Effect of Sintering Temperature on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nanocrystalline Cemented Carbide

WC-Co nanocrystalline nitrogen-containing cemented carbides were prepared by vacuum sintering and low pressure sintering.The sintering processes of Cr_(2)(C,N)doped nano WC-Co powders were studied by using thermogravimetric analysis(TGA)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC).The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline cemented carbide was studied by scanning electron microscope(SEM),high resolution transmission electron microscope(HRTEM)and mechanical property test.The results showed that the nano WC grains began to grow in the solid phase sintering stage.A high-performance nano-nitrogen-containing cemented carbide with uniform microstructure and good interfacial bonding can be obtained by increasing the sintering temperature to 1380℃.It has a transverse rupture strength(TRS)of 5057 MPa and a hardness of 1956 HV30.

Influences of oxide content and sintering temperature on microstructures and mechanical properties of intragranular-oxide strengthened iron alloys prepared by spark plasma sintering

How to increase strength without sacrificing ductility has been developed as a key goal in the manufacture of high-performance metals or alloys. Herein, the double-nanophase intragranular yttrium oxide dispersion strengthened iron alloy with high strength and appreciable ductility was fabricated by solution combustion route and subsequent spark plasma sintering, and the influences of yttrium oxide content and sintering temperature on microstructures and mechanical properties were investigated. The results show at the same sintering temperature,with the increase of yttrium oxide content, the relative density of the sintered alloy decreases and the strength increases. For Fe–2wt%Y_(2)O_(3)alloy, as the sintering temperature increases gradually, the compressive strength decreases, while the strain-to-failure increases. The Fe–2wt%Y_(2)O_(3)alloy with 15.5 nm Y_(2)O_(3)particles uniformly distributed into the 147.5 nm iron grain interior sintered at 650℃ presents a high ultimate compressive strength of 1.86 GPa and large strain-to-failure of 29%. The grain boundary strengthening and intragranular second-phase particle dispersion strengthening are the main dominant mechanisms to enhance the mechanical properties of the alloy.

Effect of La_2O_3 on microstructure and high-temperature wear property of hot-press sintering FeAl intermetallic compound

FeAl intermetallic compound with different contents of rare earth oxide La2O3 addition was prepared by hot pressing the mechanically alloyed powders.Effect of La2O3 on microstructure and high-temperature wear property of the sintered FeAl samples was investigated in this paper.The results showed that 1 wt.% La2O3 addition could refine the microstructure and increase the density of the FeAl intermetallic compound,and correspondingly improved the high-temperature wear resistance.SEM and EDS analyses of the wo...

Effects of microwave sintering temperature and soaking time on microstructure of WC-8Co

WC-8Co cemented carbide samples were processed via microwave irradiation in a 2.45 GHz, high-power multi-mode microwave cavity. The densification of the compacts and the microstructures of the prepared alloys were studied. The results demonstrate that the liquid phase is formed around 1300 ℃ and nearly full densification is obtained at 1450 ℃ for 5 min via microwave irradiation. The microstructures of microwave sintered samples have finer and more uniform WC grains than those of vacuum sintered samples. Besides, the WC grain size and distribution are only decided by the sintering temperature. Holding time has negligible effects on them. No matter how holding time is, the mean grain size is 2.7 pan when the sintering temperature is kept at 1450 ℃.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of TiAl-based alloy prepared by double mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering

A fine-grained TiAl alloy with a composition of Ti-45Al-2Cr-2Nb-1B-0.5Ta-0.225Y （mole fraction, %） was prepared by double mechanical milling（DMM） and spark plasma sintering（SPS）. The relationship among sintering temperature, microstructure and mechanical properties was studied. The results show that the morphology of double mechanical milled powder is regular with size in the range of 20-40 μm and mainly composed of TiAl and Ti3Al phases. The main phase TiAl and few phases Ti3Al, Ti2Al and TiB2 were observed in the SPSed alloys. For samples sintered at 900 ℃ the equiaxed crystal grain microstructure is achieved with size in the range of 100-200 nm. With increasing the SPS temperature from 900 ℃to 1000 ℃ the size of equiaxed crystal grain obviously increases, the microhardness decreases from HV658 to HV616, and the bending strength decreases from 781 MPa to 652 MPa. In the meantime, the compression fracture strength also decreases from 2769 MPa to 2669 MPa, and the strain to fracture in compression increases from 11.69% to 17.76%. On the base of analysis of fractographies, it shows that the compression fracture transform of the SPSed alloys is intergranular rupture.

Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-43Al-9V alloy fabricated by spark plasma sintering

A fine-grained TiAl alloy with the composition of Ti-43Al-9V was prepared by mechanical milling and spark plasma sintering（SPS）.The relationship among sintering temperature,microstructure and mechanical properties was studied.The results show that the morphology of mechanical milling powder is regular with size in a range of 5-30 μm.Main phases of γ-TiAl,α2-Ti3Al and few B2 phase are observed in the SPS bulk samples.For samples sintered at 1150 °C,equiaxed crystal grain microstructure is achieved with size in a range of 300 nm-1 μm.With increasing SPS temperature to 1250 °C,the size of equiaxed crystal grains obviously increases,the microhardness decreases from HV592 to HV535,and the bending strength decreases from 605 to 219 MPa.Meantime,the compression fracture strength also decreases from 2601 to 1905 MPa,and the strain compression decreases from 28.95% to 12.09%.

Effect of spark plasma sintering temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of melt-spun TiAl alloys

A TiAl alloy from pulverized rapidly solidified ribbons with the composition of Ti-46Al-2Cr-4Nb-0.3Y（mole fraction,%） was processed by spark plasma sintering（SPS）.The effects of sintering temperature on the microstructure and mechanical properties were studied.The results show that the microstructure and phase constitution vary with sintering temperature.Sintering the milled powders at 1200 ℃ produces fully dense compact.Higher sintering temperature does not improve the densification evidently.The dominant phases are γ and α2 in the bulk alloys sintered at 1200 ℃.With higher sintering temperature,the fraction of α2 phase decreases and the microstructure changes from equiaxed near γ grain to near lamellar structure,together with a slight coarsening.The bulk alloy sintered at 1260 ℃ with refined and homogeneous near lamellar structure reveals the best overall mechanical properties.The compressional fracture stress and compression ratio are 2984 MPa and 41.5%,respectively,at room temperature.The tensile fracture stress and ductility are 527.5 MPa and 5.9%,respectively,at 800 ℃.

Effects of silver powder particle size on the microstructure and properties of Ag-Yb_2O_3 electrical contact materials prepared by spark plasma sintering

mg-Yb203 electrical contact materials were fabricated by spark plasma sintefing （SPS）. The effects of silver powder particle size on the microstructure and properties of the samples were investigated. The surface morphologies of the sintered samples were examined by optical microscope （OM）, and the fracture morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The physical and mechanical properties such as density, electrical resistivity, microhardness, and tensile strength were also tested. The results show that the silver powder particle size has evident effects on the sintered materials. Comparing with coarse silver powder （5 ktm）, homogeneous and fme microstmcture was obtained by fine silver powder （_〈0.5-1am）. At the same time, the electrical conductivity, microhardness, and tensile strength of the sin- tered samples with fine silver powder were higher than those of the samples with coarse silver powder. However, silver powder particle size has little influence on the relative densities, which of all samples （both by free and coarse silver powders） is more than 95%. The fracture characteristics are ductile.

Microstructure, thermal properties, and corrosion behaviors of FeSiBAlNi alloy fabricated by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering

An equiatomic FeSiBAlNi amorphous high-entropy alloy （HEA） was fabricated by mechanical alloying （MA）. A fully amorphous phase was obtained in the FeSiBAlNi HEA after 240 h of MA. The bulk FeSiBAlNi samples were sintered by spark plasma sintering （SPS） at 520 and 1080℃ under a pressure of 80 MPa. The sample sintered at 520℃ exhibited an amorphous composite structure comprising solid-solution phases （body-centered cubic （bcc） and face-centered cubic （fee） phases）. When the as-milled amorphous HEA was consoli- dated at 1080℃, another fcc phase appeared and the amorphous phase disappeared. The sample sintered by SPS at 1080℃ exhibited a slightly higher melting temperature compared with those of the as-milled alloy and the bulk sample sintered at 520℃. The corrosion behav- iors of the as-sintered samples were investigated by potentiodynamic polarization measurements and immersion tests in seawater solution. The results showed that the HEA obtained by SPS at 1080℃ exhibited better corrosion resistance than that obtained by SPS at 520℃.

Sintering behavior of Cr in different atmospheres and its effect on the microstructure and properties of copper-based composite materials

Copper matrix composites consisting of chromium （Cr） or ferrochrome （Cr-Fe） as strengthening elements and molybdenum disulfide as a lubricant had been sintered in nitrogen and hydrogen atmosphere, respectively. Their morphology and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry （EDS） analysis showed that serious interaction occurred between MoS2 and Cr （or Cr-Fe） particles when the samples were sintered in hydrogen atmosphere. Chromium sulfide compound （CrxSy） was formed as a reaction product, which decreased the density and strength of the composites remarkably. This interaction was inhibited when the samples were sintered in nitrogen atmosphere; thus, the mechanical properties of the composites were improved.

Sintering characteristics and microstructure of WC-Co-VC/Cr_3C_2 ultrafine cemented carbides

The sintering characteristics, microstructure, and mechanical properties of ultrafine WC-12%Co-0.2%VC/0.5%Cr3C2 cemented carbides were investigated. Dilatometric and differential thermal analyses （DTA） indicate that the compacts start to shrink at 600°C, the shrinkage rate peak is at 1190°C, and the liquid formation temperature is lower than the W-C-Co eutectic temperature （1330°C）. Microstructure analysis results show that the cemented carbides with fine and homogeneous microstructure were obtained when sintered at 1430°C. Continuous and discontinuous grain growth was suppressed due to the synergistic action of VC/Cr3C2. The transverse rupture strength （TRS） of the samples reaches 4286 MPa, with the hardness HRA 92.1. The fine and homogeneous microstructure, alloy strengthening, and different phase constitutions of binder in the cemented carbides result in high hardness and TRS. Continuous and discontinuous grain growth was observed in the cemented carbide sintered at 1450°C, which results in significant decreases of hardness and TRS. It indicates that VC/Cr3C2 additions in the cemented carbides can only suppress the grain growth at a certain temperature.

Microstructure and magnetic properties of bulk magnets Nd_(14-x)Fe_(76+x)Co_3Zr_1B_6(x=0,0.5,1) prepared by spark plasma sintering

Melt-spun ribbons with nominal composition of Nd14–xFe76+xCo3Zr1B6(x=0,0.5,1) were consolidated into isotropic bulk magnets by spark plasma sintering method.It was found that the Nd content and sintering temperature had significant influence on the density and magnetic properties of the sintered magnets.Homogeneous microstructure and fine grain(50–100 nm) were obtained when sintering below 700 ℃,and the initial magnetization curve showed that the coercivity was controlled by the pinning mechanism.However,ab...

Influence of spark plasma sintering on microstructure and corrosion behaviour of Ti-6Al-4V alloy reinforced with micron-sized Si_3N_4powder

Ti-6 Al-4 V-Si3 N4 composites were effectively fabricated by spark plasma sintering(SPS) technique. The addition of Si_3 N_4 on Ti-6 AI-4 V was varied from 5% to 15%(wt fraction). The effect of Si_3 N_4 addition on the densification, microstructure, and microhardness and corrosion behaviour of Ti-6 Al-4 V was investigated.An increase in microhardness value was recorded from 325.46 HV_(0.1) to 585.73 HV_(0.1). X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis showed that the intensity of diffraction peaks of Si3 N4 phase in the composites increased.The sintered Ti-6 Al-4 V reinforced with Si_3 N_4 compacts revealed the non-existence of intermediate phases, such as TiSi_2(titanium silicide) which was expected. SEM analysis of the spark plasma sintered composites revealed a and β phase microstructures in Ti-6 Al-4 V with uniform distribution of Si3 N4 particulates in the matrix. The corrosion resistance property of the material was improved by the addition of Si_3 N_4 from 0.986629 mm/year to 0.030547 mm/year.

Effects of Sintering Atmosphere on the Microstructure and Surface Properties of Symmetric TiO2 Membranes

The effects of sintering atmosphere on the properties of symmetric TiO2 membranes are studied with regard to sintering behavior, porosity, mean pore size, surface comPosition. and surface charge properties. The exerimental results show that the symmetric TiO2 membranes display better sintering activity in the air than in argon, and the mean pore diameters and porosities of the membrane sintered in argon are higher than those of the membrane sintered in the air at the same temperature. The surface compositions of the symmetric TiO2 membrane sintered in the air and in argon at different temperatures, as studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, are discussed in terms of their chemical composition, with particular emphasis on the valence state of the titanium ions. The correlation between the valence state of the titanium ions at the surface and the surface charge properties is examined.It is found that the presence of Ti^3＋, introduced at the surface of the symmetric TiO2 membranes by sintering in a lower partial pressure of oxygen, is related to a significant decrease in the isoelectric point. TiO2 with Ti^4＋ at the interface has an isoelectric point of 5.1, but the non-stoichiometric TiO2-x with Ti^3＋ at the interface has a lower isoelectric point of 3.6.

Process−microstructure−properties relationship in Al−CNTs−Al2O3 nanocomposites manufactured by hybrid powder metallurgy and microwave sintering process

Al−2CNTs−xAl2O3 nanocomposites were manufactured by a hybrid powder metallurgy and microwave sintering process.The correlation between process-induced microstructural features and the material properties including physical and mechanical properties as well as ultrasonic parameters was measured.It was found that physical properties including densification and physical dimensional changes were closely associated with the morphology and particle size of nanocomposite powders.The maximum density was obtained by extensive particle refinement at milling time longer than 8 h and Al2O3 content of 10 wt.%.Mechanical properties were controlled by Al2O3 content,dispersion of nano reinforcements and grain size.The optimum hardness and strength properties were achieved through incorporation of 10 wt.%Al2O3 and homogenous dispersion of CNTs and Al2O3 nanoparticles(NPs)at 12 h of milling which resulted in the formation of high density of dislocations and extensive grain size refinement.Also both longitudinal and shear velocities and attenuation increase linearly by increasing Al2O3 content and milling time.The variation of ultrasonic velocity and attenuation was attributed to the degree of dispersion of CNTs and Al2O3 and also less inter-particle spacing in the matrix.The larger Al2O3 content and more homogenous dispersion of CNTs and Al2O3 NPs at longer milling time exerted higher velocity and attenuation of ultrasonic wave.

Process optimization,microstructures and mechanical/thermal properties of Cu/Invar bi-metal matrix composites fabricated by spark plasma sintering

An orthogonal experiment scheme was designed to investigate the effects of the Cu content,compaction pressure,and sintering temperature on the microstructures and mechanical and thermal properties of(30−50)wt.%Cu/Invar bi-metal matrix composites fabricated via spark plasma sintering(SPS).The results indicated that as the Cu content increased from 30 to 50 wt.%,a continuous Cu network gradually appeared,and the density,thermal conductivity(TC)and coefficient of thermal expansion of the composites noticeably increased,but the tensile strength decreased.The increase in the sintering temperature promoted the Cu/Invar interface diffusion,leading to a reduction in the TC but an enhancement in the tensile strength of the composites.The compaction pressure comprehensively affected the thermal properties of the composites.The 50wt.%Cu/Invar composite sintered at 700℃ and 60 MPa had the highest TC(90.7 W/(m·K)),which was significantly higher than the TCs obtained for most of the previously reported Cu/Invar composites.

Effect of sintering process on microstructure and magnetic properties of high frequency power ferrite

An oxide ceramic process was adopted to prepare high frequency manganese-zinc(MnZn)power ferrite.In combination with the microstructure analysis of material,the influences of sintering process on initial permeability(μ_(i))and high frequency loss in unit volume(P_(cv))of MnZn power ferrite were investigated.The results show that in order to obtain fine microstructure and high frequency properties,the preferable sintering temperature and atmosphere are 1230℃and oxygen partial pressure(P_(O_(2)))of 4%,respectively.

Effects of various fillers on sintering, microstructures and properties of Ca-Ba-Al-B-Si-O glass/ceramic composites

Low-temperature sintering and properties of LTCC （low temperature co-fired ceramics） materials based on CaO-BaO-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glass and various fillers such as Al2O3, silica glass, christobalite, AlN, ZrO2, MgO-SiO2, TiO2 were investigated. The results show that densification, crystallization, microstructures and dielectric properties of the composites are found to strongly depend on the type of filler. The densification process of glass/ceramic composites with various fillers is mainly from 600 ℃ to 925 ℃, and the initial compacting temperature of samples is 600 ℃. The initial rapid densification of samples starts at its glass softening temperature. LTCC compositions containing Al2O3, silica glass, AlN and MgO-SiO2 fillers start to have the crystallization peaks at 890, 903, 869 and 844 ℃, respectively. The crystallization peaks are believed as correlated to the crystallization of CaAl2SiO8, β-SiO2, Ca2Al2SiO7 and β-SiO2. The composite ceramic with Al2O3, silica glass and TiO2 ceramic have a better dense structure and better smooth fracture surface. Sample for Al2O3 has the lowest dielectric loss tanδ value of 0.00091, whereas the sample for MgO.SiO, has the highest dielectric loss tanδ value of 0.02576. The sample for TiO2 has the highest dielectric constant value of 14.46, whereas the sample for AIN has the lowest dielectric constant value of 4.61.

Sintering microstructure and properties of copper powder prepared by electrolyzation and atomization

The almost completely dense copper was prepared by ultrafine copper powder prepared with both methods of electrolysis and novel water-gas atomization through cold isostatic pressing(CIP)and sintering under atmospheric hydrogen.Fine copper powder possesses the higher sintering driving force,thereby promoting shrinkage and densification during the sintering process.The grain size of sintered samples by electrolytic copper powder is smaller than that prepared by the atomized copper powder,and the twin crystals are particularly prone to forming in the former sintered microstructure due to the raw powder with low oxygen content and high residual stress originating from the CIP process.The relative density of samples by electrolytic and atomized powder at 1000℃ sintering temperature achieves 99.3%and 97.4%,respectively,significantly higher than that of the powder metallurgy copper parts reported in the literature.Correspondingly,the ultimate tensile strength and yield strength of samples by both kinds of copper powder are approximately similar,while the elongation of the sintered sample by the electrolytic powder(60%)is apparently higher than the atomized powder(44%).The superior performance of samples fabricated by electrolytic powder is inferred from the full density and low oxygen level for there is no cuprous oxide in the grain boundaries.

Effect of Ti on microstructure, mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Zr-Ta-Ti alloys processed by spark plasma sintering

The microstructure,mechanical properties and corrosion resistance of Zr-30%Ta and Zr-25%Ta-5%Ti alloy prepared by spark plasma sintering(SPS)technology were investigated.The experimental results showed that the Zr-Ta-Ti alloys made by the SPS processing have a low level of porosity with the relative density of 96%−98%.The analyses of XRD and TEM revealed that the Zr-30Ta alloy consists ofα+βphase,and the Zr-25Ta-5Ti alloy belongs to the nearβtype alloy containing a small amount ofαandωphases.With the addition of Ti,the elastic modulus of the alloys was decreased from(99.5±7.2)GPa for Zr-30Ta alloy to(73.6±6.3)GPa for Zr-25Ta-5Ti alloy.Furthermore,it is shown that,in comparison to CP-Ti and Ti-6Al-4V alloy,the Zr-Ta-Ti alloy produced in this work offers an improved corrosion resistance due to the more stable ZrO2 and Ta2O5 generated in the passivation film on the surface of the alloys.This study demonstrates that Zr-Ta-Ti alloys are a promising candidate of novel metallic biomaterials.