Sintering behavior of Al2O3-TiC composite powder prepared by SHS process

Al2O3-TiC composite powder was prepared by the self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) process, using TiO2, Al, and C powders as raw materials. The effects of keeping the TiO2:Al:C molar ratio fixed at 3:4:2.7 while varying the carbon sources and cooling time on the products were studied. The highest combustion temperature and combustion velocity were obtained at activated carbon. But, microstructure and mechanical properties of sintered Al2O3-TiC composite did not show any significant differences according to the carbon sources. Hot pressing was found to be very effective in hindering the formation of pore and obtaining a dense sintered body at 1650°C. The sintered body produced by hot-pressing was about 98.8% and 99.2% of the theoretical density for synthesized and commercial powder respectively.