Contact fracture behaviors of Ti3SiC2 synthesized by hot pressing using TiCx and Si powder mixture

Abstract

The contact fracture behaviors of fine-grained Ti3SiC2 and coarse-grained high purity Ti3SiC2 are examined by the Hertzian indentation and Vickers indentation technique. The Vickers hardness of bulk Ti3SiC2 is as low as 5.3 similar to 6.3 Gpa, and the Hertzian contact stress-strain curves for Ti3SiC2 deviate much from linearity, which resembles the fracture behavior of a ductile metal rather than a brittle ceramic. The contact damages by both Vickers indentation and Hertzian indentation reveal a fairly good plastic deformation nature of Ti3SiC2. Un-reacted TiCx in fine-grained Ti3SiC2 may impede the plastic deformation by slip along basal plan inside Ti3SiC2 grain, making Ti3SiC2 less plastic under loading.