Contour maps of mechanical properties in ternary ZrB₂-TiC-SiC ceramic system

Monolithic ZrB₂, ZrB₂-SiC, ZrB₂-TiC and ZrB₂-SiC-TiC were fabricated by hot pressing. Contour maps depicting grain size and mechanical properties were generated on the ZrB₂-SiC-TiC ternary diagram through experimental data and software fitting. These visual representations effectively establish the relationships between chemical composition and material properties, despite the similar high hardness of three main compounds. Notably, the average grain size of ZrB₂-SiC-TiC is significantly reduced by an order of magnitude compared to monolithic ZrB₂. Both strength and hardness exhibit a strong correlation with grain size, while the elastic modulus demonstrates insensitivity to microstructure changes. The evolution of toughness proves to be complex.