Impact initiated energy release characteristics of Ti-Zr-Ta alloy prepared by laser metal deposition

Abstract:

Refractory metal energetic structural materials (ESMs) have good mechanical properties and excellent impact initiated energy release characteristics. However, due to the high melting point of refractory elements, it is difficult to fabricate large size defect-free castings by traditional methods of melting and casting. In this paper, Ti-Zr-Ta refractory alloy powders were prepared by plasma rotating electrode processing technology, and Ti-Zr-Ta refractory metal ESMs was prepared by laser metal deposition (LMD) technology. The microstructure, mechanical properties and impact initiated energy release characteristics of Ti-Zr-Ta refractory metal ESMs were studied. The results show that the densification of Ti-Zr-Ta refractory metal ESMs can be achieved by LMD technology and the density of alloy reaches 98.75 %. The alloy has good mechanical property, the quasi-static tensile stress reaches 1202 MPa. Ballistic gun experiments imply that Ti-Zr-Ta alloy prepared by laser metal deposition can generate quasi-static pressure of 0.144 MPa in 27 L airtight target chamber at the impact velocity of 1202 m/s, which reveals excellent energy release characteristics.

Key words:Laser metal deposition; Refractory metal; Energetic structural materials; Impact initiated energy release characteristics