Mechanical Properties of Reactively Processed W/Ta₂C-based Composites

Abstract

The mechanical properties of reactively processed W/Ta2C cermet composites were studied. Dense W/Ta2C cermets with a nominal composition of 40.4 vol% W(Ta)ss, 48.9 vol% Ta2C and 10.6 vol% Ta2WO8 were fabricated using a pressureless reactive processing method. Four-point bend strength, fracture toughness, elastic modulus, and microhardness were measured at room temperature. The average flexure strength was 584MPa which is lower than for pure W; however the strength of pure Ta2C is unknown. The fracture toughness was 8.3MPam1/2 which fits a rule of mixtures between literature values for the fracture toughness of the W and Ta2C phases. The elastic modulus was 476GPa, and the microhardness was 13.4GPa. Both Young's modulus and hardness were higher than values reported for other W-based cermets.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Sponsor(s)

GAANN Program

Keywords and Phrases

Cermets; Composites; Mechanical Properties; Carbides

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0955-2219

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2010 Elsevier, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Aug 2010

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