Mechanical properties and grain orientation evolution of zirconium diboride-zirconium carbide ceramics

Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Yellow ZrN Ceramic with Addition of Solid Solution of TiN

As a superhard ceramic with a yellow color and excellent electrical conductivity, ZrN has potential applications in the field of decoration, but it is limited by its poor mechanical properties. In this work, the mechanical properties of ZrN ceramic were improved by forming a (Zr, Ti)N solid solution via spark plasma sintering of a ZrN and TiN powder mixture. The influences of the amount of TiN additive on the sinterability, microstructure, color, and mechanical properties of ZrN ceramic were investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and microstructural images indicated that Ti atoms dissolved into a ZrN lattice, and a (Zr, Ti)N solid solution was formed during the sintering process. When the content of TiN was 10 vol%, the obtained (Zr, Ti)N composite exhibited the best comprehensive mechanical properties; the Vickers hardness, flexural strength, and fracture toughness were 15.17 GPa, 520 MPa, and 6.03 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. The color coordinates and color temperature diagram revealed the addition of TiN hardly impacted the color performance of the ZrN ceramic.

A study of mechanical properties and WEDM machinability of spark plasma sintered ZrB2-B4C ceramic composites

Four different compositions of ZrB₂-B₄C composites (i.e., 5, 15, 20, 25 Wt. % of B₄C) were fabricated by Spark Plasma Sintering Technique (SPS) at 2000 °C temperature. The composites were characterized by the evolution of physical and mechanical properties; X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis was also done for phase analysis of the composites. The relative density values were obtained in the range of 96.14-97.78 % of all the composites. The addition of B₄C in ZrB₂ matrix led to an enhancement in hardness (15.38 GPa at 5 wt.% B₄C to 20.49 GPa at 25 wt.% B₄C measured at 1.0 kgf load) and fracture toughness (from 2.93 MPa-m^0.5 at 5 wt.% B₄C to 4.13 MPa-m^0.5 at 25 wt.% B₄C measured at 1.0 kgf load). The composite samples were processed by wire electrical discharge machining (WEDM) process with three different parameters set for the study of machining speed, surface roughness. The composite with 25 wt.% of B₄C shows highest machining speed of 10.56 mm²/min. The average surface roughness (R_a) of the WEDM processed composite surfaces lies in the range of 1.26-5.64 μm.

Manufacturing ZrB2-SiC-TaC Composite: Potential Application for Aircraft Wing Assessed by Frequency Analysis through Finite Element Model

This study presents a new ultra-high temperature composite fabricated by using zirconium diboride (ZrB₂), silicon carbide (SiC), and tantalum carbide (TaC) with the volume ratios of 70%, 20%, and 10%, respectively. To attain this novel composite, an advanced processing technique of spark plasma sintering (SPS) was applied to produce ZrB₂-SiC-TaC. The SPS manufacturing process was achieved under pressure of 30 MPa, at 2000 °C for 5 min. The micro/nanostructure and mechanical characteristics of the composite were clarified using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and nano-indentation. For further investigations of the product and its characteristics, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were undertaken, and the main constituting components were provided. The composite was densified to obtain a fully-dense ternary; the oxide pollutions were wiped out. The mean values of 23,356; 403.5 GPa; and 3100 °C were obtained for the rigidity, elastic modulus, and thermal resistance of the ZrB₂-SiC-TaC interface, respectively. To explore the practical application of the composite, the natural frequency of an aircraft wing considering three cases of materials: i) with a leading edge made of ZrB₂-SiC-TaC; ii) the whole wing made of ZrB₂-SiC-TaC; and iii) the whole wing made of aluminum 2024-T3 were investigated employing a numerical finite element model (FEM) tool ABAQUS and compared with that of a wing of traditional materials. The precision of the method was verified by performing static analysis to obtain the responses of the wing including total deformation, equivalent stress, and strain. A comparison study of the results of this study and published literature clarified the validity of the FEM analysis of the current research. The composite produced in this study significantly can improve the vibrational responses and structural behavior of the aircraft's wings.