Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nano-SiC Whisker Reinforced Ti(C,N)-Based Cermets

The nano-SiC whisker reinforced Ti(C,N)-based cermets composite was fabricated with vacuum sintering technology.The effect of nano-SiC whisker on the microstructure,transverse rupture strength (TRS) and fracture toughness (KIC) was studied by XRD,FESEM with EDS,universal testing machine and Vickers hardness tester.The results show that the microstructure exhibited the classical “core-rim” morphology composed of black core phase,gray surrounding phase,grayish-white binder phase and white reinforced-phase which was partly distributed on the rim phase/binder phase interface and partly diffusely distributed in the binder phase.With the increase of amount of nano-SiC whisker addition ,the volume fraction of binder phase decreased while the volume fraction of reinforced phase increased.The TRS and KIC of the composite were increased obviously respectively,comparing to Ti(C,N)-based cermet.When the nano-SiC whisker content was up to 7.5%,the best mechanical properties with the TRS of 2 346 MPa and the KIC of 16.82 MPa·m1/2 were obtained.