Infiltration of titanium carbide and titanium diboride base cermets with metallic melts

Conclusions Sintered TiC-Fe(Ni), TiC-Ni(Mo), and TiB₂-Fe(Mo) materials readily absorb additional amounts of molten metal, which is linked with a transformation of the solid-phase skeleton and growth in specimen volume. The degree of the increase in specimen dimensions constitutes an indicator of the intensity of this process. By varying the composition of the metallic binder of such a cermet it is possible to regulate the intensity of the process of transformation of the solid-phase skeleton, the rate of migration of molten metal into the cermet, and the distribution of the cementing phase in the specimen after contact with the melt. Raising the temperature of the preceding sintering operation lowers the intensity of transformation of the solid-phase skeleton during the subsequent contact of the cermet with the melt. Under the conditions of the above-described experiment, the processes of diffusional equalization of composition of the metallic binder predominate over the process of laminar flow of molten metal into the specimen.Translated from Poroshkovaya Metallurgiya, No. 7(271), pp. 58–62, July, 1985.