Study on Influencing Factors of Mechanical Properties of Ti(C,N)-Based Cermets

Ti(C,N)-based cermets were fabricated by the vacuum hot-processing technique. The effect of sintering process, initial powder size and binder content on mechanical properties of Ti(C,N)-based cermets were investigated. The composite was analyzed by the observation of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS). The results showed that a lower sintering temperature led to insufficient liquid-phase sintering process, which reduced the density of the composite. However, higher temperature and longer holding time resulted in abnormal grain growth, which was not good for improving the mechanical properties of the composite. With the refinement of the initial powder size of the Ti(C,N), the fracture toughness reduced slightly, the flexural strength and Vickers hardness increased. The better mechanical properties were obtained when the binder content of the cermets was designed based on the eutectic composition of Mo-Ni binary alloy phase diagram.