Effect of sintering parameters on the microstructure and thermal conductivity of diamond/Cu composites prepared by high pressure and high temperature infiltration

Pure Cu composites reinforced with diamond particles were fabricated by a high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) infiltration technique. Their microstructural evolution and thermal conductivity were presented as a function of sintering parameters (temperature, pressure, and time). The improvement in interfacial bonding strength and the maximum thermal conductivity of 750 W/(m·K) were achieved at the optimal sintering parameters of 1200℃, 6 GPa and 10 min. It is found that the thermal conductivity of the composites depends strongly on sintering pressure. When the sintering pressure is above 6 GPa, the diamond skeleton is detected, which greatly contributes to the excellent thermal conductivity.     

Selective interfacial bonding and thermal conductivity of diamond/Cu-alloy composites prepared by HPHT technique

Cu-based and Cu-alloy-based diamond composites were made by high-pressure-high-temperature (HPHT) sintering with the aim of maximizing the thermal conductivity of the composites. Improvements in interfacial bonding strength and thermo-physical properties of the composites were achieved using an atomized copper alloy with minor additions of Co, Cr, B, and Ti. The thermal conductivity (TC) obtained exhibited as high as 688 W·m-1·K-1, but also as low as 325 W·m-1·K-1. A large variation in TC can be rationalized by the discrepancy of diamond-matrix interfacial bonding. It was found from fractography that preferential bonding between diamond and the Cu-alloy matrix occurred only on the diamond {100} faces. EDS analysis and Raman spectra suggested that selective interfacial bonding may be attributed to amorphous carbon increasing the wettability between diamond and the Cu-alloy matrix. Amorphous carbon was found to significantly affect the TC of the composite by interface modification.     

Effect of sintering on the relative density of Cr-coated diamond/Cu composites prepared by spark plasma sintering

Cr-coated diamond/Cu composites were prepared by spark plasma sintering. The effects of sintering pressure, sintering temperature, sintering duration, and Cu powder particle size on the relative density and thermal conductivity of the composites were investigated in this paper. The influence of these parameters on the properties and microstructures of the composites was also discussed. The results show that the relative density of Cr-coated diamond/Cu reaches ~100% when the composite is gradually compressed to 30 MPa during the heating process. The densification temperature increases from 880 to 915℃ when the diamond content is increased from 45vol% to 60vol%. The densification temperature does not increase further when the content reaches 65vol%. Cu powder particles in larger size are beneficial for increasing the relative density of the composite.     

Spark plasma and microwave sintering of Al6061 and Al2124 alloys

Despite the importance of aluminum alloys as candidate materials for applications in aerospace and automotive industries, very little work has been published on spark plasma and microwave processing of aluminum alloys. In the present work, the possibility was explored to process Al2124 and Al6061 alloys by spark plasma and microwave sintering techniques, and the microstructures and properties were compared. The alloys were sintered for 20 min at 400, 450, and 500℃. It is found that compared to microwave sintering, spark plasma sintering is an effective way to obtain homogenous, dense, and hard alloys. Fully dense (100%) Al6061 and Al2124 alloys were obtained by spark plasma sintering for 20 min at 450 and 500℃, respectively. Maximum relative densities were achieved for Al6061 (92.52%) and Al2124 (93.52%) alloys by microwave sintering at 500℃ for 20 min. The Vickers microhardness of spark plasma sintered samples increases with the increase of sintering temperature from 400 to 500℃, and reaches the values of Hv 70.16 and Hv 117.10 for Al6061 and Al2124 alloys, respectively. For microwave sintered samples, the microhardness increases with the increase of sintering temperature from 400 to 450℃, and then decreases with the further increase of sintering temperature to 500℃.     

Effects of boron on the microstructure and thermal properties of Cu/diamond composites prepared by pressure infiltration

Diamond reinforced copper (Cu/diamond) composites were prepared by pressure infiltration for their application in thermal management where both high thermal conductivity and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) are important. They were characterized by the microstructure and thermal properties as a function of boron content, which is used for matrix-alloying to increase the interfacial bonding between the diamond and copper. The obtained composites show high thermal conductivity (>660 W/(m·K)) and low CET (<7.4×10-6 K-1) due to the formation of the B₁₃C₂ layer at the diamond-copper interface, which greatly strengthens the interfacial bonding. Thermal property measurements indicate that in the Cu-B/diamond composites, the thermal conductivity and the CTE show a different variation trend as a function of boron content, which is attributed to the thickness and distribution of the interfacial carbide layer. The CTE behavior of the present composites can be well described by Kerner’s model, especially for the composites with 0.5wt% B.     

Si对无压浸渗SiCp/Al复合材料显微组织与热导率的影响

研究了Al-8Mg基体中添加Si对无压浸渗SiCp/Al复合材料显微组织和热导率的影响.结果表明,Si能够改善Al与SiC的润湿性,减少复合材料孔隙度,抑制界面反应,提高相对密度.不含Si时,Al与SiC界面反应严重,并且润湿性较差,导致复合材料的热导率和相对密度较低;当基体中添加质量分数12%的Si时,界面反应受到完全抑制,热导率取得最大值;进一步提高基体中Si含量,由于铝基体的热导率随Si含量的增加而降低,导致复合材料的热导率也随之降低.     

Studies on the effects of pre-firing and sintering temperature on NSDC nanocomposite electrolytes

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) technology, with fuel flexibility, is one of the most promising power generation technology. However, the high operating temperature of SOFCs has hindered their commercial applications. As a crucial requirement to enhance its performance, SOFCs electrolytes should operate at a low temperature. Carbonate/ceria composites are developed as electrolytes for low operating temperature SOFCs, and a better understanding of the mechanism of its ionic conductivity serves this purpose. In this work, ceria-carbonate composite electrolyte, Na₂CO₃/samarium doped ceria (NSDC) were synthesized by the co-precipitation method. The synthesized electrolytes were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The XRD and SEM results showed that the sintered NSDC nanocomposite comprised a single-phase dense electrolyte structure. The crystallite size of the NSDC nanocomposite was greatly affected by the different pre-firing temperatures and different sintering temperatures. Also, the ionic conductivity of the prepared NSDC nanocomposite electrolytes was strongly dependent on the pre-firing and sintering temperatures. The NSDC nanocomposite electrolytes were pre-fired at 950 ?°C and 650 ?°C and sintered at 1200 ?°C and 900 ?°C respectively, had ionic conductivity in H₂ and air high as 0.36 ?S/cm and 0.3 ?S/cm.     

Low temperature spark plasma sintering of TC4/HA composites

Ti6Al4V/hydroxyapatite composites(TC4/HA) have been prepared by high energy ball milling and low temperature spark plasma sintering at 600 °C, 550 °C, 500 °C and 450 °C, respectively. The sintering temperature of the composites was sharply decreased as the result of the activation and sur fi cial modi fi cation effects induced from high energy ball milling. The decomposition and reaction of hydroxyapatite was successfully avoided, which offers the composites superior biocompatibility. The hydroxyapatite in the composites was distributed in gap uniformly, and formed an ideal network structure. The lowest hardness, compressive strength and Young's modulus of the composites satisfy the requirements of human bone.     

镀钨碳纳米管增强铜基复合材料的制备及性能

采用羰基热分解法对多壁碳纳米管表面进行镀钨处理,并以镀钨碳纳米管和电解铜粉为原料,进行机械球磨混粉和放电等离子体烧结,制备了镀钨碳纳米管/铜基复合材料.采用场发射扫描电镜观察了粉体和复合材料的组织形貌,并对复合材料物相进行了X射线衍射分析.探讨了镀钨碳纳米管含量和放电等离子体烧结温度对复合材料致密度、抗拉强度、延伸率和电导率的影响.结果表明,镀钨碳纳米管质量分数为1%和烧结温度为850℃时,复合材料的致密度、抗拉强度和电导率最高.与烧结纯铜相比,复合材料的抗拉强度提高了103.6%,电导率仅降低15.9%.     

Fabrication and thermal conductivity of copper matrix composites reinforced by tungsten-coated carbon nanotubes

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were coated by tungsten using metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Magnetic stirring was employed to disperse the W-coated CNTs (W-CNTs) in a Cu matrix, and then, the mixed powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The W-CNTs obtained a uniform dispersion within the Cu matrix when the W-CNT content was less than 5.0vol%, but high content of W-CNTs (10vol%) resulted in the presence of clusters. The W-CNT/Cu composites containing low content of W-CNTs (<5.0vol%) exhibited a higher thermal conductivity than the sintered pure Cu, while the CNT/Cu composites exhibited no increase in thermal conductivity after the incorporation of uncoated CNTs. The W-CNT content was found to play a crucial role in determining the thermal conductivity of the W-CNT/Cu composites. The thermal conductivity of the W-CNT/Cu composites increased first and then decreased with the W-CNT content increasing. When the W-CNT content was 2.5vol%, the W-CNT/Cu composite obtained the maximum value of thermal conductivity. The thermal resistance of the (W-CNT)-Cu interface was predicted in terms of Maxwell-Garnett effective medium approximation, and its calculated value was about 3.0×10-9 m2·K·W-1.     

Effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and properties of foamed glass-ceramics prepared from high-titanium blast furnace slag and waste glass

Foamed glass-ceramics were prepared via a single-step sintering method using high-titanium blast furnace slag and waste glass as the main raw materials The influence of sintering temperature (900-1060℃) on the microstructure and properties of foamed glass-ceramics was studied. The results show that the crystal shape changed from grainy to rod-shaped and finally turned to multiple shapes as the sintering temperature was increased from 900 to 1060℃. With increasing sintering temperature, the average pore size of the foamed glass-ceramics increased and subsequently decreased. By contrast, the compressive strength and the bulk density decreased and subsequently increased. An excessively high temperature, however, induced the coalescence of pores and decreased the compressive strength. The optimal properties, including the highest compressive strength (16.64 MPa) among the investigated samples and a relatively low bulk density (0.83 g/cm3), were attained in the case of the foamed glass-ceramics sintered at 1000℃.     

Mechanical properties and friction behaviors of CNT/AlSi<Subscript>10</Subscript>Mg composites produced by spark plasma sintering

The mechanical properties and friction behaviors of CNT/AlSi₁₀Mg composites produced by spark plasma sintering (SPS) were investigated. The results showed that the densities of the sintered composites gradually increased with increasing sintering temperature and that the highest microhardness and compressive strength were achieved in the specimen sintered at 450℃. CNTs dispersed uniformly in the AlSi₁₀Mg matrix when the addition of CNTs was less than 1.5wt%. However, when the addition of CNTs exceeded 1.5wt%, the aggregation of CNTs was clearly observed. Moreover, the mechanical properties (including the densities, compressive strength, and microhardness) of the composites changed with CNT content and reached a maximum value when the CNT content was 1.5wt%. Meanwhile, the minimum average friction coefficient and wear rate of the CNT/AlSi₁₀Mg composites were obtained with 1.0wt% CNTs.     

烧结温度对高速压制制备弥散强化铜材料导电率的影响

弥散强化铜材料具有高强度和高导电性的特性,孔洞是影响导电率的重要因素.本文采用高速压制成形技术,对Al2 O3质量分数为0.9%的弥散强化铜粉压制成形,研究了压制速度对生坯的影响.当压制速度为9.4 m·s-1时得到密度为8.46 g·cm-3的生坯.研究了烧结温度对烧结所得Al2 O3弥散强化铜试样导电率的影响.当生坯密度相同时,烧结温度越高,所得试样的导电率也越高.断口与金相分析表明：烧结温度为950℃时,烧结不充分,颗粒边界以及孔洞多而明显,孔洞形状不规则;烧结温度为1080℃时,颗粒边界消失,孔洞圆化,韧窝出现,烧结坯的电导率为71.3%IACS.     

Sintering study of Ti6Al4V powders with different particle sizes and their mechanical properties

Ti6Al4V powders with three different particle size distributions (0-20, 20-45, and 45-75 μm) were used to evaluate the effect of the particle size distribution on the solid-state sintering and their mechanical properties. The sintering kinetics was determined by dilatometry at temperatures from 900 to 1260℃. The mechanical properties of the sintered samples were evaluated by microhardness and compression tests. The sintering kinetics indicated that the predominant mechanism depends on the relative density irrespective of the particle size used. The mechanical properties of the sintered samples are adversely affected by increasing pore volume fraction. The elastic Young's modulus and yield stress follow a power law function of the relative density. The fracture behavior after compression is linked to the neck size developed during sintering, exhibiting two different mechanisms of failure:interparticle neck breaking and intergranular cracking in samples with relative densities below and above of 90%, respectively. The main conclusion is that relative density is responsible for the kinetics, mechanical properties, and failure behavior of Ti6Al4V powders.     

Aluminum matrix composites reinforced by molybdenum-coated carbon nanotubes

To extend the application of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and explore novel aluminum matrix composites, CNTs were coated by molybdenum layers using metal organic chemical vapor deposition, and then Mo-coated CNT (Mo-CNT)/Al composites were prepared by the combination processes of powder mixing and spark plasma sintering. The influences of powder mixing and Mo-CNT content on the mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of the composites were investigated. The results show that magnetic stirring is better than mechanical milling for mixing the Mo-CNTs and Al powders. The electrical conductivity of the composites decreases with increasing Mo-CNT content. When the Mo-CNT content is 0.5wt%, the tensile strength and hardness of Mo-CNT/Al reach their maximum values. The tensile strength of 0.5wt% Mo-CNT/Al increases by 29.9%, while the electrical conductivity only decreases by 7.1%, relative to sintered pure Al. The phase analysis of Mo-CNT/Al composites reveals that there is no formation of Al carbide in the composites.     

烧结温度对铜基粉末冶金摩擦材料性能的影响

为了探究烧结温度对铜基粉末冶金摩擦材料性能的影响,通过四种温度(825、850、875、900 ℃)热压烧结,成功制备了铜基粉末冶金摩擦材料。研究了材料的微观组织、密度、硬度、抗压强度、摩擦性能,由此得到材料的较佳烧结温度。结果表明,在四种烧结温度下,材 料中的各元素能均匀地分布在Cu基体中。随着烧结温度的升高,密度、硬度、抗压强度和摩擦因数都先增大后减小,而孔隙率和磨损量先减小后增大。Cr能改善Cu与C之间的湿润性,提高金属基体与非金属组元之间的结合强度,从而使材料的密度增大;Ni、Mn能向Cu中扩散,形成固溶体,阻碍位错运动,提高材料的硬度。铜基粉末冶金摩擦材料较佳烧结温度为850 ℃,此时的密度为6.17 g/cm³,孔隙率为8.62%,维氏硬度为81.2,抗压强度为172.8 MPa,摩擦因数为0.37,磨损量为0.074 g。     

烧成温度对Al_2O_3-Fe_2O_3复合材料性能的影响

以煅烧α-Al2O3粉、氧化铁为原料,采用MgO为添加剂,控制配料的Al2O3/Fe2O3的摩尔比为1、3、5,MgO引入量质量百分数分别为2%、4%、6%,成型压强为100 MPa,烧结温度为1500℃、1550℃、1600℃,保温3小时可获得Al2O3-Fe2O3复合材料,对烧后试样了烧结与抗热震性能研究。结果表明：控制Al2O3-Fe2O3复合材料试样AF34-2的Al2O3/Fe2O3摩尔比为3,MgO引入量为4%,烧成温度为1550℃保温3小时的工艺条件,可以制备出较高致密度、常温抗折强度及抗热震性能的Al2O3-Fe2O3复合材料。该复合材料试样AF34-2的SEM显微结构照片显示出材料晶粒间结合紧密,形成具有直接结合的镶嵌结构。     

放电等离子烧结制备碳化硅块材及其高温导热性能研究

通过放电等离子烧结制备了碳化硅块材,分析了烧结温度、保温时间等对碳化硅块材的密度、物相组成、微观形貌和硬度的影响,并对其高温导热性能进行了测试.结果表明,当烧结温度为1800℃,保温时间为5min时,通过放电等离子烧结能够获得致密度为98%的碳化硅块材.与传统热压烧结相比,放电等离子烧结制备的碳化硅块材的热导率略低,其主要原因是放电等离子烧结的保温时间较短与烧结样品的致密度略低,且晶界结合性较差所导致.     

Microwave sintering effects on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-51at%Ni shape memory alloys

Ti-51at%Ni shape memory alloys (SMAs) were successfully produced via a powder metallurgy and microwave sintering technique. The influence of sintering parameters on porosity reduction, microstructure, phase transformation temperatures, and mechanical properties were investigated by optical microscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), compression tests, and microhardness tests. Varying the microwave temperature and holding time was found to strongly affect the density of porosity, presence of precipitates, transformation temperatures, and mechanical properties. The lowest density and smallest pore size were observed in the Ti-51at%Ni samples sintered at 900℃ for 5 min or at 900℃ for 30 min. The predominant martensite phases of β2 and β19' were observed in the microstructure of Ti-51at%Ni, and their existence varied in accordance with the sintering temperature and the holding time. In the DSC thermograms, multi-transformation peaks were observed during heating, whereas a single peak was observed during cooling; these peaks correspond to the presence of the β2, R, and β19' phases. The maximum strength and strain among the Ti-51at%Ni SMAs were 1376 MPa and 29%, respectively, for the sample sintered at 900℃ for 30 min because of this sample's minimal porosity.     

Microwave sintering of Ca<Subscript>0.6</Subscript>La<Subscript>0.2667</Subscript>TiO<Subscript>3</Subscript> microwave dielectric ceramics

Ca_0.6La_0.2667TiO₃ ceramics were prepared by conventional and microwave sintering techniques and their sinterability, microstructure, and microwave dielectric properties were investigated in detail for comparison. Densified Ca_0.6La_0.2667TiO₃ ceramics were obtained by microwave sintering at 1350°C for 30 min and by conventional sintering at 1450°C for 4 h. An unusual phenomenon was found that some larger grains (grain size range: 8–10 μm) inclined to assemble in one area but some smaller ones (grain size range: 2–4 μm) inclined to gather in another area in the microwave sintered ceramics. The microwave dielectric properties of Ca_0.6La_0.2667TiO₃ ceramics prepared by microwave sintering at 1350°C were as follows: dielectric constant (ɛ _r) = 119.6, quality factor (Qf) = 17858.5 GHz, and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ _f) = 155.5 ppm/°C. In contrast, the microwave dielectric properties of the ceramics prepared by conventional sintering at 1450°C were ɛ _r = 117.4, Qf = 13375 GHz, and τ _f = 217.2 ppm/°C.