Rapid synthesis of TiB2/Fe composite in situ by spark plasma sintering

The fabrication of TiB2 reinforced Fe matrix composite using spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique was reported. This process provided a novel method for rapid synthesis for TiB2/Fe composite and promoted its commercial applications. Commercial ferrotitanium and ferroboron were used as starting materials, while ferrotitanium and ferroboron powders were prepared using high energy planetary ball mill with stainless steel balls and steel vials in acetone. Powder mixture were placed into a cylindrical graphite die with an inner diameter of 20 mm. The milled powder were sintered to 800-1000 °C along a holding pressure of 30 MPa in vacuum. A pyrometer was used for monitoring the temperature during the SPS process. It was observed that maximum relative density of 98.62% was achieved when the composites were sintered at 1050 °C for 5 minutes.