A Method to Produce Metal Matrix Composite Articles from Alpha-Beta Titanium Alloys.

The present invention relates to metalfiber composite materials, and in particular, to titanium alloy matrix composites. Pure titanium is relatively soft, weak and extremely ductile. Through additions of other elements, the base metal is converted to an engineering material having unique characteristics, including high strength and stiffness, corrosion resistance and usable ductility, coupled with low density. Titanium is allotropic. Up to 785 C, titanium atoms arrange themselves in a hexagonal close-packed crystal array called alpha phase. When titanium is heated above the transition temperature beta transus of 785 C, the atoms rearrange into a body-centered cubic structure called beta phase. The addition of other elements to a titanium base will favor one or the other of the alpha or beta forms.