Disclosed is a blade for a turbomachine, comprising an outer shell and an inner core which is at least partially enclosed by the outer shell and has a higher porosity than the outer shell. The outer shell is formed by a ceramic body or a body made of a ceramic matrix composite material, and the inner core is formed by a fiber-reinforced ceramic or a fiber-reinforced ceramic matrix composite material.

A cubic boron nitride sintered body has between 50% and 75% cubic boron nitride by volume and between 25% and 50% binder phase by volume, and inevitable impurities. The binder phase contains an Al compound and a Zr compound. The Al compound contains Al and one or more of N, O and B; and the Zr compound contains Zr and one or more of C, N, O and B. At a polished surface of the cubic boron nitride sintered body, 40% or more of the Zr compounds satisfy the ratio 0.25≦n/N≦0.8, where: N represents the number of line segments drawn radially at equal intervals from a center of gravity of a given Zr compound to a boundary with a non-Zr compound; and n represents the number among those N line segments which intersect a boundary between the given Zr compound and cubic boron nitride.

There are provided a cubic boron nitride sintered body having a surface also excellent in adhesiveness to a ceramic coating film, while having excellent wear resistance and defect resistance, and a manufacturing method thereof, and a tool. The cubic boron nitride sintered body of the present invention includes 60.0 to 90.0% by volume of cubic boron nitride, the remainder being a binder phase, wherein the binder phase contains: at least any of a nitride, a boride, and an oxide of Al; at least any of a carbide, a nitride, a carbonitride, and a boride of Ti; and a compound represented by the following formula (1):
W.sub.2Ni.sub.xCo.sub.(1-x)B.sub.2(0.40≤x<1)  (1).

A composite composed of one or a plurality of principal strengthening compounds and at least one principal cemented refractory metal that is prepared by combining a suitable binary to senary borides and/or carbides with a unitary to binary principal refractory metal is disclosed. As compared with the conventional sintered cemented carbides, the composite of the disclosure not only possess high hardness and high toughness but also has various ratios of principal components since it is not prepared with equal mole during the process.

Disclosed are a composite sintered body for a cutting tool and a cutting tool using the same. The composite sintered body for a cutting tool has enhanced heat conductivity and electrical conductivity to be strong against abrasion by heat and impact and to be capable of minimizing an influence on an edge during an Electrical Discharge Machine (EDM) operation.

A composite ceramic composition including a boron carbide phase and a method of forming the same. The composite ceramic composition includes a tungsten boride phase, a transition metal boride phase. The composite ceramic composition may also include a carbon disposed in solid solution with at least the tungsten boride phase and the transition metal boride phase. The transition metal boride phase may include a boride of at least one metal chosen from Cr, Nb, and Zr.

A method of making a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), material is provided. The matrix precursor powder comprises an aluminium compound. The method comprises mixing matrix precursor powder comprising particles having an average particle size no greater than 250 nm, with between 30 and 40 volume percent of cubic boron nitride (cBN) particles having an average particle size of at least 4 μm, and then spark plasma sintering the mixed particles. The spark plasma sintering occurs at a pressure of at least 500 MPa, a temperature of no less than 1050° C. and no more than 1500° C. and a time of no less than 1 minute and no more than 3 minutes.

Provided is a cubic boron nitride sintered body including more than or equal to 85 volume percent and less than 100 volume percent of cubic boron nitride particles, and a remainder of a binder, wherein the binder contains WC, Co, and an Al compound, the binder contains W.sub.2Co.sub.21B.sub.6, and, when I.sub.A represents an X-ray diffraction intensity of a (111) plane of the cubic boron nitride particles, I.sub.B represents an X-ray diffraction intensity of a (100) plane of the WC, and I.sub.C represents an X-ray diffraction intensity of a (420) plane of the W.sub.2Co.sub.21B.sub.6, a ratio I.sub.C/I.sub.A of the I.sub.C to the I.sub.A is more than 0 and less than 0.10, and a ratio I.sub.C/I.sub.B of the I.sub.C to the I.sub.B is more than 0 and less than 0.40.

A sintered material includes a first phase and a second phase, wherein the first phase is composed of cubic boron nitride particles, and the following relational expressions are satisfied when more than or equal to two cubic boron nitride particles adjacent to and in direct contact with each other among the cubic boron nitride particles are defined as a contact body, Di represents a length of an entire perimeter of the contact body, n represents the number of contact locations at which the cubic boron nitride particles are in direct contact with each other, d.sub.k represents a length of each of the contact locations, and Σd.sub.k (where k=1 to n) represents a total length of the contact locations: Dii=Di+(2×Σd.sub.k (where k=1 to n)); and [(Dii−Di)/Dii]×100≤50.

A cubic boron nitride sintered material includes: 20 to 80 volume % of cBN grains; and 20 to 80 volume % of a binder phase, wherein the binder phase includes first binder grains and second binder grains, in each of the first binder grains, a ratio of the number of atoms of the first metal element to a total of the number of atoms of the titanium and the first metal element is more than or equal to 0.01% and less than 10%, in each of the second binder grains, the ratio is more than or equal to 10% and less than or equal to 80%, and an average grain size of the second binder grains is more than or equal to 0.2 μm and less than or equal to 1 μm.