The microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni/Al2O3 composites by in-situ generated CaAl12O19 and ZrO2 via hot pressing sintering

Ni/Al₂O₃ composites with a varying mass fraction of CaZrO₃ (0–12 wt%) were prepared by vacuum hot pressing sintering at 1650 °C under a pressure of 30 MPa for 30 min to investigate how CaZrO₃ affect the mechanical properties and morphology of the composites. The results show that CaZrO₃ can react with Al₂O₃ and form new strengthening and reinforcing phases of CaAl₁₂O₁₉ and ZrO₂, which can promote complete densification and solve the problem of uneven distribution due to the poor wettability between Al₂O₃ and Ni. Additionally, composites showed satisfactory mechanical properties when 6.0–9.0 wt% CaZrO3 was added and the major toughening mechanism involved the typical fracture of delamination and the transgranular mode.     

Effects of Ta2O5 on mechanical properties and elements diffusion of Ti/Al2O3 composites prepared via hot pressing sintering

Homogeneous Ti/Al₂O₃ composites with different volume percentages of Ta₂O₅ addition were prepared at different temperatures via hot pressing sintering. Laminated Ti/Al₂O₃ composites with different volume percentages of Ta₂O₅ added were prepared. The effects of Ta₂O₅ on the composition, microstructure, mechanical properties and elements diffusion of the composites were characterized and investigated. Ta₂O₅ inhibited the production of TiAl and Ti₃Al by forming solid solution with Ti or new reaction product of Al. This solid solution melted and filled the void of Al₂O₃ phase to increase the density of Ti/Al₂O₃ composites at high temperature. Mechanical properties had also been improved by this phenomenon. Because Al element couldn’t diffuse in Ta or react with it, Al couldn’t diffuse through the Ta-enriched area at the interface of Ti and Al₂O₃.     

Effect of Ge on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti3SiC2/Al2O3 composites

Owing to the good physicochemical compatibility and complementary mechanical properties of Ti₃SiC₂ and Al₂O₃, Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composites are considered as ideal structural materials. However, TiC and TiSi₂ typically coexist during the synthesis of Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composites through an in-situ reaction, which adversely affects the mechanical properties of the resulting composites. In this study, Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composites were prepared via in-situ hot pressing sintering at 1450 °C. Ge, which was used as a sintering aid, improved the purity and mechanical properties of the Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composites. This is because Ge replaced some of the Si atoms to compensate the evaporation loss of Si to form Ti₃(Si_1-xGe_x)C₂, which showed a crystal structure similar to that of Ti₃SiC₂. Furthermore, the molten Ge accelerated the diffusion reaction of the raw materials, increasing the overall density of the Ti₃SiC₂/Al₂O₃ composites. The optimum Ge amount for improving the mechanical properties of the composites was found to be 0.3 mol. The flexural strength, fracture toughness, and microhardness of the composite with the optimum Ge amount were 640.2 MPa, 6.57 MPa m^1/2, and 16.21 GPa, respectively. The formation of Ti₃(Si_1-xGe_x)C₂ was confirmed by carrying out X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy analyses. A model crystal structure of Ti₃(Si_1-xGe_x)C₂ doped with 0.3 mol Ge was established by calculating the solid solubility of Ge.     

Synthesis,microstructure and mechanical properties of Cr2AlC/Al2O3 in situ composites by reactive hot pressing

Al₂O₃ particle-reinforced Cr₂AlC in situ composites were successfully fabricated from powder mixtures of Cr₃C₂, Cr, Al, and Cr₂O₃ by a reactive hot-pressing method at 1400 °C. A possible synthesis mechanism was proposed to explain the formation of the composites in which Al₂O₃ was formed by the aluminothermic reaction between Al and Cr₂O₃, meanwhile, Cr₃C₂, Al, together with Cr reacted to form Cr₂AlC in a shortened reaction route. The effect of Al₂O₃ addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Cr₂AlC/Al₂O₃ composites was investigated. The results indicated that the as-sintered products consisted of Cr₂AlC matrix and Al₂O₃ reinforcement, and the in situ formed fine Al₂O₃ particles dispersed at the matrix grain boundaries. The flexural strength and Vickers hardness of the composites increased gradually with increasing Al₂O₃ content. But the fracture toughness peaked at 6.0 MPa m^1/2 when the Al₂O₃ content reached 11 vol.%. The strengthening and toughening mechanism was also discussed.     

Effects of Pr6O11 on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti/Al2O3 composites prepared by pressureless sintering

Ti/Al₂O₃ composites with different volume percentages of Pr₆O₁₁ added (0–12.0  vol.%) were prepared by pressureless sintering at 1600 °C for 1.5 h. The influences of Pr₆O₁₁ on the composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were characterized and investigated. The results showed that Pr₆O₁₁ could promote the sintering of the composites by generating some new interfacial reaction products, such as AlTiO₂, Pr₂Ti₂O₇ and PrAlO₃. Pr₆O₁₁ could also inhibit the production of TiAl and Ti₃Al by the same mechanism. Additionally, Pr₆O₁₁ changed hexagonal alumina to tetragonal alumina. The latter could improve the mechanical properties of the composites by the effects of crack deflection and particle pullout when it was present in proper amounts. Composites showed satisfactory comprehensive properties when the content of Pr₆O₁₁ was no more than 3.0 vol.%.     

Grain size dependence,mechanical properties and surface nanoeutectic modification of Al2O3-ZrO2 ceramic

The present work aims to provide fundamental insights into the grain size dependence and mechanical behavior of hot-pressed Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ ceramic at its eutectic composition, and further to explore the hardening effect of laser-induced surface nanoeutectic layer. The underlying correlations between densification behavior, grain size distribution and mechanical properties were elucidated. Sintering at 1550 °C promotes the densification without extensive grain growth, and in this case the sample exhibits a critical density of 99.3 %. The average grain size is tailored into a range of 0.6–0.9 μm, and the measured flexural strength and toughness reach 1100 MPa and 11 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. The metastable t-ZrO₂ grains indeed play a pivotal role in energy dissipation at the crack tip through crack deflection and branching. In addition, the mechanical behavior is reasonably explained through constructing a multilevel toughening mechanism map associated with grain size distribution of ZrO₂. Particularly, surface nanocrystallized Al₂O₃-ZrO₂ eutectic layer with a thickness of 1000 μm free of pores and cracks is achieved by a rapid laser melting process. The outmost laser-modified nanoeutectic layer exhibits a fine cellular structure with an interphase spacing of only 105 nm and a hardness of as high as 26.1 GPa, which provides a promising potential in enhancing significantly the hardness and wear resistance for applications as sliding ceramic components.     

Influence of whisker-aspect-ratio on densification,microstructure and mechanical properties of Al2O3 whiskers-reinforced CeO2-stabilized ZrO2 composites

A novel composite of 12 mol% CeO₂-stablized tetragonal ZrO₂ reinforced with Al₂O₃ whiskers (designated as Ce-TZP/A_w) has been prepared and studied in this work. The objective of this investigation was to systematically study the influence of whisker-aspect-ratio on the densification behaviors, microstructure evolution, and mechanical properties of Ce-TZP/A_w composite. Results showed that the sintered density of composite increased and the grain growth tended to diminish with the decrease in whisker aspect radio. Both the fracture toughness and flexural strength reached maximum values of 475 ± 12 MPa and 11.4 ± 0.2 MPa m^1/2, respectively at a whisker aspect ratio of about 12. It was also observed that the fracture toughness, flexural strength and tetragonal to monoclinic ZrO₂ transformation of the dual-phase composite exhibited similar variation trend as a function of the whisker-aspect-ratio, which suggested that the stress-induced phase transformation should be the main toughening and strengthening mechanism in the Ce-TZP/A_w composite.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of B4C-TiB2-SiC composites fabricated by ball milling and hot pressing

B₄C-TiB₂-SiC composites were fabricated via hot pressing using ball milled B₄C, TiB₂, and SiC powder mixtures as the starting materials. The impact of ball milling on the densification behaviors, mechanical properties, and microstructures of the ceramic composites were investigated. The results showed that the refinement of the powder mixtures and the removal of the oxide impurities played an important role in the improvement of densification and properties. Moreover, the formation of the liquid phases during the sintering was deemed beneficial for densification. The typical values of relative density, hardness, bending strength, and fracture toughness of the composites reached 99.20%, 32.84?GPa, 858?MPa and 8.21?MPa?m^1/2, respectively. Crack deflection, crack bridging, crack branching, and microcracking were considered to be the potential toughening mechanisms in the composites. Furthermore, numerous nano-sized intergranular/intragranular phases and twin structures were observed in the B₄C-TiB₂-SiC composite.     

O''-Sialon-ZrO2-SiC(nm)的制备及力学性能

采用热压烧结工艺合成了O’ Sialon -ZrO2 -SiC(nm) 复合材料 ,研究了该复合材料的力学性能及显微结构。结果表明 ,材料抗折强度随温度的变化属Ⅰ类曲线变化规律 ,Sialon、SiC多晶以及晶粒粗大、层状结构SiC的存在可能是导致材料强度不高的主要原因。断口的显微结构研究表明 ,复合材料在室温时的断裂以穿晶断裂为主 ,中、高温时则为沿晶断裂     

Investigation of the structural and mechanical properties of micro-/nano-sized Al2O3 and cBN composites prepared by spark plasma sintering

Alumina-cubic boron nitride (cBN) composites were prepared using the spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. Alpha-alumina powders with particle sizes of ∼15 µm and ∼150 nm were used as the matrix while cBN particles with and without nickel coating were used as reinforcement agents. The amount of both coated and uncoated cBN reinforcements for each type of matrix was varied between 10 to 30 wt%. The powder materials were sintered at a temperature of 1400 °C under a constant uniaxial pressure of 50 MPa. We studied the effect of the size of the starting alumina powder particles, as well as the effect of the nickel coating, on the phase transformation from cBN to hBN (hexagonal boron nitride) and on the thermo-mechanical properties of the composites. In contrast to micro-sized alumina, utilization of nano-sized alumina as the starting powder was observed to have played a pivotal role in preventing the cBN-to-hBN transformation. The composites prepared using nano-sized alumina reinforced with nickel-coated 30 wt% cBN showed the highest relative density of 99% along with the highest Vickers hardness (H_v2) value of 29 GPa. Because the compositions made with micro-sized alumina underwent the phase transformation from cBN to hBN, their relative densification as well as hardness values were relatively low (20.9–22.8 GPa). However, the nickel coating on the cBN reinforcement particles hindered the cBN-to-hBN transformation in the micro-sized alumina matrix, resulting in improved hardness values of up to 24.64 GPa.     

Microstructure evolution,mechanical and tribological properties of Ti3(Al,Sn)C2/Al2O3 composites

In this paper, in situ formed Ti₃(Al,Sn)C₂/Al₂O₃ composites were fabricated by sintering the mixture of Ti₃AlC₂ and SnO₂. The Al atoms could diffuse out of the Ti₃AlC₂ layered structure to react with SnO₂, resulting in the formation of Ti₃(Al,Sn)C₂ solid solution and Al₂O₃. When the SnO₂ content was 20?wt.%, the sintered Ti₃(Al,Sn)C₂/Al₂O₃ composite exhibited the best overall mechanical properties, because of the optimized cooperative strengthening effect of solution strengthening and Al₂O₃ enhancement. When the SnO₂ content increased up to 30?wt.%, the flexural strength and fracture toughness of Ti₃(Al,Sn)C₂/Al₂O₃ composite dramatically decreased on account of the large accumulation of generated Al₂O₃. Moreover, according to the SiC ball-on-flat wear tests, it was found that the wear resistance of Ti₃(Al,Sn)C₂/Al₂O₃ composites was significantly improved as the SnO₂ content increased.     

Preparation and mechanical properties of SiCw-Al2O3-YAG ceramic composite by hot oscillatory pressing

SiC_w-Al₂O₃-YAG ceramic composites were prepared by hot oscillatory pressing (HOP) and traditional hot pressing (HP). The results showed that compared with static pressure, the oscillatory pressure could effectively promote densi?cation and mechanical properties of the composites. The sample prepared by HOP exhibited higher hardness (15.72 ± 0.20 GPa) and fracture toughness (7.13 ± 0.19 MPa m^1/2). The current work suggests that HOP could be an effective technique for the preparation of whisker reinforced ceramic composites.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of boron carbide/graphene nanoplatelets composites fabricated by hot pressing

In this study, boron carbide (B₄C)-graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) composites, with enhanced strength and toughness, were fabricated by hot pressing at 1950 °C under a pressure of 30 MPa for 1 h. Microstructure analysis revealed that the GNPs are homogenously dispersed within the B₄C matrix. Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy showed the orientation of the GNPs in the composites. The effects of the amount of GNPs on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the composites were also investigated. The optimal mechanical properties were achieved using 1 wt% GNPs. The relative density, Vickers hardness, flexure strength, and fracture toughness of the B₄C-GNPs composite ceramic were found to be 99.12%, 32.8 GPa, 508 MPa, and 4.66 MPa m^1/2, respectively. The main toughening mechanisms included crack deflection in three dimensions, GNPs pull-out, and crack bridging. The curled and semi-wrapped GNPs encapsulated individual B₄C grains to resist GNPs pull-out and to deflect propagating cracks.     

Fabrication of TiC coated short carbon fiber reinforced Ti3SiC2 composites: Process,microstructure and mechanical properties

The C_f/Ti₃SiC₂ composites were fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) and hot isostatic pressing (HIP), TiC coated C_f and Ti₃SiC₂ powder were used as starting materials. The improved fracture toughness (K_IC) and Vickers hardness (HV₁) of the TiC coated C_f/Ti₃SiC₂ composite fabricated by SPS were 7.59 MPa·m^1/2 and 7.28 GPa. On this foundation, taking the advantage of better sintering process of HIP, the highest K_IC and HV₁ achieved 8.32 MPa·m^1/2 and 9.24 GPa with fiber content of 10 vol%, which increased by 40% and 65% compared with that of monolithic Ti₃SiC₂. The reasonable control of reactive interface is the main factor for the improved mechanical properties of the composites, the TiC coating effectively protected the fiber structure from interfacial reaction compared with that of the non-coated C_f/Ti₃SiC₂. Meanwhile, the artificially designed and weakly bonded TiC coated C_f can fully exert the toughening mechanisms like fiber pull-out and debonding.     

Densification, microstructure and mechanical properties of SiO2-cBN composites by spark plasma sintering

SiO₂-cBN composites were consolidated by spark plasma sintering at 1473-1973 K. The effects of cBN content and sintering temperature on the relative density, phase transformation, microstructure and mechanical properties of the SiO₂-cBN composites were investigated. The relative density of the SiO₂-cBN composites increased with increasing SiO₂ content. The phase transformation of cBN to hBN in SiO₂-cBN composites was identified at 1973 K, showing the highest transformation temperature in cBN-containing composites. The SiO₂-20 vol% cBN composites sintered at 1673 K showed the highest hardness and fracture toughness of 12.5 GPa and 1.5 MPa m^1/2, respectively.     

In situ synthesis,mechanical properties,and microstructure of reactively hot pressed WB4 ceramic with Ni as a sintering additive

In this study, tungsten tetraboride (WB₄) ceramics were synthesized in situ from powder mixtures of W and amorphous B with Ni as a sintering aid by reactive hot pressing method. The as-synthesized ceramics exhibited porosity as low as 0.375% and ultra-high Vickers hardness (H_v), as much as 49.808?±?1.683?GPa (for the low load of 0.49?N). It was seen that the addition of Ni greatly improved the sinterability of WB₄ ceramic. Besides, the flexural strength and fracture toughness of WB₄ ceramic were measured for the first time to be 332.857?±?36.763?MPa and 4.136?±?0.259?MPa?m^1/2, respectively, suggesting that the ceramic has good mechanical properties. The effects of sintering temperature and holding time on the densification, Vickers hardness, and mechanical properties of WB₄ ceramics were also investigated systematically as part of our study. The results indicated that increasing the sintering temperature can obviously improve the densification and mechanical properties of the ceramics. The bulk density and Vickers hardness of WB₄ ceramic sintered at 1650?°C for 60?min under 30?MPa revealed the highest values of 6.366?g?cm^?3 and 27.948?±?0.686?GPa (for the high load of 9.8?N), respectively. The flexural strength increased to the highest value of 332.857?±?36.763?MPa for sintering temperature up to 1550?°C, but decreased slightly as the sintering temperature further increased to 1650?°C. On the other hand, the fracture toughness increased gradually with increasing temperature. It was also found that Vickers hardness showed a similar trend as the densification of the samples with increasing temperature and holding time. Besides, no obvious improvements in the densification, mechanical properties, and Vickers hardness of the samples with sintering time were observed in this study. The microstructure and fracture behaviours of the as-synthesized WB₄ ceramic were also revealed, and the toughening mechanism has been discussed.     

Microstructure and mechanical properties of CaAl12O19 reinforced Al2O3-Cr2O3 composites

Al₂O₃-Cr₂O₃ refractories have excellent slag corrosion resistance and can adapt to the oxidation/reduction atmosphere in the smelting reduction ironmaking furnace. However, Al₂O₃-Cr₂O₃ refractories have poor mechanical properties and sintering properties. In order to improve the mechanical properties of Al₂O₃-Cr₂O₃ materials, the CaAl₁₂O₁₉ reinforced Al₂O₃-Cr₂O₃ composites were prepared by pressureless sintering process, and the influences of CaO content on the sintering properties, mechanical properties, and microstructure evolution of the composites were studied. The results show that a small amount of CaO can significantly improve the compactness of the composites, which is mainly due to the formed sheet-like CA6 fill the gap between the solid solutions, and reduces the porosity of the composites. In addition, the sheet-like CA6 makes the connection between solid solutions closer, and the intergranular fracture gradually transforms into a mixed mode of intergranular and transgranular fracture. The best mechanical propertie is observed at S4 with the CaO content of 2 wt.%. Compared with sample S0 without CaO, the hardness, compressive strength and flexural strength of the S4 were increased by 35.19 %, 49.69 %, and 68.34 %, respectively. The addition of excessive CaO will deteriorate the mechanical properties of the composites, because the formation of a large number of layered CA6 increases the porosity of the composites. Furthermore, a small amount of CaO addition can significantly improve the thermal shock resistance of the composites. After 10 and 20 thermal shock cycles, the strength loss rates of S4 are only 5.83 % and 8.74 %, respectively.     

Densification,microstructure and mechanical properties of hot pressed tantalum carbide

Monolithic tantalum carbide (TaC) ceramics were prepared by hot pressing in order to investigate the effect of hot pressing temperature on the densification behavior, microstructure and mechanical properties of TaC. Monolithic TaC sample hot pressed at 2000 °C for 45 min under 40 MPa, with relative density value above 97%, Vickers hardness of 15.7 GPa and fracture toughness of 4.1 MPa m^1/2 was obtained. Fracture surfaces investigations of the samples, which were carried out using the SEM analysis, showed a significant grain growth by increasing the hot pressing temperature from 1700 to 2000 °C. Also, based on the X-ray diffraction pattern, a decrease in the lattice parameter of hot pressed TaC sample was observed.     

Improved mechanical properties of Al2O3 ceramic by in-suit generated Ti3SiC2 and TiC via hot pressing sintering

Al₂O₃ multi-phase composites with different volume fractions of SiC varying from 0 vol% to 30.0 vol% were fabricated by vacuum hot pressing sintering at 1600 °C under the pressure of 30 MPa for 2.0 h. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of SiC content on the morphology and mechanical properties of the Al₂O₃ multi-phase composite. The results show that the addition of SiC and Ti can produce new strengthening and reinforcing phases include Ti₃SiC₂, TiC, Ti₅Si₃, which would hamper the migration of grain boundaries and promote sintering. The mechanical performances could reach the comprehensive optimal values for 20.0 vol% SiC, delamination and transgranular fracture being the major crack propagation energy dissipation mechanisms.     

热压烧结Al2O3-ZrB2-SiC复相陶瓷的高温力学性能研究

为提高Al2O3陶瓷的高温力学性能,采用热压烧结工艺(烧结温度1 800℃,烧结压力20 MPa,保温1 h)制备了Al2O3-ZrB2-SiC复相陶瓷(简称AZS),并研究了ZrB2含量对Al2O3基陶瓷高温抗折强度和抗热震性的影响。结果表明:1)在Al2O3基陶瓷中加入第二相ZrB2能有效改善材料的高温抗折强度和高温强度保持率,在1 000和1 200℃时,加入20%体积分数ZrB2的AZS陶瓷试样具有最高的高温抗折强度,而加入24%体积分数ZrB2的AZS陶瓷试样具有最高的高温强度保持率。2)AZS陶瓷的抗热震性能优于纯Al2O3陶瓷。经100℃温差急冷后,加入20%体积分数ZrB2的AZS陶瓷具有最高的残余强度,比纯Al2O3陶瓷提高了17.2%;经300和500℃温差急冷后,加入24%体积分数ZrB2的AZS陶瓷都具有最高的残余强度,比Al2O3陶瓷分别提高了35.3%和20.9%。