Comprehensive research on microwave sintering of the TiN–20 wt.% TiB2 and TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4 composites was conducted. At a constant microwave power of 900 W, the TiN–20 wt.% TiB2 composite could be effectively consolidated to a residual porosity of 9% at 1370°C and the TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4 composite to a residual porosity of 6% at 1407°C. A comparative analysis of the composites consolidated by conventional sintering in a resistance furnace at 50 °C/min to 1550°C revealed that they had residual porosity greater than 25%. The microwave-sintered samples showed dense areas of predominantly spherical shape (D ~ 5 μm) formed by titanium nitride and titanium diboride phases. This zonal segregation of dense areas to form TiN and TiB2 spherical agglomerates was due to heterogeneous distribution of the electromagnetic field throughout the multimode microwave oven, leading to locally overheated areas within the materials being processed. The structural features of the TiN–20 wt.% TiB2 and TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4 composites were found to influence their mechanical and tribological properties. The measured hardness of the TiN–20 wt.% TiB2 composite was 19.5 ± 1.1 GPa and that of the TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4 composite was 19.8 ± ± 0.8 GPa. Wear resistance tests of the composites in friction against the VK6 hardmetal showed quite high tribological properties: linear wear rates of 12.5 μm/km (TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4) and 11.3 μm/km (TiN–20 wt.% TiB2) and friction coefficients of 0.43 and 0.26, respectively. A comparative analysis of the TiN–20 wt.% TiB2 and TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4 composites consolidated by microwave and conventional sintering allowed the conclusion that a uniform fine-grained structure, which would enhance the mechanical and tribological properties, could be produced by increasing the microwave sintering rate in the 600–1500°C range to 50 °C/min and above and using hybrid microwave heating.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
D. Kandaswamy, A.C. Krithika, and E.S. Sathish, “Wear analysis of nano ceramic composites against a ceramic antagonist,” J. Conserv. Dent., 9, No. 4, 152–158 (2006).
M. Herrmann and S. Somiya, “Ceramic bearings and seals,” in: Handbook of Advanced Ceramics: Materials, Applications, Processing, and Properties, Academic Press (2013), pp. 301–328.
M.S. Rayat, S.S. Gill, and R. Singh, “Fabrication and machining of ceramic composites—A review on current scenario,” Mater. Manuf. Proc., 32, Issue 13, 1451–1474 (2017).
A.V. Ragulya and V.V. Skorokod, Consolidated Nanostructured Materials [in Russian], Naukova Dumka, Kyiv (2007), p. 376.
J. Njuguna, Structural Nanocomposites: Perspectives for Future Applications, Springer, Berlin (2014), p. 269.
M. Herrmann, Z. Shen, I. Schulz, H. Jianfeng, and J. Bostjan, “Silicon nitride nanoceramics densified by dynamic grain sliding,” J. Mater. Res., 25, No. 12, 2354–2361 (2010).
J. Tatami, E. Kodama, H. Watanabe, H. Nakano, T. Wakihara, K. Komeya, T. Meguro, and A. Azushima, “Fabrication and wear properties of TiN nanoparticle-dispersed Si3N4 ceramics,” J. Ceram. Soc. Jpn., 116, No. 1354, 749–754 (2008).
R.M. Radha and K.S. Apurbba, “Microwave–material interaction phenomena: Heating mechanisms, challenges and opportunities in material processing,” Composites Part A. Appl. Sci. Manuf., 6, 78–97 (2016).
Yu.V. Bykov, S.V. Egorov, A.G. Eremeev, V.V. Kholoptsev, I.V. Plotnikov, K.I. Rybakov, V.E. Semenov, and A.A. Sorokin, “Effects of microwave heating in nanostructured ceramic materials,” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 49, No. 1–2, 31–41 (2010).
M. Oghbaei and O. Mirzaee, “Microwave versus conventional sintering: A review of fundamentals, advantages and applications,” J. Alloys Compd., No. 494, 175–189 (2010).
S. Das, A.K. Mukhopadhyay, S. Datta, and D. Basu, “Prospects of microwave processing: An overview,” Bull. Mater. Sci., 32, No. 1, 1–13 (2009).
S. Chandrasekaran, S. Ramanathan, and T. Basak, “Microwave material processing—A review,” AIChE J., 582, 330–363 (2012).
D. Agrawal and Z.Z. Fang, “Microwave sintering of ceramics, composites and metal powders,” in: Sintering of Advanced Materials, Woodhead Publishing, UK (2010), pp. 222–248.
A.V. Ragulya and O.B. Zgalat-Lozynskyy, “Densification kinetics and structural evolution during microwave and pressureless sintering of 15 nm titanium nitride powder,” Nanoscale Res. Lett., No. 11, 1–9 (2016).
O.I. Get’man, V.V. Panichkina, L.N. Paritskaya, V.V. Skorokhod, A.V. Samelyuk, Yu.V. Bykov, and A.G. Eremeev, “Effect of microwave heating on the mass transfer, phase formation, and microstructural transformations in the Y2O3–Al2O3 diffusion couple,” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 53, No. 1–2, 8–18 (2014).
O.I. Getman, V.V. Holoptsev, V.V. Panichkina, I.V. Plotnikov, and V.K. Soolshenko, “Mechanical properties of microwave sintered Si3N4-based ceramics,” Sci. Sintering, 34, 223–229 (2002).
K. Rajeswari, U.S. Hareesh, and R. Subasri, “Comparative evaluation of spark plasma (SPS), microwave (MWS), two stage sintering (TSS) and conventional sintering (CRH) on the densification and microstructural evolution of fully stabilized zirconia ceramics,” Sci. Sintering, No. 42, 259–267 (2010).
O.B. Zgalat-Lozynskyy, N.I. Tischenko, V.T. Varchenko, A. Ragulya, M. Andrzejczuk, and A. Polotai, “Tribological behavior of Si3N4-based nanocomposites,” Tribol. Int., No. 91, 85–93 (2015).
O.B. Zgalat-Lozinskii, “Nanocomposites based on refractory compounds, consolidated by rate-controlled and spark-plasma sintering (Review),” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 53, No. 1–2, 19–30 (2014).
O.B. Zgalat-Lozynskyy, A.V. Ragulya, M. Herrmann, M. Andrzejczuk, and A. Polotai, “Structure and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered TiN-based nanocomposites,” Arch. Metall. Mater., 57, Issue 3, 853–858 (2012).
V.G. Kolesnichenko, O.B. Zgalat-Lozinskii, V.T. Varchenko, M. Herrmann, and A.V. Ragulya, “Friction and wear of TiN–Si3N4 nanocomposites against ShKh15 steel,” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 53, No. 11–12, 680–687 (2015).
K. Mettaya, I. Akihiko, and G. Takashi, “Spark plasma sintering of TiN–TiB2 composites,” J. Eur. Ceram. Soc., 34, 197–203 (2014).
O.B. Zgalat-Lozinskii, “Structure of Si3N4–Y2O3–Al2O3 and TiN–AlN composites consolidated in microwaves (2.45 GHz),” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 54, No. 1–2, 60–66 (2015).
C.-C. Liu and J.-L. Huang, “Influence of TiN particles on the wear behavior of silicon nitride-based composites,” J. Mater. Res., 19, Issue 2, 542–549 (2004).
K.S. Apurbba and R.M. Radha, “Role of particle size in microwave processing of metallic material systems,” Mater. Sci. Technol., 34, No. 2, 123–137 (2018).
Y. Zhen-Lin, O. Jia-Hu, L. Zhan-Guo, and L. Xue-Song, “Wear mechanisms of TiN–TiB2 ceramic in sliding against alumina from room temperature to 700°C,” Ceram. Int., 36, 2129–2135 (2010).
O.B. Zgalat-Lozinskii, V.G. Kolesnichenko, M.V. Zamula, L.V. Solyanik, V.V. Garbuz, L.A. Klochkov, N.V. Dubovitskaya, and A.V. Ragulya, “Thermochemical microwave treatment of refractory nanopowders,” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 52, No. 3–4, 137–143 (2013).
O.B. Zgalat-Lozynskyy, “Microwave sintering of nanocrystalline titanium nitride powder,” Nanostrukt. Materialoved., No. 3–4, 65–72 (2013).
L. Mingshuang, H. Chuanzhen, Z. Bin, H. Liu, J. Wang, and Z. Liu, “Crack-healing behavior of Al2O3–TiB2–TiSi2 ceramic material,” Ceram. Int., 44, 2132–2137 (2018).
K. Young-Hag, L. Seung-Yong, and K. Hyoun-Ee, “Oxidation behavior of titanium boride at elevated temperatures,” J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 84, No. 1, 239–241 (2001).
V.G. Kolesnichenko, V.P. Popov, O.B. Zgalat-Lozinskii, L.A. Klochkov, T.F. Lobunets, A.I. Raichenko, and A.V. Ragulya, “Field assisted sintering of nanocrystalline titanium nitride powder,” Powder Metall. Met. Ceram., 50, No. 3–4, 157–166 (2011).
S.G. Kostrogryz and V.V. Mysliborskii, “Self-oscillation in friction contact (approximate calculation),” Probl. Tribol., No. 2, 62–68 (2017).
Acknowledgements
The research effort was funded within the Ukrainian–Indian Project ‘Research and Development of Microwave Composites with Increased Wear Resistance’. The authors thank K. Sempf (Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), Dresden), V.G. Kolesnichenko (Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science, Kyiv), and A.V. Samelyuk (Frantsevich Institute for Problems of Materials Science, Kyiv) for assistance in examining the samples.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Poroshkova Metallurgiya, Vol. 59, Nos. 11–12 (536), pp. 3–14, 2020.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zgalat-Lozynskyy, O.B., Apurbba, K.S., Yehorov, I.I. et al. Wear-Resistant TiN–20 wt.% Si3N4 and TiN–20 wt.% TiB2 Composites Produced by Microwave Sintering. Powder Metall Met Ceram 59, 611–620 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11106-021-00196-3
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11106-021-00196-3