Effects of sintering temperature on microstructure and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered titanium

Abstract

Titanium is a lightweight metal with particular properties which make it the material of choice for many different applications. Among powder metallurgy techniques, rapid manufacturing routes at relatively low temperatures, such as spark plasma sintering (SPS) process, which involve the simultaneous application of pressure and temperature, result in titanium engineering components with higher relative density and good mechanical properties, compared to the conventional sintering methods. The microstructure evolution and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered commercially pure titanium were studied. Sintering process was performed at a temperature range of 750-1350 degrees C for a dwell time of 5 min under an external pressure of 50 MPa in vacuum. The samples were investigated in terms of relative density, microstructure, phase analysis, tensile properties, bending strength, hardness and nanoindentation. Results were judgmentally discussed and associated to SPS temperature. A fully-dense sample with highest mechanical performance was obtained after SPS at 1200 degrees C.