Influence of SPS temperature on the properties of TiC–SiCw composites

• Published in: Ceramics international Vol. 46; no. 8; pp. 11735 - 11742
• Main Authors: Fattahi, Mehdi, Mohammadzadeh, Ahad, Pazhouhanfar, Yaghoub, Shaddel, Shahrzad, Shahedi Asl, Mehdi, Sabahi Namini, Abbas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Densification; Mechanical properties; Microstructural features; Thermal conductivity; TiC-SiCw composite; Mechanical properties; Thermal conductivity; Densification; TiC-SiCw composite; Microstructural features
• ISSN: 0272-8842; 1873-3956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.01.206

Titanium carbide (TiC) composites containing 10 vol% silicon carbide whisker (SiCw) were spark plasma sintered at different temperatures of 1800, 1900, and 2000 °C under a pressure of 40 MPa and a holding time of 7 min. At the sintering temperature of 1900 °C, the relative density, Vickers hardness, and flexural strength of the sintered samples hit their maximum values of 98.7%, 24.4 GPa, and 511 MPa, respectively. The microstructural characteristics of the sintered samples were assessed by optical and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and XRD. The results revealed that at 1900 °C, the dispersion of SiCw in the TiC matrix was homogenous, no chemical reaction took place between the reinforcement and the matrix, and produced a fine-grained microstructure. It was found that the thermal conductivity of SPSed samples did not have the same trend with relative density and mechanical properties. A maximum value of 32.3 W/mK was measured for the thermal conductivity of the composite sintered at 2000 °C.