Microstructural evolution and mechanical properties of Nb-Si-Cr ternary alloys with a tri-phase Nb/Nb5Si3/Cr2Nb microstructure fabricated by spark plasma sintering

In this work, pure Nb, Nb₅Si₃ and Laves Cr₂Nb compound powders were used as raw materials to prepare Nb-Si-Cr ternary alloys by spark plasma sintering (SPS). A comprehensive estimation of the microstructure and properties, including room temperature fracture toughness, high temperature strength and oxidation resistance, of the Nb-Si-Cr ternary alloys as a function of the Nb/Nb₅Si₃/Cr₂Nb phase volume fraction combinations was conducted. The results showed that Nb-Si-Cr ternary samples with the relative density larger than 98.42% were obtained by SPS processing, and the samples all consisted of Nb, Nb₅Si₃ and Cr₂Nb phases that were distributed homogeneously. The fracture toughness K_Q of the Nb/Nb₅Si₃/Cr₂Nb microstructure, which was dominated by the Nb phase, naturally increased with the Nb fraction. As expected, the room-temperature Vickers hardness and the high-temperature strength of the bulk alloys increased monotonically with the increasing of the stiffening Nb₅Si₃ fraction. Interestingly, the binary Cr₂Nb phase played a positive role in the high temperature strength and oxidation resistance. Finally, the fracture modes of the typical Nb/Nb₅Si₃/Cr₂Nb microstructures under bending and compression conditions at room and high temperatures as well as the oxidation mechanism are described and discussed.