High-strength Al2O3-Ti(C,N) composites fabricated by sinter forging

To further enhance the performance of Al 2 O 3 -Ti(C,N) composites, this study employed novel sinter forging and dynamic sinter forging techniques, comparing them with conventional hot pressing and oscillatory pressure sintering. The results revealed that the composites produced by all four processes exhibited high density and no phase transition or formation of new phases. However, the composites prepared by sinter forging and dynamic sinter forging exhibited significantly improved strength and hardness. The hardness of the composites produced by sinter forging increased to 23.39 GPa, while the strength reached 1142 MPa, representing a 61 % improvement compared to those sintered by hot pressing. This improvement can be attributed to the significant plastic deformation induced by the sinter-forging process, which results in a higher dislocation density at the grain boundaries and within certain grains, enhanced coordinated deformation between grains, and stronger grain boundary bonding. Furthermore, the average grain size was smaller. Therefore, sinter forging and dynamic sinter forging offer substantial advantages in the preparation of advanced ceramics.