Heterogeneous composite bodies with isolated cermet regions formed by high temperature, rapid consolidation

Abstract

A heterogeneous composite consisting of near-nano ceramic clusters dispersed within a ductile matrix. The composite is formed through the high temperature compaction of a starting powder consisting of a core of ceramic nanoparticles held together with metallic binder. This core is clad with a ductile metal such that when the final powder is consolidated, the ductile metal forms a tough, near-zero contiguity matrix. The material is consolidated using any means that will maintain its heterogeneous structure.

Claims

1. A heterogeneous body comprised of a plurality of ceramic-metallic composites; each of said ceramic-metallic composites includes a ceramic rich cermet region coated with a metal coating about an outer surface of said ceramic rich cermet region; said ceramic rich cermet region comprises a plurality of ceramic particles that are bonded together by a metallic binder; a majority of said ceramic-rich cermet regions remain intact and are spaced from one another in a metal matrix material; a majority of said ceramic-rich cermet regions are spaced from one another in said heterogeneous body; a majority of said ceramic rich cermet regions in said heterogeneous body are not uniformly distributed in said heterogeneous body.

2. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein a content of metal in said metal coating greater than a content of metal of said metallic binder.

3. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said ceramic-metallic composites are bonded together by compaction at a temperature and for a time period such that said metal coating of ceramic-metallic composites bonds with said metal coating of adjacently positioned ceramic-metallic composites.

4. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said metal matrix material at least partially formed of metal in said metal coating of said ceramic-metallic composites.

5. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein a plurality of said ceramic-rich cermet regions are non-angular shaped and have an average thickness and an average width, said average width being between one and twenty times said average thickness, a plurality of said ceramic-rich cermet regions having an average width of about 1-600 microns.

6. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said ceramic particle includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of metal carbides, nitrides, oxynitrides, and borides.

7. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said ceramic particle includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of Wx, Ti.sub.x, Cr.sub.x, Al.sub.x, Mox, Si.sub.x, Nb.sub.x, Zr.sub.x, and Ta.sub.x, and .sub.x includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of carbon, boron, nitrogen, and oxygen.

8. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said ceramic particle includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of WC, SiC, TiC, TiN, Si.sub.3N.sub.4, SiAlON, TiCN, B.sub.4C, and TiB.sub.2.

9. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said metallic binder includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of nickel, cobalt, iron, molybdenum, titanium, copper, and chromium.

10. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein an average distance between said ceramic-rich cermet regions in said metal matrix material is about 0.5-5 microns.

11. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said heterogeneous body is comprised of 40-97 weight percent of said ceramic-metallic composite and about 3-60 weight percent of said metal matrix material.

12. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein said heterogeneous composite has one or more properties selected form the group consisting of: i) a toughness above 10 Mpa/m; ii) a hardness exceeding 10 GPa; iii) a Young's modulus exceeding 200 GPa; iv) a fracture toughness exceeding 18 Mpa-m.sup.1/2; and v) withstands in excess of 50 million stress cycles at greater than 2 GPa Hertzian contact stress in rolling contact fatigue testing.

13. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein a composition of said metal coating is different from a composition of said metallic binder.

14. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein a composition of said metal coating is a same composition as said metallic binder.

15. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, wherein after said heterogeneous composite is machined, said heterogeneous body has a coefficient of friction of less than 0.3.

16. The heterogeneous body as defined in claim 1, each of said ceramic rich cermet regions include 5-70 vol. % of said metallic binder and 30-95 vol. % of said ceramic particles, a content of metal in said metal coating greater than a content of metal of said metallic binder.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Referring particularly to the drawings for the purposes of illustration only and not limitation:

(2) FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross section of a ceramic-metallic composite formed of body or core of ceramic rich cermet region 10 and a metal coating 12;

(3) FIG. 2 is more detailed view of the ceramic rich cermet region that is formed of a plurality of ceramic particles that are connected together by a metallic binder;

(4) FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic cross section of a consolidated section of a part that is formed by a plurality of ceramic rich cermet region generally evenly distributed throughout the ductile metal matrix 12;

(5) FIG. 4 is a photomicrograph of a consolidated specimen showing the ceramic rich cermet region 10 in a ductile metal matrix 12; and,

(6) FIG. 5 is a scanning electron microscope image of a nano-indented sample showing single grains of hard ceramic 30 in a ductile metal matrix 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(7) Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is illustrated generally at FIG. 1 a ceramic-metallic composite which has been spherodized. As can be appreciated, the ceramic-metallic composite can have many other shapes. The ceramic-metallic composite in FIGS. 1-2 is a ceramic rich material that includes a ceramic rich cermet region 10 that is coated by a metal coating 14. The thickness of the coating is sufficient to provide the desired amount of spacing between ceramic rich cermet regions in a heterogeneous body formed from the ceramic-metallic composite 10. Typically, the thickness of the coating is about 1 to 40 percent of the diameter of the ceramic rich cermet region, and more typically about 1 to 10 percent of the diameter of the ceramic rich composite ceramic-metallic particle. FIG. 2 illustrates a more detailed view of the ceramic rich cermet region which is formed of a plurality of ceramic particles 16 bonded together by a metallic binder 12.

(8) There is indicated generally at FIG. 3 a consolidated composite of particles where coating 14 forms the ductile metal matrix 18 when the ceramic-metallic composite are consolidated together. The ceramic rich cermet regions 10 are illustrated as being spaced apart from one another by the ductile metal matrix 18 and the ceramic rich cermet region 10 have generally maintained their shape. This type of consolidated material is typically formed by spark plasma sintering, but can also be formed by another high temperature rapid compaction technique. The mean free path between the ceramic rich cermet regions 10 is approximately equal to the thickness of the coating 14; however, this is not required.

(9) A micrograph of a cross section of consolidated material in FIG. 4 shows verification of the target structure of FIG. 1 in practice. Furthermore, the structure allows for high microfracture toughness as seen in the scanning electron microscope image of the material in FIG. 5. The crack propagation at the tips of the nano-indentation is unobservable, indicating high resistance to micro-fracture as the ductile binder blunts crack propagation and the sub-micron hard ceramic particles 30 limit maximum crack length across a particle. This nano-indent produced no observable cracks within the sample indicating high fracture toughness.

EXAMPLE 1

(10) A ceramic-metallic composite was produced with a composition of about 45-50 wt % TiN, about 40-45 wt % Co—Mo—Cr, and about 10 weight percent niobium binder. The ceramic-metallic composite was consolidated using spark plasma sintering above about 1000° C. The consolidated material exhibited a hardness of 1278 HV (300) and coefficients of friction of less than about 0.10 in diesel fuel, and about 0.40 in dry contact with steel. No material wear was observed after friction testing with pin on disk tribometer.

EXAMPLE 2

(11) The material formed in Example 1 was machined using electrical discharge machining into an about 2 in. wide, ¼ in. thick flat thrust bearing with an internal diameter of about 1 in.

EXAMPLE 3

(12) The material formed in Example 1 was precision-machined using electrical discharge machining into about a 1 in. tall hollow cylinder with about ⅛ in. wall thickness. This cylindrical piece was interference fitted into a steel bushing to form a cermet lined bushing.

EXAMPLE 4

(13) A ceramic-metallic composite was produced with a composition of about 92-97 weight percent tungsten carbide and about 3-8 wt. % cobalt as the binder and a coating of about 10 weight percent cobalt. The ceramic-metallic composite was consolidated using spark plasma sintering to form about a 2 in. wide by 1.5 in. tall billet. The formed material exhibited a hardness of about 22.95 GPa (2340 HV), a modulus of about 486 GPa, and a fracture toughness greater than about 20 MPa-m.sup.1/2. The material was machined to a surface roughness between about 3-5 micro-inch and tested for rolling contact fatigue. The formed material survived in excess of about 60 million stress cycles at about 2.5 GPa without showing any sign of wear or spallation. The formed material also exhibited coefficient of friction as low as about 0.35 in dry conditions, and less than about 0.10 in lubrication or liquid including saltwater.

EXAMPLE 5

(14) A ceramic-metallic composite similar to that produced in Example 4, but the 10 wt. % cobalt coating was substituted for about 10 wt. % nickel coating. The ceramic-metallic composite was consolidated using spark plasma sintering to form about a 2 in. wide by 1.5 in. tall billet. The formed material exhibited a hardness of about 20.07 GPa (2045 HV), a modulus of about 435 GPa, and a fracture toughness greater than about 20 MPa-m.sup.1/2. When machined to a surface roughness between about 3-5 micro-inch and tested for rolling contact fatigue, the formed material survived in excess of about 60 million stress cycles at about 2.5 GPa without showing any sign of wear or spallation. The formed material also exhibited coefficient of friction as low as about 0.35 in dry conditions, and less than about 0.10 in lubrication or liquid including saltwater.

(15) It will thus be seen that the objects set forth above, among those made apparent from the preceding description, are efficiently attained, and since certain changes may be made in the constructions set forth without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description and shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. The invention has been described with reference to preferred and alternate embodiments. Modifications and alterations will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the detailed discussion of the invention provided herein. This invention is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the present invention. It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention, which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall there between. The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments. These and other modifications of the preferred embodiments as well as other embodiments of the invention will be obvious from the disclosure herein, whereby the foregoing descriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of the invention and not as a limitation. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations insofar as they come within the scope of the appended claims.