Ti(C,N) solid solutions in hot-pressed Ti() (x=0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0) and 40TiC-40TiN-20Ni (in wt.%) cermet were characterized in this study. For hot-pressed Ti(C,N)s, the lattice parameters and hardness values of Ti(C,N) were determined by using XRD (X-Ray Diffraction) and nanoindentation. The properties of hot-pressed Ti(C,N) samples changed linearly with their carbon or nitrogen contents. For the TiC-TiN-Ni cermet, the hardness of the hard phase and binder phase were determined by nanoindentation in conjunction with microstructural observation. The measured hardness values were GPa for the binder phase and GPa for the hard phase, which was close to the hardness of hot-pressed Ti().

The indentation technique has been one of the most commonly used techniques for the measurement of the mechanical properties of materials due to its experimental ease and speed. Recently, the scope of indentation has been enlarged down to the nanometer range through the development of instrumentations capable of continuously measuring load and displacement. In addition to testing hardness, the elastic modulus of submicron area could be measured from an indentation load-displacement (P-h) curve. In this study, the hardness values of the constituent phases in Ti()-NbC-Ni cermets were evaluated by nanoindentation. SEM observation of the indented surface was indispensable in order to separate the hardness of each constituent phase since the Ti()-based cermets have relatively inhomogeneous microstructure. The measured values of hardness using nanoindentation were GPa for hard phase and GPa for binder phase. The effect of NbC addition on hardness was not obvious in this work.

서멧이란(Cermet) '세라믹 경질상과 금속 결합상의 복합체"를 의미하나 절삭 골구계에서는 좁은 의미의 "TiC 혹은 Ti(CN)을 바탕을 Ni,Co를 결합상으로 하는 초경재료"를 의미한다. 이런한 서멧은 전략 물질적 성격이 강한 Co,W로 구성된 WC-Co 초경 합금을 대체하기 위해 고안되었는ㄴ데 ㄴ놓은 경도와 고온에서의 화학적 안정성, 낮은 비중과 저렴한 원료 가격등이 장점이나 WC-Co에 비해 상대적으로 낮은 인성이 문제점으로 지적 되어왔다.Ti