Spark plasma sintering of ZrO2 reinforced Ni-Cr alloy: Microstructure and mechanical behavior

Ni-Cr-ZrO2 composites with varying amounts of ZrO2 additive (5 wt%, 7.5 wt%, 10 wt% and 12.5 wt%) were fabricated using spark plasma sintering method at a sintering temperature of 1000 degrees C, heating rate of 100 degrees C/min, holding time of 5 min, and a pressure of 50 MPa. The effect of ZrO2 addition on the microstructure, tribological and mechanical properties of the developed composites were studied. The results showed that maximum densification was attained at 10 wt% ZrO2. Further increase in the fractions of ZrO2 within the composites results in a decrease in the relative density of the sintered composite. A significant increase in hardness from 433.24 HV to 510.11 HV and elastic modulus from 252.67 GPa to 294.6 GPa was observed in the fabricated samples as the ZrO2 content increase from 5 to 12.5 wt%. An appreciable improvement in the wear performance of the sintered samples was obtained with increasing ZrO2 content. The observed improvement in the properties of the sintered composites was attributed to the presence of the hard dispersoids of ZrO2 and formation of solid solution strengthening and hard Cr3Ni2 phases within the matrix of the sintered composites.