Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Al2O3-TiC Composite Fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering Process with Metallic (Ni, Nb) Binders

Abstract

Al 2 O 3 -10TiC composites were fabricated through the powder metallurgical process (mechanical milling combined with spark plasma sintering) with the addition of Ni/Nb as metallic binders. The effect of binder addition (Ni/Nb) on the processing, microstructure, and mechanical and tribological properties of the bulk-sintered composite samples was investigated. The microstructure of the composite reveals a homogeneous distribution of the TiC particles in the Al 2 O 3 matrix. However, the presence of Ni/Nb was not traceable, owing to the small amounts of Ni/Nb addition. Hardness and density of the composite samples increase with the increasing addition of Nb (up to 2 wt. % Nb). Any further increase in the Nb content (3 wt. %) decreases both the hardness and the wear resistance. However, in case of Ni as binder, both the hardness and wear resistance increases with the increase in the Ni content from 1 wt. % to 3 wt. %. However, the composite samples with Nb as binder show improved hardness and wear resistance compared to the composites with Ni as binder.

The Role of Thin-Film Vacuum-Plasma Coatings and Their Influence on the Efficiency of Ceramic Cutting Inserts

“…The whiskers provide higher strength characteristics during sintering. Samples of the same shape and dimensions made from the most common ceramics, Al 2 O 3 + TiC, were used to complementarily refine and confirm the obtained results [33][34][35]. CC650 and CC670 ceramic inserts produced by Sandvik Coromant (Stockholm, Sweden) were used during the experiments.…”

Cermets and Hardmetals

“…The current special issue, with a focus on cermets and hardmetals, brings together seven scientific research papers [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] that investigate various aspects of these materials. The papers are broadly divided between WC-based hardmetal systems [1][2][3][4], lower density carbides including TiC [5] and NbC [6], and mixed oxide-carbide systems [7]. In two examples, the hardmetal is present as a thin coating on Cr-Ni-Mo based steel substrates [3,4].…”

“…In two examples, the hardmetal is present as a thin coating on Cr-Ni-Mo based steel substrates [3,4]. There is a strong emphasis among these articles on the evaluation of the material's corrosion behavior [2][3][4][5], highlighting the importance of corrosion resistance in a great many applications, along with their tribological responses [3,7], mechanical behavior [1,4,6,7], and the influence of grain size for near-nano variants [1,2].…”

“…The WC-WB-Co and WC-FeCrAl coatings were both shown to have reasonably good wear resistance [3], in conjunction with a low coefficient of friction. In developing an oxide-carbide cermet system, with TiC additions to a predominantly Al 2 O 3 ceramic phase, it was apparent that even small metal additions (up to 3 wt.% of either Nb or Ni) could improve densification following spark plasma sintering [7]. Even though a lower elastic modulus phase was incorporated, the increased densification resulted in both improved hardness and wear resistance.…”

The Effect of TiC Additive on Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Al2O3 Ceramic

“…In addition, the widespread use of these materials requires a non-traditional way of manufacturing [19][20][21][22]. Today, materials are usually machined by grinding using abrasive materials or hard tools.…”