Dependence of Fracture Patterns in Spark Plasma Sintered Irregular Shaped Ti6Al4V Powders on Densification

The effect of densification on the fracture behaviour of spark plasma sintered irregular and angular shaped prealloyed Ti6Al4V powders was investigated in this study. Sintering was performed in vacuum at constant heating rate, applied pressure and holding time of 100̊C/min, 50 MPa and 5 min respectively with sintering temperature varied between 650 - 850̊C. Density measurements on sintered samples were according to Archimedes' principle while microstructural evolution and fractographic studies were carried out using a High Resolution Scanning Electron Microscope (HRSEM). Phase identification in sintered samples was achieved by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) respectively. Results showed that fracture pattern changed from intergranular to transgranular as densification improved from lower to higher sintering temperature.