Effect of nickel boride additive on simultaneous densification and phase decomposition of TiB2–WB2 solid solutions by pressureless sintering using induction heating

Short time process of simultaneous densification and phase decomposition of TiB2–WB2 solid solutions by pressureless sintering using induction heating has been investigated. The products were obtained by sintering of mixture powder compacts of (Ti,W)B2 with nickel and boron (Ni/B = 3/1) varying between 0 and 7.5 wt.%. It was found that the presence of nickel boride as an additive markedly enhances the kinetics of the subsequent densification and decomposition from the (Ti,W)B2 single phase to the two phases of (Ti,W)B2 and (W,Ti)B2. The sintered products were evaluated using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis. In an addition of 7.5 wt.%, the product with a relative density of 91% is produced by induction heating for only 600 s. The mechanical properties of the product, which improved by densification and decomposition of (Ti,W)B2, is also presented.