One-step process for the fabrication of Ti porous compact and its surface modification by environmental-electro-discharge-sintering of spherical Ti powders

A single pulse of 1.0 kJ/0.7 g of atomized spherical Ti powders from 300 μF capacitor was applied to produce a porous-surfaced Ti compact by environmental-electro-discharge-sintering (EEDS). A solid core was automatically formed by a discharge in the middle of the compact which is surrounded by a porous layer, which increased the porous compact's compressive yield strength from 52 to 125 MPa. The surface of the EEDS compact has been instantaneously modified by a discharge into the form of primarily Ti nitride from TiO2. Therefore, EEDS can fabricate a Ti porous-surfaced compact with a solid core and simultaneously modify its surface chemistry in times as short as 122 μs.