Mechanical properties and microstructures of hot-pressed MgAlON–BN composites

The relationship between the mechanical properties and microstructure of hot-pressed MgAlON–BN composite materials was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The phase compositions of hot-pressed samples prepared from starting mixtures of Al2O3, AlN, MgO and h–BN consisted of MgAlON phases as a matrix and BN phases as the second phase. The density, bending strength at room temperature, fracture toughness and Vickers hardness were measured. The results indicated that the density, strength and Vickers hardness decrease with increasing h–BN content due to the non-reactive nature and layered structure of h–BN. The fracture toughness, however increased with increasing h–BN addition, reaching a maximum of 3.64 MPa m0.5; it decreased with further increase of BN content. The increase of fracture toughness was attributed to the presence of microcracks and the decrease was considered to be the discontinuous microstructure of the MgAlON phases. Temperature dependence of bending strength remained constant at low temperature, followed by an increase at 800 °C and then, dropped quickly. The increase in the bending strength of the composite was attributed to the decrease of residual stress and to the interwoven microstructure of the composites which prevented grain boundary slip and reduced the attenuation rate of high temperature strength. The machinability of the composites was examined. The results indicate that the composite materials with BN content more than 15 vol.% exhibit excellent machinability and could be drilled using conventional hard metal alloy drills.