Evaluation of Fracture Toughness of Tantalum Carbide Ceramic Layer: A Vickers Indentation Method

A tantalum carbide (TaC) ceramic layer was produced on gray cast iron matrix by in situ technique comprising a casting process and a subsequent heat treatment at 1135 °C for 45 min. Indentation fracture toughness in TaC ceramic layer was determined by the Vickers indentation test for various loads. A Niihara approach was chosen to assess the fracture toughness of TaC ceramic layer under condition of the Palmqvist mode in the experiment. The results reveal that K_IC evaluation of TaC ceramic layer by the Vickers indentation method strongly depends on the selection of crack system and K_IC equations. The critical indentation load for Vickers crack initiation in TaC ceramic layer lies between 1 and 2 N and the cracks show typical intergranular fracture characteristics. Indentation fracture toughness calculated by the indentation method is independent of the indentation load on the specimen. The fracture toughness of TaC ceramic layer is 6.63 ± 0.34 MPa m^1/2, and the toughening mechanism is mainly crack deflection.