Abstract
The influence of mechanical activation by ball milling (BM) of Ti, B and graphite powders mixture on the synthesis of dense B4C-41% vol. TiB2 composite by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) is investigated. BM treatment produces grains size refinement (50–150nm) in the processing powders and the formation of TiB and TiB2, when milling times are longer than 6h.The synthesis process occurs through a solid-state diffusion mechanism where the first crystalline phase formed is TiB, which is gradually converted to TiB2, while the formation of B4C takes place subsequently. The complete conversion of unmilled reactants is reached at about 1500°C, while this goal is achieved at 1100°C when using 3h milled powders. A near to fully dense product with fine grained microstructure (down to submicrometer level) and homogeneous phases distribution is obtained by SPS when starting from 8h milled powders, if the applied current intensity does not overcome 1150A.
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