Rapid reactive synthesis and sintering of submicron TiC/SiC composites through spark plasma sintering

Submicrometer TiC/SiC composites were fabricated by a rapid reactive sintering process through spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique using the carbon, titanium, and nanosized-SiC powders without any additive. It was found that the composite could be sintered in a relatively short time (8 min at 1480 degreesC) to 97.9% of theoretical density. After sintering, the phase constituents and microstructures of the samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction techniques and observed by scanning electron microscopy. The effect of nanosized and microsized SiC additives on the microstructure of TiC/SiC composites was investigated.