Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Nanostructured TiC-TiAl by the Pulsed Current Activated Sintering

TiC-Co or TiC-Ni hard materials have been used for cutting tools. However, the high cost and the low hardness of Ni or Co, and the low corrosion resistance of the TiC-Ni and TiC-Co cermets have generated interest in recent years in using them as alternative binder phases. In this study, TiAl was used as a novel binder and consolidated by the pulsed current activated sintering(PCAS) method. Nanopowders of TiC and TiAl were fabricated using high energy ball milling. Highly dense TiC-TiAl hard materials with a relative density of up to 99.5% were sintered within three min by PCAS. Not only the hardness but also the fracture toughness of the TiC-10 vol%TiAl were better than those of TiC-10 vol%Ni or TiC-10 vol%Co.