TiC–Al composites with nanocrystalline matrix produced by consolidation of milled powders

• This is the first production of bulk TiC–Al composites with nanocrystalline matrix.
• The composites’ microstructure consists of TiC areas surrounded by lamellae of Al.
• The hardness of the produced samples is of 11.98 GPa and 10.47 GPa.
• Light–weight materials with high hardness were produced.

Nanocrystalline TiC powder obtained by mechanical alloying was short-term milled with 20 and 30 vol.% of Al powder and then consolidated by hot-pressing under the pressure of 7.7 GPa at the temperature of 1000 °C. Structural investigations of the bulk materials revealed that TiC areas are surrounded by thin Al lamellae and that the mean crystallite size of TiC is 35 nm. The hardness of the TiC–20%Al and TiC–30%Al composites is 11.98 GPa and 10.47 GPa respectively. The quality of compaction with preserving the nanocrystalline structure of TiC is satisfactory and the hardness of the produced materials is relatively high.

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