Refinement of TiB₂ Powders with High-speed Planetary Mill and Its Effect on TiB₂ Sinterability

Abstract

Titanium diboride ceramic was produced via spark plasma sintering (SPS) using finer TiB₂ powder made by high-speed planetary ball milling. The effects of ball milling parameters on the composites and particle size of TiB₂ powder were investigated. It was shown that the average particle size of TiB₂ powder decreased from 5.8 to 1.59 µm and the wear rate of WC balls was 1.58 wt%, when the ball-to-powder weight ratio (BPR), the rotary speed and milling time and were 10:1, 600 rpm and 20 min, respectively. The content of WC in TiB₂ powder can be limited below 4.58 vol% by optimizing the milling conditions. The sintering temperature of TiB₂ powder milled can be decreased obviously, and the mechanical properties are evidently improved and the microstructure becomes more homogeneous when the powder of TiB₂ becomes finer. The relative density, hardness, bending strength, and fracture toughness of the TiB₂ ceramic fabricated at 1 700 °C reach the optimal values, which are 98.13%, 19.14 GPa, 756 MPa, and 5.71 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. The decrease of TiB₂ particle size and the introduction of WC are the potential reasons for the improvement of TiB₂ ceramic performance.

Keywords

TiB₂ ceramic / high-speed planetary ball mill / particle size / WC / mechanical property

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