LAUSR

The extreme environment of aerospace requires severe material properties, and in situ autogenous ZrC–NbC dual-phase reinforced titanium matrix composites have attracted much attention. In this study, TiC/Ti composites (TMC1–TMC4) with different NbC contents (0–9 wt%) were prepared and investigated in depth by various means and ANSYS simulations. The results show that the variation in NbC content significantly changes the TiC morphology from fine needles at 0 wt% to needles with a small amount of ellipsoidal grains at 3 wt%, to an ideal uniform distribution (mostly granular or nearly spherical) at 6 wt%, and to a large number of aggregates (dendritic or coarse rod-like) at 9 wt%. In terms of mechanical properties, the compressive strength and elongation firstly increased and then decreased, and reached the optimum at 6 wt% NbC, with the ultimate compressive strength as high as 1379.50 MPa, the compressive yield strength at 817.3 MPa, the compressive strain up to 38.73%, and typical ductile fracture characteristics; at 9 wt%, it transformed into a mixed fracture mode, with a decrease in performance. ZrC and NbC synergistically stabilize the microstructure, with the best synergistic effect at 6 wt% NbC, which effectively improves the overall performance and meets the requirements of aerospace applications. The simulation is highly compatible with the experiment and verifies the experiment; this helps to reveal the mechanism, provides guidance for the design of high-performance materials, and promotes the development of materials technology in the aerospace field.