Microstructural and mechanical properties of in-situ micro-laminated TiC/Ti composite synthesised

Micro-laminated TiC/Ti composite was fabricated by an in-situ method that evolves hot-pressing sintering Ti and graphite foils. The microstructure and mechanical properties of micro-laminated TiC/Ti composite were investigated in present work. It was observed that the TiC ceramic layers and the Ti layers were alternately distributed after sintering. The micro-laminated TiC/Ti composite exhibited flexural strength of 690 +/- 30 MPa and fracture toughness of 24.78 +/- 0.71 MPa*m(1/2) which are much higher than those of traditional TiC ceramics and cermets. The improved fracture toughness attributes to ductile Ti layers, multiple-layers structure and strong interfaces bonding between Ti and in-situ formed TiC layers. In addition, the method used in this study was much simpler and more cost-effective than traditional powder sintering method for fabricating micro-laminated composite, therefore, is promising for real application. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.