Effects of explosions on refractory carbides

Hot-pressed samples of the refractory carbides TiC/sub 0.98/, ZrC/sub 0.96/ and NbC/sub 0.99/ were subjected to the effects of collision waves. Explosion pressing was done in steel cylindrical ampules and the pressure at the front of the detonation was 120 and 67 kbar. After the explosion an increase of the microhardness was observed in NbC and an increase of the density of dislocations was observed in all the carbides studied up to 10/sup 10/ cm/sup -2/. (tr-auth)