Spark plasma sintering of TiAl–Ti3AlC2 composite

A TiAl-15 wt% Ti3AlC2 composite was fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) method, using as-purchased Ti and Al powders as well as as-synthesized Ti3AlC2 MAX phase. Ti3AlC2 was synthesized via mechanically-activated self-propagating high-temperature synthesis of Ti, Al, and C powders in a tubular furnace. The mixture of Ti, Al and Ti3AlC2 was ball-milled and spark plasma sintered at 1000 degrees C for a dwell time of 15 min under an external pressure of 40 MPa in vacuum atmosphere. The microstructure and phase evolution as well as the mechanical properties of the as-sintered composite were studied. A relative density of similar to 95%, Vickers hardness of similar to 4.5 GPa, fracture toughness of 11.9 MPa m(1/2), and flexural strength of 336 MPa were obtained by such a low-temperature SPS route.