WHISKER-REINFORCED CERAMIC CUTTING TOOL FOR TITANIUM AND TITANIUM ALLOYS

BASED UPON THERMODYNAMIC DATA AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS, AMI HAS DETERMINED THAT ZIRCONIUM DIBORIDE IS ONE OF THE FEW CERAMIC MATERIALS THAT IS CHEMICALLY COMPATIBLE WITH TITANIUM METAL AT ELEVATED TEMPERATURES. THEREFORE, THIS CERAMIC MATERIAL, REINFORCED WITH SUITABLE CERAMIC WHISKERS, SHOULD BE AN IDEAL CANDIDATE TO REPLACE TUNGSTEN CARBIDE AS A MACHINE TOOL INSERT FOR MACHINING TITANIUM ALLOYS. AMI WOULD USE ITS EXPERIENCE IN WHISKER-REINFORCED CERAMIC COMPOSITES AND ITS UNIQUE LABORATORY FACILITIES TO OPTIMIZE A WHISKER-REINFORCED ZIRCONIUM DIBORIDE COMPOSITE FOR THIS PURPOSE. THE DEVELOPMENT EFFORT WOULD INCLUDE MATERIAL SELECTION, COMPOSITE PREPARATION, COMPOSITE EVALUATION, MACHINING TESTS, AND POST-MACHINING COMPOSITE ANALYSIS. SUCCESS OF THIS PROJECT WOULD RESULT IN A SIGNIFICIANT REDUCTION IN THE COST OF MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS.