Formation and Properties of the Ta-Y₂O₃, Ta-ZrO₂, and Ta-TaC Nanocomposites

Table 1

Mechanical properties of the investigated hot-pressed Ta-ceramic nanocomposites (data for micro- and nanocrystalline Ta for comparison).

	Mechanical properties
	HV	EIT (GPa)	Wt (µJ)	Nplast (%)	CIT (%)
Ta micro	447 ± 17	211 ± 5	0.17 ± 0.01	81.6 ± 0.5	1.92 ± 0.08
Ta nano	584 ± 19	164 ± 8	0.16 ± 0.01	71.1 ± 2.5	1.54 ± 0.19
Ta nanocomposites:
Ta-5Y2O3	1055 ± 23	248 ± 2	0.12 ± 0.01	63.6 ± 0.7	1.14 ± 0.08
Ta-10Y2O3	835 ± 23	234 ± 2	0.14 ± 0.01	68.7 ± 0.5	1.56 ± 0.07
Ta-20Y2O3	1165 ± 8	242 ± 1	0.12 ± 0.01	60.0 ± 0.2	1.26 ± 0.03
Ta-40Y2O3	436 ± 52	114 ± 10	0.20 ± 0.04	70.3 ± 3.5	1.70 ± 0.48
Ta-5ZrO2	821 ± 24	231 ± 4	0.14 ± 0.01	69.6 ± 1.0	1.66 ± 0.08
Ta-10ZrO2	920 ± 24	240 ± 8	0.13 ± 0.01	67.3 ± 0.5	1.72 ± 0.09
Ta-20ZrO2	1003 ± 3	246 ± 1	0.13 ± 0.01	64.7 ± 0.1	1.30 ± 0.03
Ta-40ZrO2	366 ± 44	115 ± 3	0.21 ± 0.02	75.5 ± 2.6	2.15 ± 0.17
Ta-5TaC	984 ± 21	273 ± 3	0.13 ± 0.01	67.8 ± 0.4	1.29 ± 0.05
Ta-10TaC	1398 ± 46	336 ± 5	0.11 ± 0.01	61.6 ± 0.9	1.01 ± 0.05
Ta-20TaC	1252 ± 69	303 ± 11	0.12 ± 0.01	63.5 ± 1.2	1.17 ± 0.07
Ta-40TaC	994 ± 48	346 ± 12	0.12 ± 0.01	70.1 ± 1.6	2.17 ± 0.69

HV, Vickers hardness; E_IT, indentation modulus; W_t, total mechanical work of indentation; N_plast, plastic deformation portion; C_IT, indentation creep.