Microstructure and wear behavior of spark plasma sintered Ti3SiC2 and Ti3SiC2–TiC composites

In this paper, processing of Ti3SiC2 and Ti3SiC2–TiC composites from Ti/Si/TiC/Al powder using spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1250 °C is reported. The TiC content in the starting powder mixture was optimized such that the resultant Ti3SiC2–TiC composites retained up to 30 vol% excess TiC as reinforcement. The phase content of TiC reinforcement in the composites, calculated from x-ray diffraction analysis, is compared with TiC content in excess of stoichiometric TiC content needed for the formation of Ti3SiC2. The results indicate that the composition of the SPS sintered Ti3SiC2–TiC composites (relative percentages of Ti3SiC2 matrix and TiC reinforcement content) can be effectively tailored by optimum design of the composition of starting powder mixture. The effect of TiC reinforcement content on relative density, phase development, microstructure, hardness, and friction and wear behavior of Ti3SiC2 and Ti3SiC2–TiC composites are presented.