Microstructure and mechanical properties of ZrC-W-Cu composites prepared <i>via</i> gas pressure infiltration

Abstract

In order to improve the performance of tungsten copper infiltration materials to adapt to the development of advanced propulsion technology, ZrC powder and W powder were adopted as raw materials to prepare ZrC-W framework by pressureless sintering process and the pressure infiltration of ZrC-W framework was conducted by pressure infiltration to prepare ZrC-W-Cu composites. The effect of ZrC content(volume fraction,the same below) on the porosity, compression strength, and microstructure as well as mechanical properties of ZrC-W-Cu composites were investigated. The results show that with the increase of ZrC content, the open porosity of ZrC-W framework increases first and then decreases, reaching the maximum value(29.77%) when ZrC content is 4%. The compressive strength of ZrC-W framework decreases with the increase of ZrC content, for which the compressive strength is lower than that of W framework. With the increase of ZrC content, the Vickers hardness of ZrC-W-Cu composites gradually increases and reaches 3.26 GPa when ZrC content is 15%. The elastic modulus remains unchanged basically, while the fracture toughness first increases and then decreases with the increase of ZrC content. The flexural strength reaches the maximum value up to 1243 MPa when ZrC content is 4%.

Keywords

• zrc-w composite
• tungsten-copper composite
• microstructure
• mechanical property