The effect of Ti substitution by Zr on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the cermet Ti1-xZrxC sintered by SPS

Phase decomposition of TiC−ZrC solid solution prepared by spark plasma sintering

“…Although spark plasma sintering (SPS) is often employed to consolidate refractory carbides, monolithic fully dense ZrC and TiC bodies are difficult to obtain [2,8,9]. The TiC À ZrC system is a complete solid solution system, and we have demonstrated that 10 mol% ZrC can significantly enhance the sinterability of TiC À ZrC composites by forming homogeneous solid solutions [10,11].…”

“…TiC À ZrC nanocomposites were fabricated by the combination of mechanical alloying and SPS using Ti, Zr and carbon black powders [8,9]; these nanocomposites had a Vickers hardness (H V ) of 24 GPa and fracture toughness (K IC ) of 6.9 MPa m 1/2 [9]. Knotek and Barimani reported that TiC À ZrC thin films prepared by sputtering and heat treatment at 1273 K caused precipitation of a TiC-rich solid solution with dimensions of several tens of nanometers in a matrix of the ZrC-rich solid solution [16].…”