Nano ZrO2-10 vol.% TiN composite was fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) using nano sized 3Y-ZrO2 and TiN particles as initial materials. The effects of sintering temperature of 1100-1300 oC, heating rate of 2-250 oC/min, annealing time of 5-120 min, and applied pressure of 20-100 MPa on the microstructure and mechanical properties were systemically investigated. It was confirmed that the main compositions of densified composites were t-ZrO2 and c-TiN. Both the sintering temperature above 1100 oC and the applied pressure above 60 MPa were the most important factors to affect the full densification of composites. The grain sizes of ZrO2 and TiN were kept below 243 and 171 nm, respectively. Vickers hardness of 13.90-15.53 GPa, fracture toughness of 2.91-5.44MPa • m1/2, and Young's modulus of 216.2-228.0 GPa of dense composites ascribed to the sintering parameters were discussed.

Keywords: ZrO2, TiN, Composite, Spark plasma sintering, Microstructure, Properties.