TiC–Al composites with nanocrystalline matrix produced by consolidation of milled powders

Abstract

Nanocrystalline TiC powder obtained by mechanical alloying was short-term milled with 20 and 30vol.% of Al powder and then consolidated by hot-pressing under the pressure of 7.7GPa at the temperature of 1000°C. Structural investigations of the bulk materials revealed that TiC areas are surrounded by thin Al lamellae and that the mean crystallite size of TiC is 35nm. The hardness of the TiC–20%Al and TiC–30%Al composites is 11.98GPa and 10.47GPa respectively. The quality of compaction with preserving the nanocrystalline structure of TiC is satisfactory and the hardness of the produced materials is relatively high.