Cyclic thermal shock behaviour of a Cr2AlC ceramic

This work reports the cyclic thermal shock behaviour of a Cr2AlC ceramic. The cyclic thermal shock tests were performed by quenching from 825 to 1325 °C into ambient temperature water. The material withstood five thermal shock cycles without catastrophic thermal failure. The three-point bending test showed that its residual strength after five cycles of thermal shock decreased from 400 MPa of the initial strength to about 68 MPa as the quenching temperature rose to 1200 °C, and then increased to ~80 MPa after quenching from 1300 °C. The microstructure of the quenched samples was characterised with scanning electron microscopy and optical microscopy. The main mechanism for the enhanced thermal shock resistance of Cr2AlC has been analysed.