Comparative study of β-Si3N4 powders prepared by SHS sintered by spark plasma sintering and hot pressing

β-Si3N4 powders prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) with additions of Y2O3 and Al2O3 were sintered by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The densification, microstructure, and mechanical properties of Si3N4 ceramics prepared using this method were compared with those obtained by hot pressing process. Well densified Si3N4 ceramics with finer and homogeneous microstructure and better mechanical properties were obtained in the case of the SPS technique at 200℃ lower than that of hot pressing. The microhardness is 15.72 GPa, the bending strength is 716.46 MPa, and the fracture toughness is 7.03 MPa.m1/2.     

Preparation of ZrB2 Ceramics by Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis and Hot Pressing Sintering

ZrB2 ceramics were prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis（SHS） and were sintered by hot pressing（HP）.The effects of the granularities and doses of raw materials in Zr-B2O3-Mgon SHS process and product were investigated.XRD and combustion temperature curves prove that the ideal SHS reactants of Zr-B2O3-Mg are 50μm Zr powder,75μm B2O3 powder and 400μm Mg powder with 45% excessive.The particle sizes of SHS product,acid-leached product,sintered product are 2-5μm,0.5-2μm,2-10μm respectively.Chemical analysis indicates that the acid-leached product consists of ZrB2（94.59%）,ZrO2（3.87%）,and H3BO3（1.54%）,The sintered product has a relative density of 95.4%.     

Corrosion behaviors of NdFeB magnets prepared by spark plasma sintering

The spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique was introduced into the field of NdFeB preparation due to its own advantages. High property NdFeB magnets with fine grains were prepared by SPS method. The corrosion behaviors of SPS NdFeB were studied by electrochemical measurements and 92% RH hyther tests at 353 K. The results were compared with those of the traditional sintered NdFeB magnets. It shows that both the SPS NdFeB and the traditional sintered NdFeB have good corrosion resistance in alkaline environment due to surface passivation; while, the fine grain microstructure of SPS NdFeB results in a more homogeneous phase com-position distribution and thus reduces the electrochemical inhomogenity between the ferromagnetic phase and the Nd-rich inter-granular phase in the magnet. Therefore, the SPS NdFeB exhibits better corrosion resistance than the traditional sintered NdFeB in neutral and weak acidic environment.     

The Densification of Cu／Ti System by Spark Plasma Sintering

In order to unclose the dynamics of SPS densification, a special sintering sample (Cul Ti wires compact) was designed. Characters of the shrinkage rates during sintering process and mierostructures of products fabrieated by the spark plasma sintering( SPS ) and hot-press .sintering were investigated. The experimental results reveal that a higher temperature field is formed at the connected area and conductive net of the compact. These high-temperature parts deformed more easily than other parts, which is believed to be the main cause of SPS fast densification, according to a hard-core and soft-hell material model.     

机械活化Fe-Al粉在SPS烧结条件下的相变特征

采用机械活化-放电等离子烧结(MASPS)方法制备FeAl金属间化合物,利用差热分析仪、X射线衍射、扫描电镜和能谱对烧结过程相的变化、组织形貌和反应过程进行了研究,发现在500℃时,Fe与Al还是以单质形式存在,600℃时,单质Al消失,并伴随有Fe2Al5的生成,700℃时有FeAl生成,在900℃时则只有FeAl.采用该种方法可以快速原位制得FeAl金属间化合物.     

Microstructure and properties of W-15Cu alloys prepared by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering process

W-15Cu composite powders prepared by mechanical alloying （MA） of raw powders were consolidated by spark plasma sintering （SPS） process at temperature ranged 1 230-1 300 ℃ for 10 min and under a pressure of 30 MPa. By using high energy milling, particles containing very fine tungsten grains embedded in copper, called composite particles, could be produced. The W grains were homogeneously dispersed in copper phase, which was very important to obtain W-Cu alloy with high mechanical properties, fine and homogeneous microstructure. The microstructure and properties of W-15Cu alloys prepared by SPS processes at different temperature were researched. The results show that W-15Cu alloys consolidated by SPS can reach 99.6 % relative density, and transverse rupture strength （TRS） is 1 400.9 MPa, Rockwell C hardness （HRC） is 45.2, the thermal conductivity is 196 W/m-K at room temperature, the average grain size is less than 2 μm, and W-15Cu alloy with excellent properties, homogeneous and fine microstructure is obtained.     

Microstructure and properties of Si3N4 ceramics obtained from addition of β-phase seeds and celsian

The silicon nitride based ceramics obtained by the addition of β-Si3N4 seeds was fabricated using celsian as the additive and by pressureless sintering. The microstructure of the material was observed and analyzed using XRD, SEM, and TEM and the mechanical response of this array microstructure was characterized for flexural strength and fracture behavior. The result shows that the growth of the larger aspect ratio grains initiate mainly from the seeds through the heterogeneous nucleation mechanism during the process of phase transformation, and the intergranular phase BaAl2Si20s services as good refractory materials. In contrast to conventional processing, a stable bimodal microstructure and complicated component with a lower cost can be achieved using the abovementioned process theoretically and practically.     

Fabrication of Dense Ultrafine TiAl Alloys by Spark Plasma Synthesis from Mechanically Activiated Powders

Powder of Ti-46at%Al alloy was synthesized through mechanical activation（MA） and then sintered and concurrently consolidated in a short sintering time of 900 s by using a spark plasma sintering（SPS） process. The XRD and SEM profiles show that the microstructures of TiAl alloys contained γ TiAl and small amount α-2 Ti3Al phase, whose amount can be controlled by the sintering temperature. The compacts retained the original fine-grained fully densified bodies by avoiding an excessively high sintering temperature. The alloys sintered at higher temperature with this process showed a coarser microstructure. So it is possible to produce dense nanostructured TiAl alloys by mechanically activated spark plasma sintering （MASPS） within a very short period of time.     

Synthesis and sintering of Mg<Subscript>2</Subscript>Si thermoelectric generator by spark plasma sintering

Raw Mg,Si powder were used to fabricate Mg2Si bulk thermoelectric generator by spark plasma sintering （SPS）.The optimum parameters to synthesize pure Mg2Si powder were found to be 823 K,0 MPa,10 min with excessive content of 10wt% Mg from the stoichiometric Mg2Si.Mg2Si bulk was synthesized and densified simultaneously at low temperature （823 K） and high pressure （higher than 100 MPa） from the raw powder,but Mg,Si could not react completely,and the sample was not very dense with some microcracks on the surface.Then,Mg,Si powder reacted at 823 K,0 MPa,10 min in SPS chamber to form Mg2Si green compact,again sintered by SPS at 1023 K,20 MPa,5 min.The fabricated sample only contained Mg2Si phase with fully relative density.     

Atomic force microscope study of WC-10Co cemented carbide sintered from nanocrystalline composite powders

In order to compare the spark plasma sintedng （SPS） process plus hot isostatic press （HIP） with vacuum sintedng plus HIP, an investigation was carried out on the topography, microstructure and gain size distribution of nanocrystalline WC-10Co composite powder and the sintered specimens prepared by SPS plus HIP and by vacuum sintering plus HIP by means of atomic force microscopy （AFM）. The mechanical properties of the sintered specimens were also investigated. It is very easy to find cobalt lakes in the specimen prepared by vacuum sintering plus HIP process. But the microstructure of the specimen prepared by SPS plus HIP is more homogeneous, and the grain size is smaller than that prepared by vacuum sintering plus HIP. The WC-10Co ultrafine cemented carbide consolidated by SPS plus HIP can reach a relative density of 99.4%, and the transverse rupture strength （TRS） is higher than 3540 MPa, the Rockwell A hardness （HRA） is higher than 92.8, the average grain size is smaller than 300 nm, and the WC-10Co ultrafine cemented carbide with excellent properties is achieved. The specimen prepared by SPS with HIP has better properties and microstructure than that prepared by vacuum sintering with HIP.