Abstract
Ti-20 mass% Ni cermet was near net formed by pulsed current sintering at low temperature. When TiC powder and Ni powder as starting materials were mechanically alloyed for 72 ks, Ni was homogeneously distributed. The obtained mixture was consolidated by a pulsed current sintering using by graphite die and punch. At the heating rate of 100 K/min, the liquid phase of Ni was generated because of the overheating of the punch. The generation of the liquid phase promoted the reaction with the graphite punch and obstructed the densification of a compact. It was effective to increase the ratio of the sectional area of punch to that of die to prevent this phenomenon.
When 37.5 mass% of the TiC powder in the MA was changed into the Ti powder and C powder, a combustion reaction was observed during the pulsed current sintering. This reaction was efficient for the pulsed current sintering to near net forming of TiC-20mass%Ni at a low temperature.
