Textured cermets of CeO2 (or GDC) with Co for solid oxide fuel cells anodes

Cermets composed of submicron size alternating lamellae of CeO₂, or 10% Gadolinia doped Ceria (GDC), and porous-metallic Cobalt have been prepared from eutectic oxide mixtures. A fine eutectic structure was obtained by fast directional solidification of the cobalt oxide–ceria oxide eutectic composite using the Laser Floating Zone (LFZ) technique. The resulting microstructure, with an interphase spacing down to 0.5 μm, was obtained for solidification rates of 750 mm/h. Textured cermets were obtained by subsequent reduction under H₂ containing atmosphere of the eutectic oxide composite. The reduction kinetics was studied in the 550–750 °C temperature range and effective diffusion coefficients were obtained. The reduction process does not correspond to a typical thermally activated process. The cermets are composed of ceria lamellae of about 200 nm thickness alternated with porous-metallic cobalt lamellae of ≤400 nm. The lamellar microstructure of the cermets favours oxygen ion mobility through ceria and its size can be controlled by solidification rate of the eutectic precursor. These materials are proposed as SOFC anodes.     

Microstructure,mechanical properties,and corrosion resistance of Mo2(Fe,Ni)B2-based cermets prepared by reaction boronizing sintering

Mo₂(Fe,Ni)B₂-based cermets were successfully prepared by reaction boronizing sintering strategy, and their phase transformation, microstructure evolution, mechanical properties, and corrosion resistance were investigated. Mo₂(Fe,Ni)B₂ was formed by the reaction between (Fe,Ni)₂B and Mo during solid-phase sintering. In the temperature range of 1010–1270 °C, extremely rapid densification occurred, and nearly full densification was obtained at the sintering temperature of 1270 °C. Mo₂(Fe,Ni)B₂-based cermets demonstrated superior mechanical properties with transverse rupture strength of 2140 ± 35 MPa, Rockwell hardness of 83.9 ± 0.1 HRA, and fracture toughness of 22.5 ± 0.6 MPa m^1/2. Moreover, corrosion current density of Mo₂(Fe,Ni)B₂-based cermets was about four orders of magnitude lower than that of Mo₂FeB₂-based cermets, which indicates excellent corrosion resistance.     

Crater wear mechanisms of TiCN–Ni–WC cermets during dry machining

TiCN–Ni-based cermets are attractive cutting tools because of the combination of high hardness and wear resistance with improved toughness and thermal shock resistance. The present work reports the effect of WC addition (0–15 wt.%) on the machining performance of TiCN–20 wt.% Ni cermets against boiler steel. The cutting force was measured on-line using dynamometer, with respect to varying cutting speed and feed rate, in dry and orthogonal cutting conditions. The principal aim of the present investigation is to evaluate the dominant mechanisms, responsible for material removal on the rake face of cermets, using SEM–EDS. The cutting performance of TiCN–Ni cermet is observed to improve with the addition of WC content upto 10 wt.%. While, the adhesion of tribochemical layer is dominant with limited WC content, the presence of abrasive grooves and pull-outs are observed for TiCN–20Ni cermets containing higher amount of WC (>10 wt.%).     

The Cu matrix cermets remarkably strengthened by TiB2 “in situ” synthesized via self-propagating high temperature synthesis

The TiB₂–Cu cermets with predominant concentration of superhard TiB₂ (from 45 to 90 vol.%) were fabricated using elemental powders by means of SHS (self-propagating high-temperature synthesis) process and simultaneously densified by p-HIP (pseudo-isostatic pressing technique). The heat released during highly exothermic SHS reaction was “in situ” utilized for sintering. The combustion occurred even for 50 vol.% Cu dilution. According to XRD metallic copper binder was formed in those cermets in whole range of investigated compositions. The TiB₂ volume fraction significantly influenced the properties of fabricated materials, especially grain size and hardness. Both the average grain size and hardness significantly increased with TiB₂ content, so the maximum value of 18 GPa was measured for TiB₂–5 vol.%Cu composite. Coarse grains of 6.4 μm in size were observed for this composite while TiB₂-based submicro-composites were formed for 40–50% of Cu where the average grain size did not exceed 0.6 μm. The Vickers hardness of 16–18 GPa obtained for cermets containing from 85 to 90 vol.% of TiB₂ and no radial cracks in Vickers hardness test proved that in term of hardness and fracture toughness the composites might be competitive to WC–Co cermets.     

The role of sintering additives on synthesis of cermets by auto-combustion

The purpose of this work is to decrease or eliminate porosities in SHS products with sintering additives. The Ti-C system has been synthesized for its advantages for refractory, abrasive and structural applications. We attempted to densify TiC by using Nickel addition; this metal is introduced through a secondary reaction 3NiO + 2Al. This mixture reacts exothermically and the heat is released according to 3NiO + 2Al → Al₂O₃ + 3Ni. So, the introduction of the Al₂O₃ diluent with the starting reactants is necessary because of the explosive character of the thermite reaction. Thus, doping method is finally used to fabricate materials by SHS method (self-propagating high temperature synthesis). Final products were analysed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy.     

硬质相粒度对Ti（C,N）基金属陶瓷断裂韧性的影响

用压痕法测定了具有不同粒度硬质相的Ti(C,N)基金属陶瓷的断裂韧度,结果发现,当成分和制备工艺不变时,Ti(C,N)基金属陶瓷的断裂韧性随硬质相粒度的增大而减小,进一步分析表明,当Ti(C,N)颗粒较粗时,极易发生穿晶断裂,并且裂纹连续穿晶扩展时亦不会发生显著的偏转或分叉,金属陶瓷呈现较强的脆性断裂特征,而当Ti(C,N)颗粒较细时穿晶断裂几率大大减小,裂纹较易沿Ti(C,N)颗粒与粘结相的界面扩展,导致脆性断裂现象减少和裂纹偏转而增韧。产生上述现象的主要原因与Ti(C,N)晶体的结构有关,面心立方结构的Ti(C,N)晶体中可能存在多个潜在的滑移面和滑移系,裂纹从一个Ti(C,N)颗粒扩展至另一个Ti(C,N)颗粒时很容易形成取向有利。     

Self-propagating high temperature synthesis of SiC-Cu and SiC-Al cermets: Role of chemical activation

Ceramic-metal composites (cermets) are widely adopted in the modern technology. These materials with ceramic and metallic phases have properties of both the constituents. In the article the possibility of synthesizing SiC-Cu and SiC-Al cermets under the activated combustion mode was studied. The influence of various parameters such as the composition of initial mixture, amount of chemical activator and metallic phase, etc. on the combustion laws was investigated. It was shown that depending on the amount of metal phase the combustion can proceed in the two different regimes — low temperature (T_c < 1200 °C) and high temperature (T_c > 1600 °C). X-ray diffraction investigations testified that the combustion products, obtained in the optimal conditions, contain silicon carbide and corresponding metal phase (copper or aluminum). According to SEM analyses the obtained products have submicron granular particles and they are characterized by uniform structure.     

Microstructure and fracture toughness of Ti(C0.7N0.3)-WC-Ni cermets

Mo₂C is normally added to improve the wettability between Ti(C,N) and Ni in Ti(C,N)-based cermets. Due to the increasing price of Mo₂C, much attention has been paid to Ti(C,N)-based cermets with WC addition. In this paper, effect of WC content on the microstructure and properties of Ti(C_0.7N_0.3)-xWC-15wt.%Ni cermets free of Mo₂C was studied. The experimental results show that the microstructure is refined obviously with the increase of WC content. The fracture toughness decreases with the increase of WC content when WC content is 10-25 wt.%, and increases when WC content varies from 25 wt.% to 30 wt.%.     

Microstructure and electrical properties of ‘pre-sintered bismuth ruthenate-glass composite’ based thick film paste for resistor application

Thick film resistors based on a bismuth ruthenium oxide (BRO) and a leadborosilicate glass have been used to study the effect of a ‘pre-sintered glass–ceramic composite’ powder in the paste preparation on the resistor characteristics. Pre-sintered glass–ceramic composite was prepared by heating a physical admixture of leadborosilicate glass frit and BRO as functional material at various temperatures above the softening point of the glass. The microstructural changes associated with ‘pre-sintering’ step were studied using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and X-ray diffraction, and, were correlated to the electrical characteristics of these resistors. It was observed that pre-sintering at a lower temperature of 600°C helps in restricting the agglomeration of conducting BRO particles and in generating more non-sintered contacts between them, which improves consistency in sheet resistance and hot temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). At the same time, the pre-sintering step lowers the absolute TCR value, mostly by way of compensation of the high negative TCR of glass by the positive TCR of Pb containing ruthenate phases and/or RuO₂, which have positive TCR. It is explained that the Pb containing BRO phases are formed in situ through the Bi???Pb exchange reaction. The pre-sintering temperature of 600°C was, thus, found to be optimum for the present processing conditions.