Experimental and Numerical Fatigue Life Assessment of Ti–5Al–2.5Sn Reinforced Tungsten Particle Composites

The aim of this study is to assess the fatigue load-carrying characteristics of Ti–5Al–2.5Sn alloy reinforced with tungsten particles and determine its appropriateness for aerospace and other commercial uses. Ti–5Al–2.5Sn composite samples were produced using five distinct weight percentages of tungsten particles (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%, and 2.5%) reinforcement through the microwave sintering technique. Five ASTM standard test samples were subjected to fatigue tests along with field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) analysis to examine the impact of tungsten reinforcement in a titanium alloy matrix. Analysis of crack propagation and failure study was conducted using finite element analysis (FEA) software. The experiment and FEA simulation results indicate that 0.5 wt% of tungsten-reinforced matrix (Ti–5Al–2.5Sn) composites show significant improvement in fatigue performance. Crack initiation begins in the matrix region due to cyclic stress, and the particle-breaking mechanism occurs under heavy loading conditions and was examined using FE-SEM. The results revealed that Ti–3Al–2.5Sn–2W composites acquire experimental fatigue strength of 384 MPa and 406 MPa which is 3.92% and 1% higher than that of the Ti–5Al–2.5Sn matrix. However, the finite element fatigue strength of 398 MPa and 412 MPa are 4.87% and 1% higher than that of the Ti–5Al–2.5Sn matrix.