Synergistically Toughening Effect of SiC Whiskers and Nanoparticles in Al_2O_3-based Composite Ceramic Cutting Tool Material

In recent decades, many additives with different characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al2O3-based ceramic cutting tool materials. Among them, SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellent performance in improving the material properties. While no attempts have been made to add SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles together into the ceramic matrix and the synergistically toughening effects of them have not been studied. An Al2O3-SiCw-SiC np advanced ceramic cutting tool material is fabricated by adding both one-dimensional SiC whiskers and zero-dimensional SiC nanoparticles into the Al2O3 matrix with an effective dispersing and mixing process. The composites with 25 vol% SiC whiskers and 25 vol% SiC nanoparticles alone are also investegated for comparison purposes. Results show that the Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp composite with both 20 vo1% SiC whiskers and 5 vol% SiC nanoparticles additives have much improved mechanical properties. The flexural strength of Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp is 730＋ 95 MPa and fracture toughness is 5.6 ± 0.6 MPa.m1/2. The toughening and strengthening mechanisms of SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are studied when they are added either individually or in combination. It is indicated that when SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are added together, the grains are further refined and homogenized, so that the microstructure and fracture mode ratio is modified. The SiC nanoparticles are found helpful to enhance the toughening effects of the SiC whiskers. The proposed research helps to enrich the types of ceramic cutting tool and is benefit to expand the application range of ceramic cutting tool.

Numerical simulation of stress distribution in Al_2O_3-TiC/Q235 diffusion bonded joints

The distributions of the axial stress and shear stress in Al2O3-TiC/Q235 diffusion bonded joints were studied using finite element method （FEM）. The effect of interlayer thickness on the axial stress and shear stress was also investigated. The results indicate that the gradients of the axial stress and shear stress are great near the joint edge. The maximal shear stress produces at the interface of the Al2O3-TIC and Ti interlayer. With the increase of Cu interlayer thickness, the magnitudes of the axial stress and shear stress first decrease and then increase. The distribution of the axial stress changes greatly with a little change in the shear stress. The shear fracture initiates at the interface of the Al2O3-TiC/ Ti interlayer with high shear stress and then propagates to the Al2O3-TIC side, which is consistent with the stress FEM calculating results.