Abstract
The deformation properties of a TiC-Mo eutectic composite were investigated in a compression test at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 2053 K and at strain rates ranging from $3.9{\times}10^{-5}s^{-1}$ to $4.9{\times}10^{-3}s^{-1}$. It was found that this material shows excellent high-temperature strength as well as appreciable room-temperature toughness, suggesting that the material is a good candidate for high-temperature application as a structure material. At a low-temperature, high strength is observed. The deformation behavior is different among the three temperature ranges tested here, i.e., low, intermediate and high. At an intermediate temperature, no yield drop occurs, and from the beginning the work hardening level is high. At a high temperature, a yield drop occurs again, after which deformation proceeds with nearly constant stress. The temperature- and yield-stress-dependence of the strain is the strongest in this case among the three temperature ranges. The observed high-temperature deformation behavior suggests that the excellent high-temperature strength is due to the constraining of the deformation in the Mo phase by the thin TiC components, which is considerably stronger than bulk TiC. It is also concluded that the appreciable room-temperature toughness is ascribed to the frequent branching of crack paths as well as to the plastic deformation of the Mo phase.