Effect of sintering on microstructures and properties of
sub-micron Ti(C,N)-based cermets①
sub-micron Ti(C,N)-based cermets①
(1. State Key Laboratory of Die & Mould Technology, College of Materials Science and Engineering,Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China;
2. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing,
Wuhan Universty of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China;
3. College of Materials Science and Engineering,
China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China)
2. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Technology for Materials Synthesis and Processing,
Wuhan Universty of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China;
3. College of Materials Science and Engineering,
China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China)
Abstract: The influence of different sintering processes, including vacuum sintering, vacuum sintering followed by HIP nd sintering-HIP, on the microstructure and properties of sub-micron Ti(C,N) cermets with various binder contents was studied. Image analysis based on back-scattered electrons image observations was used to determine the morphologic and structural characteristics. Transverse rupture strength(TRS), hardness, fracture toughness were measured and TRS data were treated by Weibull statistics further. It is shown that a very significant improvement in TRS can be obtained by HIP or sintering-HIP treatment for the alloys with lower and middle binder content at the controlled cooling rate, but the effect is not obvious for the alloys with higher binder content. HIP is also helpful for improving the hardness of sub-micron Ti (C,N) cermets, however, but can lower the fracture toughness. The variation of these properties was interpreted in terms of the difference in morphologic and structural characteristics.
Key words: Ti(C,N) cermet; sub-micron; sintering process; HIP