Investigating the Effects of Gel Casting Parameters on the Suspension Rheology and Mechanical Properties of Titanium Carbide Green Body

In this paper the chemo-rheological behavior of aqueous TiC suspension and physical properties of gelcasted green body were investigated. The monomer system used in this project was acrylamide (AM) and methylenebisacrylamide (MBAM). Polymerisation reaction was promoted by the addition of tetramethyl ethylenediamine as a catalyst and ammonium persulfate as a initiator. The effects of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), polyethylenimine (PEI) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) dispersants on the premix solution containing TiC powder have been studied via observation of the zeta potential and rheological behavior. The optimal amount of TMAH was achieved 0.4 wt.% at pH 9. The chemorheological results showed that the gelation time decreased and viscosity increased with increasing the monomer content, solid loading, initiator amount and temperature. The highest flexural strength of gel casted green body was obtained with 50 vol% solid loading and 25 wt.% monomers content.