Journal of the American Ceramic Society, Vol.85, No.5, 1285-1290, 2002
Microstructural evolution of titanium carbide-chromium carbide (TiC-Cr3C2) composites produced via combustion synthesis
A microstructural analysis of compounds produced by combustion synthesis coupled with hot pressing, for reactions between titanium, chromium, and carbon, was conducted. The reactions were aimed to produce composites of Cr3C2 and TiC at three different volume fractions of each carbide (25/75, 50150, and 75/25). Large amounts of chromium and carbon were found to be in solution in the B1 rock-salt structure of TiC. The materials with 25 and 50 vol% of Cr3C2 consisted of 100% (Ti,Cr)C-ss solid solution, while the composition with 75 vol% Cr3C2 was formed by Cr3C2 + (Ti,Cr)C-ss. Some precipitation of Cr3C2 was achieved by annealing, but a minimum of 20 wt% was always in solution. The 50 vol% Cr3C2-50 vol% TiC composition was the most affected by the heat treatments. Discontinuous and general precipitation were observed, depending on the annealing conditions. A TTT-type diagram was plotted for this material.