Preparation and characterization of nanocrystalline Ti-2 at%Fe-10 at%Si alloy by mechanical alloying and pulsed current sintering process

Ti-2 at% Fe-10 at%Si amorphous powder was synthesized by mechanical alloying (MA) of pure Ti, Fe and Si powders using a planetary ball milling for 1440 ks. The crystallization temperature of the obtained amorphous powder was about 830 K. Ti-2 at%Fe-10at%Si amorphous powder was consolidated using a pulsed current sintering (PCS) process at a die temperature of 773 K under a pressure of 372 MPa. The compact was densified at the die temperature between 743 K and 763 K with the crystallization of amorphous phase. The obtained Ti-2 at%Fc-10 at%Si alloy consists mainly of nanocrystalline alpha-Ti phase. The compressive strength of the nanocrystalline compact at a room temperature was more than 1.7 GPa, which was much higher than that of the commercial Ti-6 mass%Al-4 mass%V alloy.