Preparation, microstructure evolution, mechanical properties of Ti(CN)-Co/Ni-based cermet sintered by oscillation pressure sintering

In this study, oscillatory pressure sintering (OPS) was adopted to prepare Ti(CN)-Co/Ni metal ceramics and explore the influence of oscillatory pressure sintering temperature on the densification and mechanical properties of multi-liquid phase metal ceramics. The structural evolution of Ti(CN)-based metal ceramics prepared by OPS can be roughly divided into three stages. OPS is a sintering method that uses cyclic pressure changes. The pressure changes can cause the ceramic particles to slide freely and more significantly, ultimately achieving greater densification of the particles and a higher density of the block. The structural evolution of Ti(CN)-based metal ceramics prepared by OPS can be roughly divided into three stages. It was found that OPS reduces the densification temperature by approximately 40°C. As the sintering process evolved from hot pressing sintering to OSP, the bending strength of Ti(CN)-based metal ceramics increased from 1,204 MPa to 1,498 MPa, an increase of 24%, and Vickers hardness increased from 17.36 GPa to 18.81 GPa. The innovative process of combining vacuum sintering and OPS not only promotes the solid solution reaction of WC particles but also inhibits the loss of Co/Ni bonding phase. The bending strength of Ti(CN)-Co/Ni-based metal ceramics reaches 1,657 MPa, and the fracture toughness increases to 7.23 MPa·m1/2.