Preparation of Tantalum Carbide Ceramics by Explosion Forming Technology

In order to improve mechanical properties of tantalum carbide (TaC) ceramics,TaC powders with nanometer size which were used as raw materials were packed in double-tube steel vessels and subjected to ammonium nitrate fuel oil(ANFO) explosive,then TaC ceramics were prepared by explosion forming technology.The microstructure and properties of the ceramics were analyzed.The results show that after forming,the hardness of 14.5 GPa could be obtained at the lower part of the sample with cracks,and 4.8 MPa in the central region.The lattice residual strain in TaC introduced by the explosion was 2.4×10-3.The explosion shock wave stored 0.46 J·g-1 internal energy inside the powders.The extra internal energy and the dislocation group in the particles made it possible for the shocked material to be sintered at lower temperatures.The hardness of the sintered sample in the central region could improve to 11 GPa.