A Novel Method to Fabricate Tough Cylindrical Ti2AlC/Graphite Layered Composite with Improved Deformation Capacity

Based on the structure feature of a tree, a cylindrical Ti 2 AlC/graphite layered composite has been fabricated through heat treating a graphite column and six close-matched thin wall Ti 2 AlC cylinders bonded with the Ti 2 AlC powders at 1300 o C and low oxygen partial pressure.SEM examination reveals that the bond interlayers between cylinders or that between cylinder and column are not fully dense without any crack formation.During the compressive test, the strain of the Ti 2 AlC/graphite layered composite is about twice higher than that of the monolithic Ti 2 AlC ceramic, and the compressive strength of the layered composite is 348 MPa.The layered composite show the noncatastrophic fracture behaviors due to the debonding and shelling off of the layers, which are different from the monolithic Ti 2 AlC ceramic.The mechanism of the improved deformation capacity and noncatastrophic failure modes are attributed to the presence of the central soft graphite column and cracks deflection by the bond interlayers.