Producing TiC-Al Cermet by Combustion Synthesis of TiC Porous Skeleton with Spontaneous Infiltration by Aluminum Melt

摘要

Ceramic-metal composites (cermets) are used both in metallurgy and mechanical engineering as structural materials, and in electrical engineering and electronics in sliding electrical contacts and to enhance the emissivity of cathodes. The study of a new method for producing the cermets on the base of applying a simple energy-efficient process of the combustion synthesis is presented. The combustion synthesis is used to prepare a porous ceramic skeleton of titanium carbide TiC with subsequent spontaneous impregnation of a melt of aluminum Al without application of external pressure. Theoretical estimates of both the temperature of the synthesized porous TiC skeleton required for spontaneous infiltration by molten aluminum due to the phenomenon of thermal osmosis and the depth of spontaneous infiltration are obtained. The influence of the infiltration direction on the length and completeness of the impregnation, as well as the uniformity of the distribution of aluminum along the length of TiC-Al cermet samples, is experimentally studied. The structure and phase composition of the cermet are studied using scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The obtained samples of TiC-Al cermet are examined for compression strength.