Indexed by:Journal Article

Date of Publication:2016-10-05

Journal:20th International Conference on Composite Materials (ICCM)

Included Journals:Scopus、CPCI-S、EI、SCIE

Volume:107

Page Number:520-528

ISSN:0264-1275

Key Words:ZrC; Ti; CNTs; Microstructure; Mechanical properties

Abstract:ZrC-based ceramic composites doped with 20 vol.% titanium (Ti) and 3 vol.% carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by hot pressing. The densification behavior, microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of the composites were studied. The results indicated that the sinterability of the composites was significantly improved, resulting in highly dense matrix (98.27%) at reduced sintering temperature (1600 degrees C). In addition to the main phase of (Zr, Ti)C, the composites also contained a certain amount of TiC, which was shown to be beneficial for the improvement of mechanical properties. As a result, the flexural strength of the composites was measured to be 415 MPa at room temperature and 647 MPa at 800 degrees C, respectively. Moreover, the composites showed a high fracture toughness of 5.27 MPa m(1/2), which increased by 32% compared with the monolithic ZrC (4 MPa m(1/2)). The improved fracture toughness was attributed to crack deflection, crack bridging and crack branching. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.