Characterization of In Situ Cu-NbC-VC Nanocomposite by Mechanical Alloying and Microwave Sintering

Abstract:

This paper presents a study on the characterization of physical and electrical properties of Niobium Carbide (NbC) and Vanadium Carbide (VC) in Copper (Cu) matrix by mechanical alloying (MA) technique. The elemental powders of Cu, Niobium (Nb), Vanadium (V) and synthetic graphite powder were mechanically alloyed for 30 hours at 400 rpm in a planetary ball mill according to the stoichiometric ratio of Cu-(10-x) vol%NbC-(0+x) vol%VC (x=0,1,3,5,7,9) under Argon atmosphere. The as-milled powder were compacted at 400 MPa and sintered using microwave sintering furnace at 900°C with 1 hour soaking time. The phase identification was made by using the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis. The microhardness, relative density and apparent porosity of sintered pellets were measured using Vickers microhardness and Archimedes principle, respectively. Electrical conductivity was measured using 2 point probe technique. Density of composite increase with increasing NbC content, while electrical conductivity also increase when NbC was added. Microhardness showed that single phase carbide has higher hardness value then multicarbide.

• Periodical: Applied Mechanics and Materials (Volume 695)
• Pages: 344-347
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.695.344
• Online since: November 2014
• Authors: Wan Mohd Hilmi Hussein Wan Omar, Nurulhuda Bashirom, Zuhailawati Hussain, Indra Putra Almanar, Wan Abdul Rahman Assyahid Wan Ibrahim
• Keywords: Densification, Electrical Conductivity, Microhardness, Multicarbide, Nanocomposite

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