Effects of various sintering methods on microstructure and mechanical properties of CP-Ti powder consolidations

Effects of various sintering methods such as spark plasma sintering (SPS), hot pressing (HP) and electric resistance sintering (ERS) on the microstructure and mechanical properties of commercial pure titanium (CP-Ti) powder consolidations with particle size of <147 μm, <74 μm and <43 μm were studied. The smaller particle powders are densified to proceed at a higher rate. Dense titanium with relative density up to 99% is found to take place at 850 °C under 30 MPa of SPS and HP condition. However, in case of ERS, CP-Ti powders were densified almost at 950 °C under 30 MPa. The microstructure of sintered titanium is composed of equiaxed grains at 850–950 °C. The yield strength of sintered body composed of <43 μm powder is 858 MPa by using SPS at 850 °C under 30 MPa. When there is a higher content of small particle, the higher yield strength value is obtained both by using SPS and HP. However, when ERS is introduced, the highest yield strength is 441 MPa at 950 °C under 30 MPa, which shows much lower values than those by SPS and HP methods. ERS method takes much less sintering time compared with SPS and HP. Nevertheless, higher sintering temperature results in lower strength and elongation because of brittle fracture.