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Spark plasma sintering influence on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti:Ta/carbonitride ceramic matrix composites

Abstract

A mechanically induced self-sustaining reaction was carried out to synthesize a Ti0.9Ta0.1C0.5N0.5/Co powdered cermets, and then they were sintered by spark plasma sintering. Microstructural parameters effects studied by image analysis, and chemical composition (studied by Rietveld analysis) on the microhardness, hardening rate, fracture toughness, transverse rupture strength, and Young’s modulus were related to the sintering conditions. The optimization of the sintering conditions (1150 ◦C, 30 MPa, and 8 min’ dwell time) drove to a homogeneous microstructure and outstanding mechanical properties. Also, the tantalum was suggested to influence the interfacial energies of the system, yielding a stronger hard phase skeleton.

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Spark plasma sintering influence on microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti:Ta/carbonitride ceramic matrix composites

Author: Córdoba Gallego, José Manuel
Publisher: Elsevier
Year: 2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijrmhm.2025.107094
Source: https://idus.us.es/bitstreams/44e60b9f-a83e-4eff-9e8b-69e7663c1a95/download
Spa k plasma sin e ing in luence on mic os uc u e and mechanical
p ope ies o Ti:Ta/ca boni ide ce amic ma ix composi es
Jos´
e Manuel C´
o doba Gallego
Depa amen o de Química Ino g´
anica, Facul ad de Química, Uni e sidad de Se illa (US), C/T amon ana s/n, 41012 Se illa, Spain
ARTICLE INFO
Keywo ds:
Ce amic ma ix composi e
Spa k plasma sin e ing
Mic os uc u e
Mechanical p ope ies
ABSTRACT
A mechanically induced sel -sus aining eac ion was ca ied ou o syn hesize a Ti
0.9
Ta
0.1
C
0.5
N
0.5
/Co powde ed
ce me s, and hen hey we e sin e ed by spa k plasma sin e ing. Mic os uc u al pa ame e s e ec s s udied by
image analysis, and chemical composi ion (s udied by Rie eld analysis) on he mic oha dness, ha dening a e,
ac u e oughness, ans e se up u e s eng h, and Young’s modulus we e ela ed o he sin e ing condi ions.
The op imiza ion o he sin e ing condi ions (1150 ◦C, 30 MPa, and 8 min’ dwell ime) d o e o a homogeneous
mic os uc u e and ou s anding mechanical p ope ies. Also, he an alum was sugges ed o in luence he
in e acial ene gies o he sys em, yielding a s onge ha d phase skele on.
1. In oduc ion
Technically and comme cially, ce me s a e among he mos impo -
an composi e ma e ials due o hei excep ional ha dness and wea
esis ance. Because he cons i uen phases o i anium ca boni ide a e
excep ionally ha d and s able, he ce me s based on his ma e ial ha e
ex ao dina y esis ance o wea and c eep. They a e excellen op ions
o use as cu ing ools because o hese quali ies. Ca bides like TaC,
NbC, Mo
2
C, and WC, a e equen ly u ilized in milling applica ions and
in e up ed cu s o enhance cu ing pe o mance. These ca bides o m
solid-solu ion phases o mixed ca boni ides and exhibi ema kable ho
ha dness and he mal shock endu ance. [1–3].
The ha d componen o ce me s, called he mas e alloy, has a
composi ion ha de e mines bo h he p oduc ion condi ions and he
in ended applica ion’s echnical pe o mance, making i c ucial [4]. I is
widely accep ed in li e a u e [5–7] ha he o ma ion o ca boni ide
solid solu ions in e ms o e na y o qua e na y componen s uc u e is
gi en excellen pe o mance o ce me s syn hesized om he mix u e o
unalloyed ha d componen s wi h Co o Ni as binde . Ca boni ide solid
solu ions, which combine he ca bide and ni ide componen s in o a
single phase, ha e been ecommended as a way o enhance he cha -
ac e is ics o ce me s [8]. Based on Ti
y
M
T1-y
C
x
N
1-x
ca boni ides (M
T
=
Ta, Nb, Z , V) wi h a na ow size dis ibu ion and submic ome ic
cha ac e (250 nm), mechanically induced sel -sus aining eac ion
(MRS) has ecen ly been p oposed as a us wo hy and s aigh o wa d
me hod o p oducing high pu i y complex solid solu ion powde s
[9–12].
Con en ional ce amic ma e ial sin e ing me hods in ol e high
empe a u es. A high deg ee o sin e ing is achie ed by hea ing he
g een specimen o high empe a u es o p olonged pe iods in a ypical
sin e ing echnique. The sin e ed i em usually con ains la ge g ains as a
esul o hese un a o able condi ions, which eg e ably encou age
unwan ed ca bide g ain de elopmen in he p esence o me al liquids. As
a esul , he ool’s mechanical capabili ies a e educed. I is commonly
known ha a ine mic os uc u e esul s in be e mechanical quali ies
and a longe p oduc li espan.
Spa k plasma sin e ing (SPS), in compa ison o p essu eless sin e -
ing, is a no el sin e ing echnique ha applies p essu e and elec ic
cu en o he sample simul aneously [13–14]. A compa a i ely low
empe a u es (ap ox. 500 ◦C lowe han p essu eless sin e ing), and
as e hea ing a es (ap ox. 100 ◦C/min), i enables he apid consoli-
da ion o powde compac s o a high densi y. The SPS echnique has
shown p omising esul s in educing he sin e ing empe a u e while
simul aneously con olling g ain g ow h and seconda y phase o ma ion
[15–17]. I is unique o esea ching bulk nanoma e ials because o he
quick hea ing a e and po en ial o main ain he nanoscale du ing he
apid sin e ing cycle.
This s udy looked in o how he SPS se ings a ec ed he sin e ing o
powde s wi h submic ome ic g ain sizes, Ti
0,9
Ta
0,1
C
0,5
N
0,5
/Co, ha
we e p oduced ia MSR. The esul ing ce me s’ mic os uc u e and
mechanical cha ac e is ics (ha dness, ac u e oughness, ans e se
up u e s eng h (TRS), and Young’s modulus) we e assessed and con-
as ed wi h hose o he compa able cemen ed ca bides and o dina y
ce me s.
E-mail add ess: [email p o ec ed].
Con en s lis s a ailable a ScienceDi ec
In e na ional Jou nal o Re ac o y
Me als and Ha d Ma e ials
jou nal homepage: www.else ie .com/loca e/IJRMHM
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.ij mhm.2025.107094
Recei ed 4 Janua y 2025; Recei ed in e ised o m 29 Janua y 2025; Accep ed 12 Feb ua y 2025
In e na ional Jou nal o Re ac o y Me als and Ha d Ma e ials 128 (2025) 107094
A ailable online 13 Feb ua y 2025
0263-4368/© 2025 The Au ho . Published by Else ie L d. This is an open access a icle unde he CC BY license ( h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/ ).
2. Ma e ials and me hods
The Ti
0.9
Ta
0.1
C
0.5
N
0.5
solid solu ion was syn hesized by MRS, and he
desc ip ion o he syn hesis p ocedu e and cha ac e iza ion (XRD, SEM,
TEM, and image analysis) o he as-syn hesized powde s pe o med in a
p e ious esea ch [12].
The ob ained powde s we e sin e ed using SPS-1050-CE (D . Sin e ,
Japan) a 1150 ◦C unde di e en holding imes and p essu es (see
Table 1). X- ay di ac ion diag ams and Scanning Elec on Mic oscopy
images o ce me s polished su aces we e ob ained using simila pa-
ame e s as desc ibed in [18] The la ice pa ame e s, phase olume
ac ion, and ce amic s oichiome y we e de e mined om he XRD di-
ag am using he Rie eld analysis by he use o he Fullp o [19] com-
pu e p og am.
The Vicke s es was ca ied ou in a Mic oha dness FM-700 (Fu u e-
Tech. Co p) wi h a load o 49 mN, 196 mN, and 981 mN and dwell ime
anging om 5 s o 90 s a oom empe a u e. Se e al mic o-
inden a ions (12 imes) a di e en loca ions we e aken on he pol-
ished ce me o e e y un. The s a ed alue was ound om he a e age
o he measu ed alues (
σ
= ±5 %). The ac u e oughness (KIC) was
measu ed by using h ee inden a ion me hods unde an inden a ion load
o 1 kg and hey we e desc ibed below.
The pieces o lexu al es s we e cu om he spa k plasma sin e ed
cylinde s and buil in o ingo s wi h ba shapes (dimensions o 3×4×25
mm). The oom empe a u e (RT) lexu al s eng h was ca ied ou in a
h ee-poin bending a angemen , using a c osshead speed o 0.5 mm/
min and span o 20 mm (AGS-X 10kN Se ies Dual Column Elec ome-
chanical Tes F ame, Shimadzu, Japan). All samples we e g ound o
dimensions using esin-bound diamond g inding wheels and su ace
g inde s o achie e dimensional accu acy as well as good su ace
inishing.
The image analysis was ca ied ou by using he Image P o-Plus 6.0
so wa e and mic os uc u al pa ame e s we e ob ained as desc ibed in
C´
o doba e al. [20].
3. Resul s and discussion
3.1. Composi ional analysis
The phase composi ion o he sin e ed bodies was in es iga ed by
XRD analysis as shown in Fig. 1. The XRD pa e ns show he peaks
cha ac e is ic o he ce amic phase (•) and he me allic binde phases
consis ing o he in e me allics (*) Ti
x
Ta
1-x
Co
2
[Fd3m] and (○) Ti
x
Ta
1-
x
Co [Pm3m] p oduced du ing he high- empe a u e sin e ing. Table 2
desc ibes he quan i ica ion o he phases obse ed in he XRD pa e ns,
he la ice pa ame e s, he cohe en di ac ion domains, and he co -
esponding ce amic composi ion ob ained om Rie eld analysis.
As shown in Table 2, he Ti/Ta a io was somewha cons an
ega dless o he sin e ing condi ions used. Howe e , he C/N a io o
(Ti, Ta)(C, N) dec eased when he sin e ing condi ions we e s onge (C/
N a io; SPS1, 1.50, SPS2, 1.38; SPS3, 0.92; SPS4, 0.75). This ca bon loss
was a ibu ed o he ca bon dissolu ion inc easing in he binde phase.
The mos signi ican change in he binde phase con en (Table 2) is
obse ed in sample SPS4, when a p essu e o 60 MPa was used. Because
he powde con aine o he SPS is no sealed, he e was some loss o he
binde du ing he p ocess, and a smalle amoun was obse ed and
quan i ied by he composi ional analysis in compa ison wi h he o he
samples. This ac was co obo a ed by he p esence o solidi ied d op-
le s a he ou side o he con aine .
In Fig. 2 a e shown cha ac e is ic sample SEM images sin e ed unde
Table 1
Summa y o spa k plasma sin e ing condi ions.
Sample Nominal Composi ion Weigh [g] Sin e ing Pa ame e s
1
Ti
0.90
Ta
0.10
C
0.5
N
0.5
+20 %Co
4 1150 ◦C 30 MPa 120 s
2 12 1150 ◦C 30 MPa 120 s
3 12 1150 ◦C 30 MPa 480 s
4 12 1150 ◦C 60 MPa 120 s
Fig. 1. XRD pa e ns o he sin e ed ce me s by SPS. (•) Ti
x
Ta
1-x
C
y
N
1-y
[Fm3m],
(*) Ti
x
Ta
1-x
Co
2
[Fd3m], (○) Ti
x
Ta
1-x
Co [Pm3m].
Table 2
Composi ion, la ice pa ame e , cohe en di ac ion domain o he ce amic phase, and desc ip ion o e e y binde phase ound by Rie eld analysis. Fo e e y phase
he % ol. is included. The las column illus a es he goodness o i ness o e e y analysis ca ied ou .
Ce amic Phase Binde Phase
Sample Ce amic Composi ion a (Å) D [nm] % ol. Ce am Co
2
Ti(Ta) [Fd3m] [%] CoTi(Ta) [Pm3m] [%]
χ
2
SPS1 Ti
0.90
Ta
0.10
C
0.60
N
0.40
43,162 33 78,7 15,7 5,6 1,8
SPS2 Ti
0.86
Ta
0.14
C
0.58
N
0.42
43,184 67 75,2 19,0 5,8 2,2
SPS3 Ti
0.91
Ta
0.09
C
0.48
N
0.52
43,157 74 77,1 18,0 4,8 3,0
SPS4 Ti
0.92
Ta
0.08
C
0.43
N
0.57
43,170 52 86,5 11,0 2,5 2,7
Fig. 2. SEM images showing he cha ac e is ic mic os uc u e o he sin-
e ed powde s.
J.M. C´
o doba Gallego
In e na ional Jou nal o Re ac o y Me als and Ha d Ma e ials 128 (2025) 107094
2
di e en condi ions. Da a ob ained om he image analysis a e p e-
sen ed in Table 3. Quan i ica ion o he phases p esen ed on he sin e ed
samples h ough image analysis ga e esul s consis en wi h hose ob-
ained by he XRD esul s by Rie eld analysis. All he samples p esen ed
a highly dense (densi ica ion o ~98 % ±2 %, om image analysis, i e
images a simila scale we e analyzed) and uni o m mic os uc u e.
Al hough ea ly milling p oduc s con ained ypical pa icle agg ega es,
no anomalous de elopmen o g ains was de ec ed. This indica es ha
he sin e ing be ween agg ega es and ine pa icles was p e en ed by he
spa k plasma sin e ing.
Mos o he mic ome ic pa icles obse ed in samples SPS1 and SPS4
displayed a ypical co e- im mic os uc u e p o iding e idence o g ain
g ow h by dissolu ion-p ecipi a ion p ocesses despi e he low empe a-
u e and he sho esidence ime a he maximum sin e ing empe a-
u e. In con as , he co e- im mic os uc u e app ecia ed in samples
SPS2 and SPS3 is ba ely isible.
The sample SPS1 showed he highes a e age ce amic pa icle size
(Ø =2.56
μ
m), while he samples SPS2, SPS3, and SPS4 we e lowe , and
in c escendo om SPS2 o SPS4 (Ø =1.10, 1.95 and 2.28
μ
m, espec-
i ely). I is common o use an op ical py ome e ocused on he ou e
su ace o he die o measu e and con ol he empe a u e du ing SPS
expe imen s. This isn’ good enough o high hea ing a es, whe e he
SPS p ocess’s iabili y is one o i s mos e iden bene i s. I migh be
su icien o e y slow hea ing a es whe e he mal equilib ium can be
eached. Mo eo e , because hea ing is esis i e, bo h he sample’s and
he die’s conduc i i ies a ec he empe a u es inside and ou side he
sample. The e is a no iceable empe a u e di e ence be ween he sam-
ples when a low-conduc i e ma e ial is u ilized (in his example, a
composi e made o ce amic and in e me allic phases) [21]. Due o he
inc emen in mass on he samples om SPS1 o he es , he dis ance o
be a eled by he cu en is inc eased, and he e o e he esis i i y o
he sample ( esis i i y quan i ies how s ongly he ma e ial opposes he
low o elec ic cu en and i is a unc ion o he dis ance oamed). So,
he jump om 4 g (SPS1) o 12 g (SPS2, 3, and 4) inc eased he em-
pe a u e g adien , he e o e he empe a u e eached inside sample
SPS1 is highe han in he o he ones, and his e ec is shown in he
coa sening o he SPS1 ce amic g ains espec he o he samples. Also,
he o ma ion o a clea co e- im mic os uc u e in sample SPS1 (Fig. 2
(a)) co obo a ed he inside highe empe a u e eached. To o m a co e-
im mic os uc u e, a liquid phase sin e ing has o be eached du ing he
p ocess, and he e o e highe sin e ing empe a u es a e needed.
When a simila weigh was used (samples SPS2, 3, and 4) and simila
empe a u e inside he sample can be supposed, he g ain coa sening
was due o an enhancemen o he elemen di usion du ing he sin e ing
because o he inc emen in he sin e ing ime (SPS3) and p essu e
(SPS4).
Simila beha io was obse ed in e ms o con igui y and mean ee
pa h. Sample SPS1 showed he highes con igui y and lowes mean ee
pa h alues o he se o samples s udied, while samples SPS2, 3, and 4
showed an inc emen in he con igui y om SPS2(0.25) <SPS3(0.28) <
SPS4(0.32) and a dec ease in he mean ee pa h om SPS2(1.32) >
SPS3(1.27) >SPS4(1.20). As abo e, he coa sening o he g ains due o
he highe empe a u e in sample SPS1 inc eased he con ac be ween
he ce amic pa icles and he e o e he inc ease in he con igui y and he
educ ion o he mean ee pa h.
3.2. Mechanical p ope ies
In Table 3 is showed he ha dness, he ac u e oughness, he
ans e se up u e s eng h and he young’s modulus o he samples
s udied. Fig. 3 depic s SEM mic og aphs showing inden a ions c ea ed
on he su ace o he in es iga ed objec , as well as c acks eme ging om
hem, unde 1 kg o ce. Ha dness alues we e compu ed using he di-
mensions o he imp ession c ea ed on he su ace o he specimens, and
he alues epo ed in Table 3 a e he a e age o wel e uns.
The SPS4 sample showed he highes ha dness (16.0 GPa) while he
es o he samples p esen ed a mic oha dness o abou ~14 GPa. This
can be explained by he loss o binde du ing he sin e ing p ocedu e
which made he p ope combina ion o ce amic pa icle size and con-
igui y o each he highes mic oha dness in sample SPS4.
Mic oinden a ions a di e en loads (49 mN, 196 mN, and 981 mN)
we e pe o med a se e al ime uns o es ablish he s eng hening o he
ma e ial by wo k ha dening, and esul s a e p esen ed in Fig. 4. As a
esul o disloca ion mo emen s and disloca ion gene a ion wi hin he
ma e ial’s c ys al s uc u e, i is e iden ha he mic oha dness in-
c eases wi h un ime. This esis ance o disloca ion- o ma ion shows up
as a esis ance o plas ic de o ma ion, which accoun s o he obse ed
Table 3
Vicke s ha dness, con igui y and a e age ee pa hway, wi h he a e age ce amic pa icle size, ce amic olume, binde olume and po ous olume ha we e ex ac ed
om he image analysis o he selec ed samples.
Image Analysis Mechanical P ope ies
Con igui y
(C)
Mean ee
pa h (
μ
m)
Ce amic
Pa icle Size
(
μ
m)
Ce amic
Volume (%
ol)
Binde
Volume (%
ol)
Po ous
Volume (%
ol)
Sample H
(1.0)
[GPa]
K
ic
[MPam
1/
2
]*
T ans e se Rup u e
S eng h [MPa]
Young’s
Modulus
[GPa]
0,36 1,09 2,56 80 19 1 SPS114,1 6,2/5,4/
5,0 130,6 139,7
0,25 1,32 1,10 78 21 1 SPS214,4 8,5/8,0/
7,9 448,6 324,1
0,28 1,27 1,95 80 19 1 SPS314,6 7,4/7,0/
7,1 546,0 402,7
0,32 1,20 2,28 85 14 1 SPS416,0 6,7/5,1/
6,0 522,3 318,4
*
Re , [22,23], [24,25].
Fig. 3. Cha ac e is ic SEM mic og aphs o mic oinden a ion ma ks ca ied ou
on polished su ace o he sin e ed samples.
J.M. C´
o doba Gallego
In e na ional Jou nal o Re ac o y Me als and Ha d Ma e ials 128 (2025) 107094
3
s eng hening. F om he slope o he lineal i ing o he da a, he
ha dening o he ma e ial as a unc ion o ime is p esen ed o e e y
s udied sample o e e y load in Fig. 5. A highe load lowe ha dening
a e was obse ed. A highe load, he a ea unde he inden a ion ip is
bigge and he numbe o disloca ions, which con ibu es o he
s eng hening, pe uni a ea was lowe han when low load was used.
F ac u e oughness has been e alua ed o each sample using Eqs.
(1)–(3). The esul s ob ained a e shown in Table 3, whe e sligh di e -
ences in he calcula ed K
ic
can be seen depending on he exp ession used.
(She y e al.) [22,23]
KIC(P) = 0,0319×(P
a×
∑l
√)(1)
(Shube e al) [24]
KIC(S) = 0,0028×
H ×P×∑l
√(2)
(E ans and Cha les e al.) [25]
KIC(EC) = 0,16×H ×
a
√
(c
a)
3
/
2
(3)
whe e K
ic
[M Pa m
1/2
], P: load [N], l: c ack leng h: [mm], H
: ha dness
[N/mm
2
], a: hal -diagonal [mm] and c: c ack+hal diagonal [mm]. I
should be no ed a his poin ha he equa ion o Schube e al. [24] was
de i ed om ha o She y e al. [22,23], and can be deduced by
adjus ing he uni s and expe imen al pa ame e s. E en so, in ou case i
was used as a way o in oducing di e en expe imen al pa ame e s in o
an equa ion o ob ain K
IC,
and be able o compa e he da a ob ained wi h
di e en expe imen al c i e ia. Finally, in his way, o K
IC
compa ison,
while he E ans and Cha les equa ion, which was o med in he p e ious
decade, was p oduced o ma e ials in gene al, he She y and Shube
equa ions we e cons uc ed o composi e ma e ials, such as cemen ed
ca bides (WC-Co), simila o he ma e ial p esen ed in his wo k.
The a e age K
ic
alues ob ained om he equa ions used can be
summa ized as; SPS1, 5.6; SPS2, 8.1; SPS3, 7.1 and SPS4, 5.9. These
alues a e closely ela ed o he a e age g ain size and he mean ee
pa h. The smalle he g ain size o highe he mean ee pa h is, he
g ea e he ac u e oughness. The olume pe cen age o g ain bo de s
o in e aces g ows signi ican ly wi h dec easing g ain size o inc easing
mean ee pa h. In ma e ials such as in e me allic compounds and ce-
amics, which a e usually ex emely s ong bu e y b i le, educing he
g ain size o inc easing he mean ee pa h inc emen p omo es duc ili y
by inc easing he p obabili y o g ain bounda y sliding. Pe o mance
gains and a la ge p ocessing ad an age a e p o ided by his.
The TRS and Young’s modulus de e mined a oom empe a u e o
he s udied samples a e p esen ed in Table 3. A cons an sin e ing
empe a u e, he oughe is he sin e ing condi ions (highe ime o
highe applied p essu e), he g ea e is he TRS. Samples SPS3 and SPS4
showed he highes combina ion o TRS and Young’s modulus in com-
pa ison wi h samples SPS1 and SPS2, showing he sample SPS1 he
lowes alues o all s udied samples.
The ema kable inc emen in TRS and Young’s modulus om sample
SPS1 o samples SPS2, SPS3, and SPS4 can be explained in e ms o
con igui y and mean ee pa h. The highe he mean ee pa h and lowe
Fig. 4. Mic oha dness e sus ime o he inden a ion un showing he inc emen in he mic oha dness o he sample by wo king ha dening.
Fig. 5. Ha dening a e (GPa/s) e sus inden a ion load.
J.M. C´
o doba Gallego
In e na ional Jou nal o Re ac o y Me als and Ha d Ma e ials 128 (2025) 107094
4
he con igui y is, he g ea e he TRS and Young’s modulus a e [26,27].
The combina ion o alues o ce amic pa icle size, con igui y and mean
ee pa h made o he sample SPS3 is he bes ma ch o ha e he highes
TRS alue.
Cha ac e is ics SEM image o a ac u e su ace o sample SPS3 is
p esen ed in Fig. 6. In Fig. 6(a), a seconda y elec ons image shows he
opog aphy o he ac u e su ace, and in Fig. 6(b), a backsca e ing
elec on image shows he phase dis ibu ion associa ed wi h he
di e en con as s. The ac u e su ace obse ed o s udied ce me s
showed mainly a ypical ans-g anula ac u e. This kind o ac u e
mechanism showed he high adhesion be ween he ce amic phase and
he in e me allic phase. I is sugges ed ha an alum p esence in lu-
enced he in e acial ene gies o he sys em, yielding a s onge ha d
phase sca olding.
The ce me ac u e su aces become ine and he a io o in e -
g anula ac u e inc eases o some ex en wi h he inc easing o ine
ce amic g ins con en (Fig. 6, igh op). I is e iden ha he me al
binde is s ill co e ing he g ains on he ac u e su ace, displaying
dimples.
The ollowing desc ibes he oughening mechanisms: he p esence o
co eless g ains (samples SPS2 and SPS3) can be hough o be ad an-
ageous o he ce me s’ oughness. I is simple o p omo e mo e ac u e
o ma ion a he in e ace be ween he co e and im since he bonding
o ce he e is weake han ha o he homogeneous g ain (samples SPS1
and SPS4). I implies ha highe ac u e oughness is achie ed by
ce me s wi h a single phase and no co e/ im in e ac ion [28,29].
In compa ison wi h o he epo s [30] whe e an alum p esence
wo sens he mechanical p ope ies, he spa k plasma sin e ing ech-
nique has p o en o o m an adequa e en i onmen o he ob aining o
sin e ed bodies wi h ou s anding mechanical p ope ies.
4. Conclusions
The e ec s o SPS pa ame e s on mic os uc u e and mechanical
p ope ies o Ti
0.9
Ta
0.1
C
0.5
N
0.5
/Co-based ce me s we e in es iga ed and
he conclusions ob ained in his s udy can be summa ized as ollows:
(i) Highly densi ied p oduc s we e ob ained independen ly o he
condi ions used.
(ii) The bes combina ion o mechanical p ope ies and homogeneous
mic os uc u e was ob ained when sin e ing ime was held o 8
min a 30 MPa and 1150 ◦C.
(iii) Ha dening a e was quan i ied as a unc ion o he mic oha dness
e sus un ime.
Conside ing he simplici y o he composi ions, hese ce me s
showed g ea po en ial o u u e applica ions. The p esence o an alum
is hough o ha e a posi i e e ec on he g ain and/o phase bo de s. I
is p oposed ha an alum a ec s he sys em’s in e acial ene gies,
esul ing in he p oduc ion o an in e me allic binde and a s onge ha d
phase skele on.
CRediT au ho ship con ibu ion s a emen
Jos´
e Manuel C´
o doba Gallego: W i ing – e iew & edi ing, W i ing
– o iginal d a , Visualiza ion, Valida ion, Supe ision, So wa e, Re-
sou ces, P ojec adminis a ion, Me hodology, In es iga ion, Fo mal
analysis, Da a cu a ion, Concep ualiza ion.
Decla a ion o compe ing in e es
The au ho s decla e ha hey ha e no known compe ing inancial
in e es s o pe sonal ela ionships ha could ha e appea ed o in luence
he wo k epo ed in his pape .
Acknowledgmen s
I would like o hank An onia Gallego C´
a denas and Jos´
e F ancisco
C´
o doba Sosa o hei unwa e ing s eng h and suppo , o always
pushing me o mo e o wa d e en in he mos di icul and haza dous
si ua ions.
Da a a ailabili y
No da a was used o he esea ch desc ibed in he a icle.
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