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Microstructure Development, Nanomechanical, and Dynamic Compression Properties of Spark Plasma Sintered TiB2-Ti-Based Homogeneous and Bi-layered Composites

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Abstract

The growing threats due to increased use of small-caliber armor piercing projectiles demand the development of new light-weight body armor materials. In this context, TiB2 appears to be a promising ceramic material. However, poor sinterability and low fracture toughness remain two major issues for TiB2. In order to address these issues together, Ti as a sinter-aid is used to develop TiB2-(x wt pct Ti), (x = 10, 20) homogeneous composites and a bi-layered composite (BLC) with each layer having Ti content of 10 and 20 wt pct. The present study uniquely demonstrates the efficacy of two-stage spark plasma sintering route to develop dense TiB2-Ti composites with an excellent combination of nanoscale hardness (~36 GPa) and indentation fracture toughness (~12 MPa m1/2). In case of BLC, these properties are not compromised w.r.t. homogeneous composites, suggesting the retention of baseline material properties even in the bi-layer design due to optimal relief of residual stresses. The better indentation toughness of TiB2-(10 wt pct Ti) and TiB2-(20 wt pct Ti) composites can be attributed to the observed crack deflection/arrest, indicating better damage tolerance. Transmission electron microscope investigation reveals the presence of dense dislocation networks and deformation twins in α-Ti at the grain boundaries and triple pockets, surrounded by TiB2 grains. The dynamic strength of around 4 GPa has been measured using Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar tests in a reproducible manner at strain rates of the order of 600 s−1. The damage progression under high strain rate has been investigated by acquiring real time images for the entire test duration using ultra-high speed imaging. An attempt has been made to establish microstructure-property correlation and a simple analysis based on Mohr–Coulomb theory is used to rationalize the measured strength properties.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Defence Research and Development Organization, India for financial support and Department of Science and Technology, India to procure SPS facility at IIT Kanpur. The financial support of Department of Science and Technology (FIST) for the high speed camera used in this study is acknowledged. We also acknowledge the Thematic Unit of Excellence on Soft Nanofabrication with Applications in Energy, Environment and Bioplatforms at IIT Kanpur for the SEM facility. We also acknowledge Mr. B. Sunilkumar and Mr. Ravikumar K. of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Mr. Manoj of IIT Kanpur for extending their help during the experimentations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India

    Neha Gupta (Post Doctoral Fellow)

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, Kanpur, 208016, India

    Venkitanarayanan Parameswaran (Professor)

  3. Materials Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, 560012, India

    Bikramjit Basu (Associate Professor)

  4. Aerospace Engineering, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, 560012, India

    Neha Gupta (Post Doctoral Fellow)

Authors
  1. Neha Gupta
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  2. Venkitanarayanan Parameswaran
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  3. Bikramjit Basu
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Correspondence to Bikramjit Basu.

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Manuscript submitted December 18, 2013.

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Gupta, N., Parameswaran, V. & Basu, B. Microstructure Development, Nanomechanical, and Dynamic Compression Properties of Spark Plasma Sintered TiB2-Ti-Based Homogeneous and Bi-layered Composites. Metall Mater Trans A 45, 4646–4664 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11661-014-2383-1

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