Modelling and Characterisation of Residual Stress of SiC-Ti3C2Tx MXene Composites Sintered via Spark Plasma Sintering Method.

Mateusz Petrus,Arkadiusz P Gertych,Anita Rozmysłowska-Wojciechowska,Dorota Moszczyńska,Jarosław Woźniak,Mariusz Zdrojek,Agnieszka Jastrzębska,Marek Kostecki,Tomasz Cygan,Maksymilian Sienkiewicz,Andrzej Olszyna,Bogusława Adamczyk-Cieślak,Piotr Marek

doi:10.3390/ma15031175

Mateusz Petrus, Arkadiusz P Gertych + Show 11 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031175

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Abstract

This article presents an attempt to determine the effect of the MXene phase addition and its decomposition during sintering with the use of the spark plasma sintering method on mechanical properties and residual stress of silicon carbide based composites. For this purpose, the unreinforced silicon carbide sinter and the silicon carbide composite with the addition of 2 wt.% of Ti3C2Tx were tested. The results showed a significant increase of fracture toughness and hardness for composite, respectively 36% and 13%. The numerical study involving this novel method of modelling shows the presence of a complex state of stress in the material, which is related to the anisotropic properties of graphitic carbon structures formed during sintering. An attempt to determine the actual values of residual stress in the tested materials using Raman spectroscopy was also made. These tests showed a good correlation with the constructed numerical model and confirmed the presence of a complex state of residual stress.

Highlights

Oxygen-free ceramics such as silicon carbide offer exceptional mechanical properties such as high hardness, high friction wear resistance, acid resistance, thermal resistance and good thermal conductivity [1,2]
The increase in fracture toughness, as in the case of the ceramic composites reinforced with materials from the graphene family, is caused partly by the introduction of reinforcing mechanisms into the material such as delamination, crack bridging or the branching on the flakes of the reinforcing phase located at the grain boundaries
The conducted tests allow for the conclusion that the introduction of MXene phases into the ceramic matrix can effectively increase the hardness and fracture toughness

Summary

Introduction

Oxygen-free ceramics such as silicon carbide offer exceptional mechanical properties such as high hardness, high friction wear resistance, acid resistance, thermal resistance and good thermal conductivity [1,2]. Ceramic composites reinforced with two-dimensional crystals such as graphene family materials (GFM) have gained in importance [5]. A new very promising family of two-dimensional crystals are the MXene phases, developed for the first time in 2011 [11]. Due to their unique properties, their geometry and the presence of functional groups on the surface, they are a promising material for use as reinforcement in composites based on the polymer and metal matrix [12,13,14]. Introducing them into the ceramic matrix is, a difficult task mainly due to the relatively low thermal stability depending on the environmental conditions, which range between

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