Synthesis and characterization of metal carbides for nanoindentation tip applications

L. A. Boatner, C. B. Finch, W. E. Brundage, J. A. Kolopus, G. R. Gruzalski, K. E. Johanns, P. Sudharshan Phani, G. M. Pharr, W. C. Oliver

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Instrumented indentation experiments at elevated temperatures require careful attention to a myriad of experimental details. Not the least of these is the choice of the indenter tip material. Traditional room-temperature indenters, e.g., diamond and sapphire, can break down, react, and wear excessively at elevated temperatures. In this work, rf-induction heating float-zone and high-temperature solution single-crystal growth techniques have been used to prepare a suite of bulk refractory carbide specimens (i.e., ZrC, VC0.86, NbC, TiC0.95, WC). These potential indenter tip materials were subsequently characterized using nanoindentation testing techniques to determine their single-crystal elastic modulus, hardness, and fracture toughness in order to evaluate their potential for use as elevated-temperature nanoindentation tips. Additionally, subject carbide crystal characteristics were compared to those of single-crystal sapphire and polycrystalline WC-Co. The cumulative results show that single-crystal WC is a promising candidate for indenter tip material based on a combination of its high elastic modulus, hardness, and resistance to cracking - in addition to being crystallographically favorable for fabrication in the frequently used three-sided pyramidal indenter tip geometries.

Original languageEnglish
Article number095107
JournalJournal of Applied Physics
Volume133
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 7 2023

Funding

The authors wish to express their gratitude to J. J. Roa from the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Barcelona for providing samples and insight into the polycrystalline WC-Co. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DMR-1743343. Research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences, and Engineering Division. After long and productive research careers at ORNL, C. B. Finch and W. E. Brundage, unfortunately, are now deceased. The authors acknowledge with thanks the contributions and assistance of Sandra MacPherson to both the manuscript text and figure preparation pertaining to this article. The authors wish to express their gratitude to J. J. Roa from the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Barcelona for providing samples and insight into the polycrystalline WC-Co. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DMR-1743343. Research at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences, and Engineering Division. After long and productive research careers at ORNL, C. B. Finch and W. E. Brundage, unfortunately, are now deceased. The authors acknowledge with thanks the contributions and assistance of Sandra MacPherson to both the manuscript text and figure preparation pertaining to this article.

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