Room-temperature, ductile carbides

Abstract

Large-grained, oriented, polycrystalline samples of Ti3SiC2 loaded in compression at room temperature deform plastically. When the basal planes are oriented in such a way that allows for slip, deformation occurs by the formation of shear bands. The minimum critical resolved shear stress at room temperature is ≈36 MPa. When the slip planes are parallel to the applied load - a situation where ordinary glide is impossible - deformation occurs by a combination of delamination of, and kink band formation in, individual grains, as well as by shear band formation. It is this unique multiplicity of deformation modes that allows the material to deform plastically in any arbitrary orientation.