Properties and rapid consolidation of nanostructured TiC-based hard materials with various binders by a high-frequency induction heated sintering

The densification of hard TiC–10 vol.% binder (Co, Ni, Fe) materials was accomplished within 2 min using a high-frequency induction heated sintering (HFIHS) method. The advantage of this process is not only rapid densification to almost the theoretical density but also the prevention of grain growth of the nano-structured materials. Highly dense TiC–binder (Co, Ni, Fe) composites with a relative density of up to 99.9% were obtained within 2 min by HFIHS under 80 MPa. The average grain size of TiC in the TiC–10 vol.% Ni composite was approximately 44 nm. The hardness and fracture toughness of the dense TiC–10 vol.% binder (Co, Ni, Fe) composite produced by HFIHS were also investigated.