Understanding the mechanical properties of vanadium carbides: Nano-indentation measurement and first-principles calculations

Vanadium carbides (VCs) as reinforced phase effectively improve the mechanical properties of steel and coatings. By means of nano-indentation and first-principles techniques, the mechanical properties of various vanadium carbides were investigated. Our results show that cubic VC in Ni–Cr cast iron possesses a relatively high Vickers hardness (33.3±0.5GPa) and Young’s modulus (436±8GPa). Furthermore, the mechanical properties and electronic structure of various vanadium carbides, including V2C, V4C3, V6C5, and V8C7, were also studied to reveal the effect of carbon content on the mechanical properties of V–C system.