Study of the Influence of Pressure and Temperature Processing in the Diamond-Reinforced Composite Properties

摘要

Diamond-reinforced composites represent a potential solution for applications where wear resistance is a key demand, such as for engine piston rings. Powder metallurgy allows the joining of different materials, in order to combine several characteristics such as wear resistance and thermal properties in a single material. However, the material manufacturing conditions may influence the final properties of that material. Regarding that diamond particles have the limitation of a graphitization temperature around 800°C in air, its manufacturing conditions must be selected to not interfere with its crystalline structure. In the present work, a diamond-reinforced composite was produced using the hot pressing technique, to evaluate if higher pressure conditions influence the graphitization temperature. Several pressure and temperature values were used to study the influence of the sintering conditions on the final microstructure and properties.