Effects of metal additions on refinement behavior of TiC particles during a very high speed milling process

•Effects of the metal matrix properties on refinement of TiC particle were statistically studied.•Size reduction efficiency of TiC particle was mostly related to brittle properties of metal.•TiC particle became fragmented in the increasing order for Cu, Ni, Fe and Cr matrices respectively.

Four kinds of metal-ceramic composite powders were fabricated via a very high speed mechanical milling process, and the effects of metal additions on refinement behavior of ceramic particles were investigated on the basis of statistical analysis of cross-sectional images. The starting materials used were Cu, Ni, Fe and Cr powders as a metal matrix and TiC powder as a ceramic reinforcement. Based on the quantitative analytical results, the efficiency of size reduction of TiC particle is closely related to the brittle properties of metal matrix. The resultant fragmented TiC particle in Cr base metal having the highest values of elastic modulus and hardness shows a smallest value in average size of 178 nm after milling for 20 min under a very high milling speed of 1000 rpm.

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