Densification and microstructural studies of titanium–boron carbide (B4C) powder mixture during spark plasma sintering

The present study investigates the densification behavior of Ti–B4C powder mixture based on the analysis of linear shrinkage and current data obtained during spark plasma sintering. Pure titanium attains faster densification than Ti–B4C powder mixture. Ti–B4C powder mixture takes higher temperatures to achieve maximum densification as B4C percentage increases. The phase evolution of TiB and TiC according to the in-situ reactions was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images provide evidence that the massive spherical particles transform into equiaxed and needle like structures over increasing sintering time. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis reveals the presence of TiB and TiC reinforcements as needle like and equiaxed structures respectively.