Effect of Porosity on High Temperature Compressive Behavior of Textured Ti3SiC2 Bodies Prepared by Pressureless Sintering

To clarify the effect of pores on high temperature compressive behavior due to kink deformation, textured Ti3SiC2 pressureless sintered bodies were fabricated and examined by high temperature compression tests with different porosities. The textured Ti3SiC2 pressureless sintered bodies were prepared by slip casting in a strong magnetic field and spark plasma sintering at 1400 degrees C for 1 h. Samples were cut into rectangular shape with 45 degrees between the casting direction and the compression axis, and compression tests were conducted at 1200 degrees C at a strain rate of 3 x 10-4s-1. Porosity was evaluated by Archimedes method and binarization. Crystal orientation analysis using EBSD method was performed to observe the microstructure evolution before and after the compression test. The sintered bodies had a strongly textured microstructure with homogeneous dispersed pores. The results of high temperature compression tests showed that the 0.2% proof stress depended on the porosity before compression tests. On the other hand, the work hardening coefficient was larger for pressureless sintered sample with high porosity, which attributed to the densification associated with the compression. Microstructural observations indicated that fi ne kink bands formed in the middle stage of the compression and then disappeared, suggesting that this is important for clarifying kink-band strengthening in the MAX phase.