Sintering and mechanical properties of AlZrC2

AlZrC 2 powder prepared by solid-state reaction was sintered using a pulse electric current sintering technique in a temperature range from 1700 to 2000°C under the pressure of 40 MPa in vacuum for 5 min. The density and mechanical properties of the sintered AlZrC 2 monolith were estimated. As heating temperature increased, the density of the AlZrC2 monolith increased and the mechanical properties were improved. The bulk density of the AlZrC 2 monolith sintered at 2000°C was 5.12 g/cm 3 . The maximum values of the fracture strength and Vickers' hardness were 380 MPa and 11.1 GPa, respectively.