Study on Preparation and Properties of TiCp/W Metal Matrix Composite

Abstract:

The precursor of ammonium metatungstate(AMT) coated titanium carbide(TiC) were prepared by titration method, in which the suspension composed of the saturated solution of AMT, TiC micropowder and the dispersants was titrated with the anhydrous ethanol. The as-synthesized precursors were reduced in high-purity hydrogen atmosphere and then the tungsten coated TiC composite powder was prepared. The as-prepared powder was characterized by XRD and SEM. The results showed that the well-dispersed globularlike composite powders were produced when N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF) and PEG used as the dispersant for TiC and saturated solution of AMT and the precursor reduced in the high-purity hydrogen atmosphere at 600 ℃ for 1h and 800 ℃ for 30 min. And the bulk samples were prepared by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and their SEM morphology, relative density and mechanical properties were investigated. The results showed that TiC particles were uniformly distributed in the matrix W when the samples sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1600 ℃ for 2 min, that the relative density, flexural strength, micro-hardness and fracture toughness of the samples achieved 94.6 %, 739 MPa, 4.86GPa and 7.87MPa?m1/2, respectively.

Key words:Tungsten Matrix Composites; Titanium Carbide; Titrimetric Method; Spark Plasma Sintering