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New Progresses in the Development, Microstructure and Properties of Ceramic-Metal Composites (Cermets)

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Advanced and Functional Ceramics and Glasses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2022) | Viewed by 11139

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ernesto Chicardi

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Guest Editor

Departamento de Ingeniería y Ciencia de los Materiales y del Transporte, University of Seville, Sevilla, Spain
Interests: cermets; cemented carbides; powder metallurgy; ceramics; combustion reactions; high entropy alloys

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ceramic–metal composites (cermets) are materials formed by at least a hard ceramic and a tough metallic binder phase, designed to achieve specific properties for particular applications when it is impossible to obtain them by monophasic materials.

Particularly, for the machining industry, the cermet cutting tools based on WC–Co (usually called hard metal) are widely employed due to their exceptional toughness and damage tolerance under cyclic loadings. However, they fail when it comes to the most demanding applications, such as high-speed machining and difficult-to-cut materials, because of their lack of chemical stability and oxidation resistance. Alternative to them are cermets based on TiC and Ti(C,N) with high wear resistance, chemical stability, and mechanical strength at high temperature. Nevertheless, to become a real alternative to WC–Co, their fracture toughness and damage tolerance must be significantly improved.

Therefore, this Special Issue is focused on contributions related to experimental and theoretical studies based on the design, production technologies, development, processing, synthesis, and characterization of cermets, with new clear progresses in their microstructure and/or properties that increase their potential role as materials to be successfully applied for high-speed machining or similar applications.

Special attention will be considered for cermets based on High Entropy Alloys (HEAs) and/or High Entropy Ceramics (HECs) and, in addition, contributions focused on other different cermets would also be welcome.

Prof. Dr. Ernesto Chicardi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Cermets
Cemented carbides
Hard metals
High entropy alloys
Binder
Ceramic
Titanium carbide
Titanium carbonitride
Powder metallurgy
High-speed machining

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 4643 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Investigating the Correlation between the Microstructure and Electrical Properties of FeSbO₄ Ceramics

by Carlos G. P. Moraes, Robert S. Matos, Cledson dos Santos, Ştefan Ţălu, John M. Attah-Baah, Romualdo S. Silva Junior, Marcelo S. da Silva, Marcos V. S. Rezende, Ronaldo S. Silva and Nilson S. Ferreira

Materials 2022, 15(19), 6555; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15196555 - 21 Sep 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1716

Abstract

FeSbO₄ powder was prepared using the solid-state reaction method in this work. Afterward, the dense and porous ceramics were obtained by sintering the pressed powder calcined at temperatures of 900 and 1000 °C for 4 h. Rietveld profile analysis of the X-ray powder diffraction data showed that FeSbO₄ adopts the trirutile-type structure (space group P4₂/mnm, with a ≅ 4.63 Å and c ≅ 9.23 Å). SEM images showed that the powder calcined at 900 °C after being sintered at 1200 °C resulted in ceramics of higher crystallinity, larger grains, and consequently, low porosity. The dielectric properties were measured in the frequency range of 10⁻¹ Hz–1 MHz as a function of temperature (25–250 °C). The real (σ′) and imaginary (σ″) parts of the complex conductivity increase with rising annealing temperature for both samples. The real conductivity in the AC region for 𝑓 = 100 kHz was

1.59 \times 10^{- 6} S \cdot {cm}^{- 1}

and

7.04 \times 10^{- 7} S \cdot {cm}^{- 1}

for the ceramic samples obtained from the powder calcined at 900 (C-900) and 1000 °C (C-1000), respectively. Furthermore, the dielectric constants (k′) measured at room temperature and

f = 100 kHz

were

13.77

(C-900) and

6.27

(C-1000), while the activation energies of the grain region were E_a = 0.53 eV and E_a = 0.49 eV, respectively. Similar activation energy (E_a = 0.52 eV and 0.49 eV) was also obtained by the brick-layer model and confirmed by the adjustment of activation energy by DC measurements which indicated an absence of the porosity influence on the parameter. Additionally, loss factor values were obtained to be equal to 3.8 (C-900) and 5.99 (C-1000) for measurements performed at 100 Hz, suggesting a contribution of the conductivity originated from the combination or accommodation of the pores in the grain boundary region. Our results prove that the microstructural factors that play a critical role in the electrical and dielectric properties are the average grain size and the porosity interspersed with the grain boundary region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progresses in the Development, Microstructure and Properties of Ceramic-Metal Composites (Cermets))

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17 pages, 9615 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of the Substrate on the Microstructure and Tribological Properties of Cold Sprayed (Cr₃C₂-25(Ni20Cr))-(Ni-graphite) Cermet Coatings

by Anna Trelka, Wojciech Żórawski, Łukasz Maj, Paweł Petrzak, Dominika Soboń and Anna Góral

Materials 2022, 15(3), 994; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15030994 - 27 Jan 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1711

Abstract

In this work, the effect of the substrate, Al 7075 alloy and 1H18NT9 stainless steel, on the microstructure and tribological properties of cold sprayed (Cr₃C₂-25(Ni20Cr))-(Ni-graphite) coatings was investigated. Both coatings were dense and did not reveal any discontinuities at the interfaces. They had similar Cr₃C₂ and graphite contents. Their microstructures showed a variety of grain sizes of the matrix phase between the inner part of the splat, showing large ones, and their boundaries, where elongated and nanostructured grains were formed during the deposition process. The coating deposited on the steel substrate revealed a slightly higher hardness and lower abrasive wear with the Al₂O₃ loose abrasive particles. The force required to destroy the durability of the coating–steel substrate system in the three-point bending test was higher than those of the other ones. The cermet deposit cold sprayed on steel and examined at 25 °C under 10 N revealed the best wear resistance and the lowest friction coefficient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progresses in the Development, Microstructure and Properties of Ceramic-Metal Composites (Cermets))

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18 pages, 5664 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance of Ceramic-Metal Composites as Potential Tool Materials for Friction Stir Welding of Aluminium, Copper and Stainless Steel

by Mart Kolnes, Jakob Kübarsepp, Fjodor Sergejev, Märt Kolnes, Marek Tarraste and Mart Viljus

Materials 2020, 13(8), 1994; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma13081994 - 24 Apr 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3099

Abstract

The aim of the research was to disclose the performance of ceramic-metal composites, in particular TiC-based cermets and WC-Co hardmetals, as tool materials for friction stir welding (FSW) of aluminium alloys, stainless steels and copper. The model tests were used to study the wear of tools during cutting of metallic workpiece materials. The primary focus was on the performance and degradation mechanism of tool materials during testing under conditions simulating the FSW process, in particular the welding process temperature. Carbide composites were produced using a common press-and-sinter powder metallurgy technique. The model tests were performed on a universal lathe at the cutting speeds enabling cutting temperatures comparable the temperatures of the FSW of aluminium alloys, stainless steels and pure copper. The wear rate of tools was evaluated as the shortening of the length of the cutting tool nose tip and reaction diffusion tests were performed for better understanding of the diffusion-controlled processes during tool degradation (wear). It was concluded that cermets, in particular TiC-NiMo with 75–80 wt.% TiC, show the highest performance in tests with counterparts from aluminium alloy and austenitic stainless steel. On the other hand, in the model tests with copper workpiece, WC-Co hardmetals, in particular composites with 90–94 wt.% WC, outperform most of TiC-based cermet, including TiC-NiMo. Tools from ceramic-metal composites wear most commonly by mechanisms based on adhesion and diffusion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progresses in the Development, Microstructure and Properties of Ceramic-Metal Composites (Cermets))

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Review

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24 pages, 5190 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ti(C,N) and WC-Based Cermets: A Review of Synthesis, Properties and Applications in Additive Manufacturing

by Lida Heydari, Pablo F. Lietor, Francisco A. Corpas-Iglesias and Oscar H. Laguna

Materials 2021, 14(22), 6786; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14226786 - 10 Nov 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3711

Abstract

In recent years, the use of cermets has shown significant growth in the industry due to their interesting features that combine properties of metals and ceramics, and there are different possible types of cermets, depending on their composition. This review focuses on cemented tungsten carbides (WC), and tungsten carbonitrides (WCN), and it is intended to analyze the relationship between chemical composition and processing techniques of these materials, which results in their particular microstructural and mechanical properties. Moreover, the use of cermets as a printing material in additive manufacturing or 3D printing processes has recently emerged as one of the scenarios with the greatest projection, considering that they manufacture parts with greater versatility, lower manufacturing costs, lower raw material expenditure and with advanced designs. Therefore, this review compiled and analyzed scientific papers devoted to the synthesis, properties and uses of cermets of TiC and WC in additive manufacturing processes reported thus far. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Progresses in the Development, Microstructure and Properties of Ceramic-Metal Composites (Cermets))

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