Thermal shock behavior of co-continuous TiCx-Cu cermets in air and anaerobic environment

The present work investigated the microstructure and mechanical properties of TiCx-Cu cermets before and after thermal shock tests. Thermal shock temperature was from 800 °C to 1200 °C and number of cycles was from 1 to 20. The results indicated that TiCx-Cu cermets with co-continuous structure exhibited a stable and excellent thermal shock resistance. When quenched at 1000 °C for 1 cycle, the residual flexural strength of the cermet increased to 882 MPa, which was 10.1% higher than that without thermal shock. After 20 cycles of thermal shock, the residual flexural strength still maintain 760 MPa. When quenched at 800 °C and 1200 °C, the strengths of cermet decreased correspondingly, which were caused by the thermal mismatch between metal and ceramics and effusion of Cu or collapses of oxide layer, respectively. Herein, the recrystallization and refinement of metal phase grains caused during the thermal shock process, resulting in the superior thermal shock performance of cermet.