When hot pressing is used to fabricate the fiber reinforced materials (FRM), hot pressing process parameters should be selected so as to satisfy the following two necessary conditions, i.e., (1) the deformation and the adhesion of the matrix foil must be completed, (2) the thickness of the reaction layer at the matrix/fiber interface must be smaller than the critical value which is derived from the Griffith's theory.
In order to predict the deformation of matrix foils, a model was proposed, where plastic and creep deformation were taken into account. The thickness of the reaction layer was predicted on the basis of the diffusion controlled mechanism. These calculations provide a consistent and unified interpretation of experimental data for Ti-matrix FRM.
An algorithm of the determination of hot pressing process parameters was proposed. According to the algorithm, Ti3Al matrix FRM was formed to demonstrate the applicability of the algorithm. The tensile strength of the FRM was found to be about 1200 MPa at the temperature range from 300K to 1000K.
