scholarly journals Design and Development of Hybrid Al2O3 Based Composites with Toughening and Self-Lubricating Second-Phase Inclusions

Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhtar ◽  
Waqar ◽  
Hakeem ◽  
Arif ◽  
Al-Athel

Polycrystalline ceramics, such as alumina (Al2O3), are brittle and they generally wear by fracture mechanism, which limits their potential in tribological applications. In the present work, computational design tools are used to develop hybrid Al2O3 composites reinforced with best combinations of toughening and self-lubricating second-phase particles for cutting tool inserts in dry machining applications. A mean-field homogenization approach and J-integral based fracture toughness models are employed to predict the effective structural properties (such as elastic modulus and fracture toughness) and related to the intrinsic attributes of second- phase inclusions in Al2O3 matrix. Silicon carbide (SiC), boron nitride (cBN and hBN), zirconia (ZrO2), graphite, titanium dioxide (TiO2), and titanium carbide (TiC) were found the most suitable candidates to be added in Al2O3 matrix as individual or hybrid combinations. A series of samples including standalone Al2O3, single inclusion composites (Al2O3/SiC, Al2O3/cBN) and hybrid composites (Al2O3/SiC/cBN, Al2O3/SiC/TiO2 and Al2O3/SiC/graphite) are sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) for validation purpose. Properties of the sintered composites are measured and compared with the proposed computational material design. Composition and phase transformation of the sintered samples are studied using X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, while their morphology is studied using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The presented nontraditional material design approach is found to significantly reduce experimental time and cost of materials in developing toughened and anti-friction ceramic composites.

Author(s):  
Syed Sohail Akhtar

Abstract A systematic approach is the focus of the current work in order to design and develop ceramic composites for cutting tool inserts with a balanced combination of structural and thermal properties together with enhanced antifriction characteristics. In the material design stage, various combinations of ceramic materials and inclusions with optimum self-lubricating attributes are selected based on predictions of mechanical and thermal properties using in-house built codes. A mean-field homogenization scheme is used to predict the constitutive behavior while J-integral based fracture toughness model is used to predict the effective fracture toughness of the ceramic composites. An effective medium approximation is used to predict the potential optimum thermal properties. The current strategy incorporates thermal and structural properties of composites as a constraint on the design process together with self-lubrication property. Among various metallic and carbon-based fillers, silicon carbide (SiC) together with titanium oxide (TiO2) and graphite are found the most suitable candidate fillers in alumina (Al2O3) matrix to produce cutting inserts with best combinations of thermal, structural and tribological properties. As a validation, various combinations of Al2O3-SiC-TiO2 and Al2O3-SiC-TiO2 composites are developed in line with the designed range of filler size and volume fraction using Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process to complement the material design.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 2385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergey Grigoriev ◽  
Marina Volosova ◽  
Pavel Peretyagin ◽  
Anton Seleznev ◽  
Anna Okunkova ◽  
...  

In this study the influence of TiC content on the mechanical and electrical properties of Al2O3-TiC composites containing 30 and 40 vol.% TiC were investigated. The Vickers hardness and fracture toughness of the composites increased with the addition of TiC phase. The composite with 40 vol.% TiC showed the highest flexural strength (687 ± 39 MPa), fracture toughness (7.8 ± 0.4 MPa·m1/2) and hardness (22.3 ± 0.3 GPa) with a homogeneous distribution of the second phase within the ceramic matrix. Besides enhanced mechanical properties, it was found that ceramic composites with more than 30 vol.% TiC fabricated by the spark plasma sintering possess sufficient electrical conductivity for electrical discharge machining as well. Therefore, they do not limit the flexibility of the shape, and any intricate parts can be easily made with these composites which can be recommended for the production of cutting inserts in the tools for machining of superhard hardened steels, hard-to-machine materials, composites and other materials used in mechanical engineering.


Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3398
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Konopka ◽  
Marek Krasnowski ◽  
Justyna Zygmuntowicz ◽  
Konrad Cymerman ◽  
Marcin Wachowski ◽  
...  

The paper describes an investigation of Al2O3 samples and NiAl–Al2O3 composites consolidated by pulse plasma sintering (PPS). In the experiment, several methods were used to determine the properties and microstructure of the raw Al2O3 powder, NiAl–Al2O3 powder after mechanical alloying, and samples obtained via the PPS. The microstructural investigation of the alumina and composite properties involves scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The relative densities were investigated with helium pycnometer and Archimedes method measurements. Microhardness analysis with fracture toughness (KIC) measures was applied to estimate the mechanical properties of the investigated materials. Using the PPS technique allows the production of bulk Al2O3 samples and intermetallic ceramic composites from the NiAl–Al2O3 system. To produce by PPS method the NiAl–Al2O3 bulk materials initially, the composite powder NiAl–Al2O3 was obtained by mechanical alloying. As initial powders, Ni, Al, and Al2O3 were used. After the PPS process, the final composite materials consist of two phases: Al2O3 located within the NiAl matrix. The intermetallic ceramic composites have relative densities: for composites with 10 wt.% Al2O3 97.9% and samples containing 20 wt.% Al2O3 close to 100%. The hardness of both composites is equal to 5.8 GPa. Moreover, after PPS consolidation, NiAl–Al2O3 composites were characterized by high plasticity. The presented results are promising for the subsequent study of consolidation composite NiAl–Al2O3 powder with various initial contributions of ceramics (Al2O3) and a mixture of intermetallic–ceramic composite powders with the addition of ceramics to fabricate composites with complex microstructures and properties. In composites with complex microstructures that belong to the new class of composites, in particular, the synergistic effect of various mechanisms of improving the fracture toughness will be operated.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Poloni ◽  
Florian Bouville ◽  
Christopher H. Dreimol ◽  
Tobias P. Niebel ◽  
Thomas Weber ◽  
...  

AbstractThe brick-and-mortar architecture of biological nacre has inspired the development of synthetic composites with enhanced fracture toughness and multiple functionalities. While the use of metals as the “mortar” phase is an attractive option to maximize fracture toughness of bulk composites, non-mechanical functionalities potentially enabled by the presence of a metal in the structure remain relatively limited and unexplored. Using iron as the mortar phase, we develop and investigate nacre-like composites with high fracture toughness and stiffness combined with unique magnetic, electrical and thermal functionalities. Such metal-ceramic composites are prepared through the sol–gel deposition of iron-based coatings on alumina platelets and the magnetically-driven assembly of the pre-coated platelets into nacre-like architectures, followed by pressure-assisted densification at 1450 °C. With the help of state-of-the-art characterization techniques, we show that this processing route leads to lightweight inorganic structures that display outstanding fracture resistance, show noticeable magnetization and are amenable to fast induction heating. Materials with this set of properties might find use in transport, aerospace and robotic applications that require weight minimization combined with magnetic, electrical or thermal functionalities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 476-478 ◽  
pp. 1031-1035
Author(s):  
Wei Min Liu ◽  
Xing Ai ◽  
Jun Zhao ◽  
Yong Hui Zhou

Al2O3-TiC-ZrO2ceramic composites (ATZ) were fabricated by hot-pressed sintering. The phases and microstructure of the composites were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The relative density and mechanical properties (flexural strength, fracture toughness and Vicker’s hardness) of the composites were tested. The results show that the microstructure of the composites was the gray core-white rim. With the increase of sintering temperature, the relative density and mechanical properties of the composites increased first and then decreased. The composite sintered at 1705°C has the highest synthetical properties, and its relative density, flexural strength, fracture toughness and Vickers hardness are 98.3%,970MPa,6.0 MPa•m1/2and 20.5GPa, respectively.


2016 ◽  
Vol 869 ◽  
pp. 46-51
Author(s):  
Daniel Alessander Nono ◽  
Eron Fernandes da Silva ◽  
Maria do Carmo de Andrade Nono ◽  
Francisco Piorino Neto ◽  
Sergio Luiz Mineiro

The fracture toughness is one of the requirements for mechanical properties of materials for use in satellites. The ceramic TZP zirconia (tetragonal zirconia polycrystals) have been investigated for applications in ballistic armor. Due to the chemical inertness and fracture toughness, this material has the potential to act as a screen against impacts of micrometeorites and space debris. The ceramic composites of alumina-zirconia 3Y-TZP (tetragonal zirconia polycrystals doped with 3 mol% ytria ) are the materials with the best benefit / cost for this application. This paper presents and discusses the results obtained from the use of two techniques for determining fracture toughness. The composite alumina - 18.5% of 3Y-TZP zirconia nanoparticles obtained from deflocculated powders have been tested for Vickers and the SEVNB penetration method (Single-Edge-Notch Beam V) to obtain the fracture toughness values (KIC). The KIC values obtained were analyzed due to the lower dispersion of experimental values. The SEVNB method showed better reliability in determining the toughness values in the studied ceramics.


2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 887-896 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Liu ◽  
G.-J. Zhang ◽  
X.-D. Ding ◽  
J. Sun ◽  
K.-H. Chen

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 586-595
Author(s):  
Ruzhuan Wang ◽  
Dingyu Li ◽  
Weiguo Li

Abstract Hardness is one of the important mechanical properties of high-temperature structural ceramics and their composites. In spite of the extensive use of the materials in high-temperature applications, there are few theoretical models for analyzing their temperature-dependent hardness. To fill this gap in the available literature, this work is focused on developing novel theoretical models for the temperature dependence of the hardness of the ceramics and their composites. The proposed model is just expressed in terms of some basic material parameters including Young’s modulus, melting points, and critical damage size corresponding to plastic deformation, which has no fitting parameters, thereby being simple for materials scientists and engineers to use in the material design. The model predictions for the temperature dependence of hardness of some oxide ceramics, non-oxide ceramics, ceramic–ceramic composites, diamond–ceramic composites, and ceramic-based cermet are presented, and excellent agreements with the experimental measurements are shown. Compared with the experimental measurements, the developed model can effectively save the cost when applied in the material design, which could be used to predict at any targeted temperature. Furthermore, the models could be used to determine the underlying control mechanisms of the temperature dependence of the hardness of the materials.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document