Effect of Zr Concentration on the Microstructure and Mechanical Performance of Porous Ti-Zr System by Powder Metallurgy

In this study, porous binary Ti-(x)Zr alloys of nominal Zr contents (x=10, 20 and 30 at. %) with differing porosities were manufactured, using powder metallurgy with compaction conducted under a pressure of 300MPa and sintering at 1200 °C for 6 h. A space holder agent was employed to control the general porosity. The microstructures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersed spectroscopy. The phase constitution was done by X-ray diffractometer. Uniaxial compressive tests were performed to determine the mechanical behaviors. Microstructural studies revealed macro/micro pores generated were mostly irregularly shaped with a uniform pore size distribution in all Ti-(x)Zr (at. %) alloys. The finer microstructure was obtained with increasing Zr contents. The mechanical performances of the porous Ti-(x)Zr (at. %) binary systems were strongly influenced by Zr and general porosity.