Mechanical properties of Mo-Nb-Si-B quaternary alloy fabricated by powder metallurgical method

In this study, niobium (Nb) was added to a Mo-Si-B alloy by a powder metallurgical method to improve the mechanical properties. First, the Mo and Nb powders were pulverized by high-energy ball milling. Then, the synthesized intermetallic compound powders, which were fabricated by continuous heat treatment under a H2 atmosphere, were mixed with ball-milled Mo and Nb powder. Pressureless sintering was conducted at 1400 °C for 3 h under a H2 atmosphere. The Vickers hardness and fracture toughness were measured to investigate the mechanical properties of the sintered Mo-Si-B and Mo-Nb-Si-B alloy. The Vickers hardness was about 425 Hv for a Mo-Nb-Si-B alloy, which was lower value of 165 Hv compared to Mo-Si-B alloy (590 Hv). On the other hand, the fracture toughness of the Mo-Nb-Si-B alloy (14.5 MPa·√m) greatly increased compared to that of the Mo-Si-B alloy (12.6 MPa·√m).