
perature, little influence on the base metal as well as low cost,
convenient operating, high precision and excellent joint
properties of brazing technique. But to the best of the author's
knowledge, the investigation of brazing TiAl alloys to Ti matrix
composites has not been reported yet.
Z. Mirski [18] brazed Ti–48Al–2Cr-2Nb alloy using different
kinds of filler metals and demonstrated that filler metal plays
an important role in the joint mechanical quality. It has been
widely reported that Ag based [19,20] and Ti based filler [21,22]
metal are the main choice for brazing Ti or TiAl alloys for their
good wettability on the materials. As both of TiAl alloys and Ti
matrix composites perform great high temperature strength,
the brazing filler should possess high molten temperature
which is desirable for improving the mechanical stabilities of
the joint at high temperature working conditions. However,
previous studies [23,24] showed that the continuous brittle
intermetallic compound like Ti2Ni or Ti2Cu phase layer was
hard to demolish when brazed TiAl alloys with Ti based filler
alloy. Fortunately for this issue, we found that Ni element was
easy to transport into TiC/Ti alloys through the intergranular
gap in our former work [25]. This phenomenon is favorable to
homogenize the distribution of Ti2Ni phase layer and reduce
the influence of it.
In this work, the brazing of TiAl and Ti matrix composites
was carried out using Ti–28Ni (wt.%) high-temperature
eutectic filler metal at different temperatures. The microstruc-
ture and mechanical properties of the joints were investigated.
And the effects of brazing temperature on the microstructure
and shear strength of joints were studied in details.
2. Experimental
The nominal composition of Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb (at.%) and Ti–
6Al–3Sn–3.5Zr–0.4Mo–0.75Nb–0.35Si (wt.%) + 5 vol% TiC base
material used in this study were fabricated by induction skull
melting (ISM) in purified argon atmosphere. Electromagnetic
stirring was used when the raw materials were melted for a
complete homogenization of compositions. Fig. 1 exhibits the
interfacial microstructure of the base metals, the results show
that Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb consists of g-TiAl and a2-Ti3Al, and Ti
matrix composite consists of Ti(s,s) and TiC phases.
Ti–28Ni brazing filler was fabricated by rapid solidification
technique in an arc melting furnace. Fig. 2 displays micromor-
phology of the Ti–28Ni filler ingot, it can be seen that Ti–28Ni
filler is composed of a-Ti and d-Ti2Ni phases. The DSC result in
Fig. 2 b) exhibits that the b-transformation and liquidus
temperature of Ti–28Ni filler are about 765 8C and 960 8C
respectively. So the brazing temperature was determined from
980 8C to 1070 8C in order to make sure of the sufficient
diffusion of the filler alloy.
Prior to brazing, the substrates were cut into dimensions of
4  4  4 mm and 10  10  4 mm for morphological observa-
tion and shear testing. All of the joining surfaces were
grounded with SiC papers up to 2000 grit and ultrasonically
cleaned in alcohol for 3 min in order to get smooth and
unpolluted brazing surfaces. The filler metal was cut into slices
of 4  4  0.5 mm and both surfaces were grounded to about
200 mm thick. The assemblies of the joints during brazing are
shown as Fig. 3. Ti-28Ni filler was sandwiched by Ti–48Al–2Cr–
2Nb and Ti matrix composite base materials in a graphite
mold. A pressure of 0.1 MPa was applied on the joint for the
proper contact of materials during brazing process. The
heating process of brazing is shown in Fig. 3. The samples
were directly heated up to the target brazing temperature
(980 8C, 1010 8C, 1040 8C and 1070 8C) at a speed of 10 8C/min.
Then the brazing temperature was held for 15 min. Subse-
quently, the temperature was cooled down to 300 8C in 2 h and
finally cooled down spontaneously to room temperature. In
the whole process of brazing, the vacuum was kept up to
2.0  103 Pa.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9 3

Fig. 1 – Backscattered images of base materials. a) Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy; b) Ti matrix composites.

Fig. 2 – Backscattered image and DSC analysis results of Ti-28Ni filler. a) Backscattered image of Ti-28Ni filler; b) DSC image of
Ti-28Ni filler.

Fig. 3 – Assemblies of brazing samples and thermal cycling curve of brazing process. a) assemblies of brazing samples; b)
thermal cycling curve.

After brazing, the microstructure and chemical composi-
tion of the joints were characterized using scanning electronic
microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spec-
trometer (EDS). Precipitation phases in the joints were
identified by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) with Cu Ka at a
scanning speed of 28/min. The XRD analysis was carried out on
the fracture surfaces of the specimens after shear testing. The
mechanical properties of the joints brazed at diverse tem-
peratures were measured by shear testing with an electronic
universal testing machine. At least five shear test samples
were used to obtain average shear strength. After that, the
fracture surfaces were investigated by SEM to study the
fracture mode and fracture location of the joints.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. Microstructure of the Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb/Ti–28Ni/Ti
matrix composites joint
Due to the typical interfacial microstructure of the joint brazed
at 9808, the results for brazing at 9808 were presented. Fig. 4
4 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9
Fig. 4 – Microstructure of the joint brazed at 980 8C for 15 min. a) microstructure of the whole joint; b) microstructure of zone I;
c) microstructure of zone II; d) microstructure of the joint/Ti matrix composites interface.
shows the backscattered images of Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb/Ti–28Ni/
Ti–28Ni/Ti matrix composites joint brazed at 980 8C for 15 min.
It can be seen that the width of the joint was about 219 mm. An
increase about 20% of the joint width was observed in
comparison with the original Ti–28Ni thickness of 200 mm. It
proves that elemental diffusion has happened between
molten brazing filler and the base materials. The entire
interfacial of the joint is divided into two zones (zone I and
zone II as shown in Fig. 4a). The microstructures of each zone
are displayed in Fig. 4b–d. The high magnification of zone I
shows a continuous reaction zone adjacent to Ti–48Al–2Cr–
2Nb which is about 7.6 mm wide. As Fig. 4b shows, zone I is
divided into two layers, marked as I1 and I2. I1 is about 4.2 mm
formed by gray and white phases while I2 layer is a continuous
layer about 3.4 mm wide with monotonous gray contrast. The
phases in zone I are marked as A, B and C. Similarly, zone II is a
diffusion zone of about 212 mm wide between zone II and TiC/
Ti matrix composites. The phases in zone II are marked as D, E,
F, G, H and J. It is worth noting that, a continuous layer with
large white block phase was formed in this zone, and its width
is about 60 mm. Some micro-cracks were observed in the
higher magnified feature of this layer in Fig. 4c, indicating that
this layer might be the weak point of the brazed joint. Phase D,
in gray contrast, is uniformly distributed. Phase E is black and
only exists in the region between the continuous white phase
layer and Ti matrix composite base metal. With regard to
phase F, it becomes more and more discrete in the direction
from the brazing seam to Ti matrix composite. It makes the
boundary between the brazing seam and the Ti matrix
composites obscure.
To study the diffusion process in the joint during brazing,
the elemental distributions of the joint were measured by EDS.
The corresponding results were shown in Fig. 5 and Table 1.
According to our previous study [25], the relative error of the
element C is less than 6%. As can be seen in Fig. 5, zone I is rich
in Ti, Al and Ni elements. It demonstrated that diffusion of Ni
element from the molten filler into solid Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb
substrate happened during brazing. Zone II was occupied by Ti
and Ni element with small regions of C enrichment. Ni and Ti
element diffused into the Ti matrix composites through the
intergranular gap [25], and it is faster than other diffusive
mode. However, the low brazing temperature of 980 8C was not
favorable to the sufficient diffusion of Ni element. Thus Ni
dominated the continuous white phase layer in zone as seen in
Fig. 5d.
Based on the EDS analysis of spot A and B in Table 1, the
continuous reaction layer I is mainly comprised of a2-Ti3Al and
a few t3-Al3NiTi2 phases. The phases can also be found in X.G.
Song's study [26] when joining high Nb containing TiAl using
TiNi-Nb filler alloy. The EDS results of phase C indicated that it
was composed of 70.49% Ti and 27.16% Al which could be
identified as a2-Ti3Al. During brazing process, elemental
diffusion motivated by concentration gradients took place at
the liquid/solid interface. Ti and Ni element would diffuse into
base materials and Al to the brazing seam. Then a2-Ti3Al was
formed firstly. Simultaneously Ni element was expelled to Ti–
48Al–2Cr–2Nb base metal interface and zone II, due to the low
solubility of Ni element in a2-Ti3Al phase [27]. So a continuous
a2-Ti3Al reaction layer I2 was formed in the joint. The
formation of a2-Ti3Al was at high temperature, once the a2-
Ti3Al phase was formed, further elemental diffusion between
the liquid filler and Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb base metal was
obstructed. However, Al element continued diffusing from
Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb into zone I during the entire brazing process.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9 5

Fig. 5 – EDS mapping analysis of joint brazed at 980 8C for 15 min. a) Microstructure of the joints; b) element distribution of Ti;
c) element distribution of Al; d) element distribution of Ni; e) element distribution of C.

Table 1 – Chemical compositions of spots in Fig. 4.

Spots Compositions (at.%) Possible phase

Ti Al Ni Nb Cr C
A 31.64 43.60 20.13 1.33 3.29 – Al3NiTi2
B 63.54 31.38 2.67 1.37 1.25 – Ti3Al
C 70.49 27.16 0.56 1.19 0.60 – Ti3Al
D 69.81 8.77 11.21 – – 10.21 Ti2Ni +Ti(s,s)
E 51.04 3.71 32.02 – – 13.22 Ti2Ni
F 87.91 5.30 1.75 – – 5.04 Ti(s,s)
G 91.24 4.45 1.25 – – 3.06 Ti(s,s)
H 49.50 5.77 28.42 – – 16.31 Ti2Ni
J 51.41 2.64 0.42 – – 45.53 TiC

Then t3-Al3NiTi2 was formed due to a relatively high content of
Ni and Al element in layer I1. The EDS results of phase D shows
that it contains 69.81% Ti and 11.21% Ni which is supposed to
be a mix of Ti2Ni and Ti(s,s). Phase E and H indicated an
elemental molar ratio of about Ti:Ni = 2:1. According to Ti-Ni
binary phase diagram, it can be determined as d-Ti2Ni phase
formed by reaction: Ti + Ni!Ti2Ni at 984 8C. Phase F and G was
mainly composed of Ti element with a friction of 88.6%, it
should be Ti(s,s) formed as the equation of b-Ti!Ti(s,s).
Previous study [38] showed that the maximum solubility of Ni
in b-Ti and a-Ti is 12% and 0.5%, respectively. During the
formation of Ti(s,s), Ni would be expelled to the boundary of Ti
(s,s), then Ti2Ni phase would be formed by b-Ti!a-Ti + Ti2Ni.
Combining with the EDS data and the morphology of phase J, it
is determined to be TiC particles. The TiC particles can only be
found in the area between the continuous d-Ti2Ni layer and Ti
matrix composite. It is mainly because the diffusion of C
element into the brazing seam was hampered by the
continuous Ti2Ni layer. To further identify the phases
analyzed above, XRD was performed on the joint and the
result is shown in Fig. 6. Based on the EDS and XRD analysis,
the microstructure of the joint brazed at 980 8C for 15 min is
Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb/a2-Ti3Al + t3-Al3NiTi2/a2-Ti3Al/Ti(s,s)+ d-
Ti2Ni + TiC/Ti matrix composites.
3.2. Effects of brazing temperatures on the interfacial
microstructure of Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb/Ti–28Ni/Ti matrix
composites brazed joints
Fig. 7 illustrates the back-scattered images of joints brazed at
different temperatures for 15 min. The width of each zone
brazed under different parameters is shown in Table 2. It can
be seen that the widths of each zone in the brazing joint
increased as brazing temperature increased. Although the
width of both layer I1 and layer I2 were enlarged, layer I1 grew
up much faster than layer I2. According to the microstructure
analysis, t3-Al3NiTi2 can only be found I1 layer. So it can be
concluded that more filler element of Ti and Ni diffused into
layer I1 as the brazing temperature increases. It made the a2-
Ti3Al layer become thicker and more t3-Al3NiTi2 was formed in
layer I1. It can also be found the size of t3-Al3NiTi2 phase
became smaller and the distribution became more discrete as
the brazing temperature increased. It was caused by the
relatively low diffusive rate of element Ni compared with other
6 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9

Table 2 – Width of each zone under different brazing

parameters.
Brazing temperature Width of different zones (mm)

I1 I2 Whole joint
980 8C 4.2 3.4 219
1010 8C 12.1 5.1 222
1040 8C 14.3 6.3 293
1070 8C 25.1 12.5 319

Fig. 6 – XRD patterns of the phases in the joint brazed at

980 8C for 15 min.

elements. As the brazing temperature increases to 1010 8C, the

width of zone II shows little change. However, the continuous
d-Ti2Ni layer disappeared. At higher brazing temperatures, the
fluidity of the filler increased, which made more liquid filler
squeezed out of the joint. On the other hand, the elemental
exchange of Ti and Ni was highly accelerated at the filler/Ti
Fig. 8 – Shear strength of joints brazed at different
matrix composites interface at higher brazing temperatures.
temperatures.
Due to the disappearance of the continuous d-Ti2Ni layer, more
C element diffused into the joints, and TiC particles can be
found in the whole area of zone II. Despite the continuous d- decreased. Due to the nature brittleness of d-Ti2Ni phase, the
Ti2Ni layer disappeared, large amount of d-Ti2Ni phase can disappearance of continuous d-Ti2Ni layer is benefit to the
also be found in the brazing seam. Further increase the mechanical properties. Although the morphology of the joints
brazing temperature to 1040 8C and 1070 8C, the brazing seam changed greatly as brazing temperature increased, no new
became much wider and the volume fraction of d-Ti2Ni phase was formed.

Fig. 7 – Interfacial microstructure of the joints brazed at different temperatures. a) e) 980 8C; b) f) 1010 8C; c) g) 1040 8C; d) h)
1070 8C.
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9 7

According to the analysis above, the mechanism of the
brazing process can be concluded as follows. Firstly, as the
brazing temperature rose to the liquidus temperature of the Ti-
28Ni filler metal, the filler metals spread out and wetted the
base materials. During brazing, some liquid filler was squeezed
out of the joint by the pressure applied on the joint. Reactions
of diffusion and dissolution took place at the interface
between the filler and base materials. Ti and Ni element
would diffuse to the Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb and Ti matrix composite
substrates. During the brazing process, a layer rich in Ti, Al and
Ni was formed at the interface between Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb and
the filler metal. During cooling process, the a2-Ti3Al layer was
formed at the interface. At the same time, Ni element was
expelled out from a2-Ti3Al due to the low solid solubility of Ni
element in a2-Ti3Al phase. Further elemental exchange
between the substrate and the filler became harder due to
the a2-Ti3Al layer which formed at high temperature. As Al
element continued diffusing from Ti–48Al–2Cr-2Nb into the
joint, the excess Ni and Al together with Ti element reacted to
form t3-Al3NiTi2 phase. The t3-Al3NiTi2 phase and the a2-Ti3Al
together formed layer I1. As for zone, a lot of Ni element stayed
at the middle of the joint because of the insufficient elemental
diffusion at relatively low brazing temperature of 980 8C. As a
result, a continuous d-Ti2Ni layer was formed in the joint

Fig. 9 – Fracture path and fracture morphology of joints brazed at different temperatures. a) b) 980; c) d) 1010 8C; e) f) 1040; g) h)
1070 8C.
8 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9
through the reaction of Ti + Ni!d-Ti2Ni. The residual filler
metal would transform to a-Ti. When the brazing temperature
increased, the fluidity of the filler was enhanced, more liquid
filler was squeezed out of the joint. Higher brazing tempera-
ture also intensified the diffusion of the element, leading to the
growth of each zone and the disappearance of the continuous
d-Ti2Ni layer. Higher temperature also made the distribution of
t3-Al3NiTi2 and d-Ti2Ni phase more homogeneous. It is worth
noting that, the b-transformation temperature of Ti matrix
composites used in this experiment is about 1080 8C [28].
Further increasing the brazing temperature, b-Ti would be
formed, which may deteriorate the properties of the base
metal. So the brazing experiments at higher temperatures
were not studied.
3.3. Mechanical properties of the brazed joints
The shear strengths of joints brazed at different temperatures
are shown in Fig. 8. It can be seen that the shear strengths of
the brazed joints all achieved high level, which are higher than
400 MPa. This level is higher than that in the previous works
[29,30] which were roughly below 350 MPa. At 980 8C, the shear
strength achieved 429.4 MPa, and the shear strength increased
to 469.5 MPa when the brazing temperature increased to
1010 8C. However when further increased the brazing temper-
ature to 1040 8C and 1070 8C, the joint properties decreased to
450.2 MPa and 420.5 MPa respectively.
In order to illustrate the reason why the shear strength of
the brazed joints changed with increasing of the brazing
temperature, the morphology in the fracture of joints after
shear testing were also studied. Fig. 9a, c, e, g shows the
fracture path of the brazing seam at different brazing
temperatures, corresponding fracture morphology were
shown in Fig. 9b, d, f, h. It can be seen the fracture
propagated along the continuous d-Ti2Ni layer in zone when
brazed at 980 8C. Previous study [31] shows that d-Ti2Ni and
a2-Ti3Al are brittle phases and their existence is detrimental
to the joining properties, especially the d-Ti2Ni layer. The
micro cracks observed in the continuous d-Ti2Ni layer in
zone II would be fracture resources during shear testing.
When the brazing temperature was elevated to 1010 8C, the
continuous d-Ti2Ni layer in zone II disappeared, which is
beneficial to improve the mechanical properties. Zone I
which is composed of a2-Ti3Al phase and t3-Al3NiTi2 phase
and the continuous d-Ti2Ni layer in zone II, are intermetallic
compound (IMC) layers. The existence of IMC layer has great
influence on the bonding strength. During brazing, the
formation of IMC indicates a good reaction and a solid
bonding between the filler metal and the substrate. Howev-
er, due to the nature brittleness of the IMC, further
increasing of IMC layer would result in higher stress and
deteriorate the joint strength. Consequently, when brazed at
980 8C, the fracture was located in the continuous d-Ti2Ni
layer and changed to zone I as the brazing temperature
increased. It should be noted that, although both layer I1 and
layer I2 consisted a lot of a2-Ti3Al, the formation and even
distribution of t3-Al3NiTi2 phase enhanced the properties of
layer I1, so rare fractures located in layer I1.
It can be seen in Fig. 9b, d, f, h that all the samples displayed
small river patterns and cleavage facets, implying that the
samples all fractured in quasi-cleavage fracture mode. In
conclusion, the formation of continuous a2-Ti3Al and d-Ti2Ni
layers was both harmful to the properties of the joint. Elevated
brazing temperature was good for the disappearance of the d-
Ti2Ni layer, but it also improved the growth of the a2-Ti3Al
interlayer. Thus the shear strength rose when the brazing
temperature increased from 980 8C to 1010 8C, and then
decreased as the brazing temperature was elevated to
1040 8C and 1070 8C.
4. Conclusions
(1) Sound joints of Ti–48Al–2Cr–2Nb/Ti–28Ni/Ti matrix com-
posites were obtained by vacuum brazing at different
brazing temperatures. The typical interfacial microstruc-
ture of the joint brazed at 980 8C for 15 min was Ti-48Al-
2Cr-2Nb/a2-Ti3Al + t3-Al3NiTi2/a2-Ti3Al/Ti(s,s) + d-Ti2Ni
+ TiC/Ti matrix composite.
(2) The continuous d-Ti2Ni layer diminished at 1010 8C and
became more and more discrete when the temperature
was elevated to 1040 8C and 1070 8C. But with the increase
of brazing temperature a2-Ti3Al rich layer (zone) became
thicker.
(3) The shear strength of the joints rose at the brazing
temperature from 980 8C to 1010 8C, and decreased at
higher brazing temperatures. The joints fractured at the
continuous d-Ti2Ni layer at 980 8C. When d-Ti2Ni layer
disappeared the crack broke into the enlarged a2-Ti3Al
layer. All the samples fractured in quasi-cleavage fracture
mode.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 51801112, 51501100, 51704001),
the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China
(Grant No. Y18E010014) (Grant No. Y18E010003).
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Ethical Statement
This manuscript is our original work and has not been
published nor has it been submitted to any other journal.
All authors have checked the manuscript and approved this
submission.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (Grant No. 51801112, 51501100, 51704001),
 archives of civil and mechanical engineering 19 (2019) 1–9
the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China
(Grant No. Y18E010014) (Grant No. Y18E010003).
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