Effect of iron & boron content on the Spark Plasma Sintering of Ti-B-Fe alloys

The effect of a change in iron and boron contents on the Spark Plasma Sintering behaviour in the Ti-B-Fe alloys has been investigated through dilatometric sintering study using various samples having Ti-rich compositions. These samples are adequately chosen to study the sintering behaviour on the addition of boron and iron on the Ti-rich corner. The rate of sintering of Ti-B-Fe alloys was found to increase with an increase in iron content. The sintering enhancement can be attributed to the high diffusivity of iron in alpha-Ti and beta-Ti phases and due to the formation of the intermetallic phase which results in greater overall shrinkage. The shrinkage was found to decrease with increase in boron content due to a greater amount of TiB2 which doesn't participate in sintering in the observed range. (C) 2018 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.