Properties and rapid consolidation of (W,Ti)C-CNT by pulsed current activated sintering

Abstract

The grain size of (W,Ti)C powder remarkably decreases with a high-energy ball milling. The rapid sintering of nanostuctured (W,Ti)C and (W,Ti)C-CNT hard materials was investigated with pulsed current activated sintering. The advantage of this process is that it allows very quick densification to near theoretical density and prohibition of grain growth in nanostuctured materials. A dense nanostructured (W,Ti) C and (W,Ti)C-CNT hard material with a relative density of up to 99% was produced with simultaneous application of 80 MPa pressure and a pulsed current of 2000A within 3 minutes. The effect of CNT on the sintering behavior and mechanical properties of (W,Ti)C was investigated.