EFFECT OF RESIDUAL PRESSURE ON STRUCTURE AND STRENGTH OF POROUS TITANIUM CARBIDE OBTAINED BY ULTRARAPID SYNTHESIS IN VACUO

The effects of the residual pressure on the structure and properties o f porous titanium carbide, obtained by ultra-rapid synthesis in vacuo, have been established. It was shown that as the residual pressure inc reased, the strength of the material was reduced, but the scatter in t he values, increased. Other experiments, in which coarse graphite was used to retard the reaction, showed that the morphology of the large p ores depended no the residual pressure. A layer of low porosity, conta ining unburned graphite, was formed on the sides of the samples and th is promoted the build-up of the pores into chains. The reduction in st rength and the increase in the scatter of the values were due to the f ormation of large defects, such as large pores and chains of pores.