NbC grain growth control and mechanical properties of Ni bonded NbC cermets prepared by vacuum liquid phase sintering

The current study reports on the effect of the sintering temperature and secondary carbide (VC, Mo2C and TiC) additions on the microstructure and concommitant Vickers hardness (HV30) and fracture toughness of Ni-bonded NbC cermets. All cermets were prepared by pressureless sintering in vacuum. Detailed microstructural investigation was performed by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Sintering results indicated that both the sintering temperature and secondary carbide additions had a significant effect on the properties of NbC-Ni cermets. Nickel pools and residual pores were observed in the cermets sintered at temperatures ≤ 1340 °C. Increasing of the sintering temperature up to 1420 or 1480 °C resulted in fully densified NbC-Ni based cermets composed of homogeneous contrast cubic NbC grains for the single carbide (VC or Mo2C) modyfied system, whereas core-rim structured NbC grains were observed with the additon of TiC + VC or TiC+Mo2C. The secondary carbide doped cermets with 5–10 vol.% VC/Mo2C and 10 vol.% TiC showed a significantly improved hardness and fracture toughness, as compared to the plain NbC-Ni cermets.status: publishe