Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti(C,N)-based cermet

Ti(C0.7N0.3)-(Ni-Co) -Mo2C-Cr3C2 cermets with different contents of Mo2C and Cr3C2 were fabricated by the HP technology and their mechanical properties were tested. It can be found that the Ti(C0.7N0.3)-(Ni-Co) - Mo2C-Cr3C2 cermet with low contents of Mo2C and Cr3C2 have good mechanical properties. The microstructure of the material with low content of Mo2C and Cr3C2 was investigated by TEM, SEM and EDAX analysis. It is shown that there is no rim phase clearly watched, Mo element is rich in the vicinity around Ti(C,N) particles, and Cr element is rich in the middle of the binding phase. It is concluded that curved fracture surfaces along the grains and cleavage strips on the fracture surfaces of the grains which result from these Cr3C2 particles distributed in the binding phase and on the interface result in much higher fracture toughness of the fabricated cermet.