Abnormal thermal shock behavior of Ti3SiC2 and Ti3AlC2

Many layered ternary ceramics displayed unusual thermal shock behavior, i.e., the retained strengths of as-quenched samples increased with increasing quench temperature above a critical quench temperature. However, the causation was not clear even though this phenomenon has been observed for 10 years. In this study, the thermal shock behavior of Ti3SiC2 and Ti3AlC2, two representative members of layered ternary ceramics, was investigated. The results indicated that the formation of surface oxides was responsible for this abnormal phenomenon. These results might contribute to the understanding of this unusual behavior of other layered ternary ceramics.