Improvement of hardness and fracture toughness of surface composites fabricated by high-energy electron-beam irradiation with Fe-alloy powders and VC powders

Surface composites were fabricated by high-energy electron beam irradiation with Fe-alloy powders and VC powders, and contained a large amount (∼47 vol.%) of hard Cr2B and V8C7 particles without defects. According to microfracture observation, cracks were initiated at cell regions and V8C7 particles inside cells, and were connected with other microcracks in a zig-zag pattern, thereby showing twice the fracture toughness and hardness than the composite fabricated without VC powders.