A mixture of elemental Co50Si50 powders was subjected to mechanical alloying (MA) at room temperature to prepare a CoSi thermoelectric compound. Consolidation of the Co50Si50 mechanically alloyed powders was performed in a spark plasma sintering (SPS) machine using graphite dies up to 800 °C and 1,000 °C under 50 MPa. We have revealed that a nanocrystalline CoSi thermoelectric compound can be produced from a mixture of elemental Co50Si50 powders by mechanical alloying after 20 hours. The average grain size estimated from a Hall plot of the CoSi intermetallic compound prepared after 40 hours of MA was 65 nm. The degree of shrinkage of the consolidated samples during SPS became significant at about 450 °C. All of the compact bodies had a high relative density of more than 94 % with a metallic glare on the surface. X-ray diffraction data showed that the SPS compact produced by sintering mechanically alloyed powders for 40-hours up to 800 °C consisted of only nanocrystalline CoSi with a grain size of 110 nm.

In this study, an Al82Ni7Co3Y8 (at%) bulk metallic glass is fabricated using gas-atomized Al82Ni7Co3Y8 metallic glass powder and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of powder size on the consolidation of bulk metallic glass is considered by dividing it into 5 m or less and 20–45 m. The sintered Al82Ni7Co3Y8 bulk metallic glasses exhibit crystallization behavior and crystallization enthalpy similar to those of the Al82Ni7Co3Y8 powder with 5 m or less and it is confirmed that no crystallization occurred during the sintering process. From these results, we conclude that the Z-position-controlled spark plasma sintering process, using superplastic deformation by viscous flow in the supercooled liquid-phase region of amorphous powder, is an effective process for manufacturing bulk metallic glass.

We investigate the austenite stability in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn-X%Mo (X = 0, 1, and 2) alloys fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Mo is known as a ferrite stabilizing element, whereas Mn is an austenite stabilizing element, and many studies have focused on the effect of Mn addition on austenite stability. Herein, the volume fraction of austenite in nanocrystalline Fe-7%Mn alloys with different Mo contents is measured using X-ray diffraction. Using a disk compressive test, austenite in Fe–Mn–Mo alloys is confirmed to transform into strain-induced martensite during plastic deformation by a disk d. The variation in austenite stability in response to the addition of Mo is quantitatively evaluated by comparing the k-parameters of the kinetic equation for the strain-induced martensite transformation.

An alternative fabrication method for carburizing steel using spark plasma sintering (SPS) is investigated. The sintered carburized sample, which exhibits surface modification effects such as carburizing, sintered Fe, and sintered Fe–0.8 wt.%C alloys, is fabricated using SPS. X-ray diffraction and micro Vickers tests are employed to confirm the phase and properties. Finite element analysis is performed to evaluate the change in hardness and analyze the carbon content and residual stress of the carburized sample. The change in the hardness of the carburized sample has the same tendency to predict hardness. The difference in hardness between the carburized sample and the predicted value is also discussed. The carburized sample exhibits a compressive residual stress at the surface. These results indicate that the carburized sample experiences a surface modification effect without carburization. Field emission scanning electron microscopy is employed to verify the change in phase. A novel fabrication method for altering the carburization is successfully proposed. We expect this fabrication method to solve the problems associated with carburization.

Transition metal carbides (TMCs) are used to process difficult-to-cut materials due to the trend of requiring superior wear and corrosion properties compared to those of cemented carbides used in the cutting industry. In this study, TMC (TiC, TaC, Mo2C, and NbC)-based cermets were consolidated by spark plasma sintering at 1,300 oC (60 oCmin) with a pressure of 60 MPa with Co addition. The sintering behavior of TMCs depended exponentially on the function of the sintering exponent. The Mo2C-6Co cermet was fully densified, with a relative density of 100.0 %. The Co-binder penetrated the hard phase (carbides) by dissolving and re-precipitating, which completely densified the material. The mechanical properties of the TMCs were determined according to their grain size and elastic modulus: TiC-6Co showed the highest hardness of 1,872.9 MPa, while NbC-6Co showed the highest fracture toughness of 10.6 MPa*m1/2. The strengthened grain boundaries due to high interfacial energy could cause a high elastic modules; therefore, TiC-6Co showed a value of 452 ± 12 GPa.

In this study, a nanocrystalline FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy was fabricated, and its austenite stability, microstructure, and mechanical properties were investigated. A sintered FeNiCrMoMnSiC alloy sample with nanosized crystal was obtained by high-energy ball milling and spark plasma sintering. The sintering behavior was investigated by measuring the displacement according to the temperature of the sintered body. Through microstructural analysis, it was confirmed that a compact sintered body with few pores was produced, and cementite was formed. The stability of the austenite phase in the sintered samples was evaluated by X-ray diffraction analysis and electron backscatter diffraction. Results revealed a measured value of 51.6% and that the alloy had seven times more austenite stability than AISI 4340 wrought steel. The hardness of the sintered alloy was 60.4 HRC, which was up to 2.4 times higher than that of wrought steel.

In this study, binderless-WC, WC-6 wt%Co, WC-6wt% 1 and 2.5 B4C materials are fabricated by spark plasma sintering process (SPS process). Each fabricated WC material is almost completely dense, with a relative density up to 99.5 % after the simultaneous application of pressure of 60 MPa. The WC added Co and Co-B4C materials resulted in crystalline growth. The WC with HCP crystal structure has respective interfacial energy (basal facet direction: 1.07 ~ 1.34 J·m−2, prismatic direction: 1.43 ~ 3.02 J·m−2) that depends on the grain growth direction. It is confirmed that the continuous grain growth, biased by the basal facet, which has relatively low energy, is promoted at the WC/Co interface. As abnormal grain growth takes place, the grain size increases more than twice from 0.37 to 0.8 um. It is found through analysis that the hardness property also greatly decreases from about 2661.4 to 1721.4 kg/mm2, along with the grain growth.

Expensive PCBN or ceramic cutting tools are used for processing of difficult-to-cut materials such as Ti and Ni alloy materials. These tools have the problem of breaking easily due to their high hardness but low fracture toughness. To solve these problems, cutting tools that form various coating layers are used in low-cost WC-Co hard material tools, and research on various tool materials is being conducted. In this study, binderless-WC, WC-6 wt%Co, WC-6 wt%Co-1 wt% Mo2C, and WC-6 wt%Co-2.5 wt% Mo2C hard materials are densified using horizontal ball milled WC-Co, WC-Co-Mo2C powders, and spark plasma sintering process (SPS process). Each SPSed Binderless-WC, WC-6 wt%Co-1 wt% Mo2C, and WC-6 wt%Co- 2.5 wt% Mo2C hard materials are almost completely dense, with relative density of up to 99.5 % after the simultaneous application of pressure of 60 MPa and almost no significant change in grain size. The average grain sizes of WC for Binderless- WC, WC-6 wt%Co-1 wt% Mo2C, and WC-6 wt%Co-2.5 wt% Mo2C hard materials are about 0.37, 0.6, 0.54, and 0.43 μm, respectively. Mechanical properties, microstructure, and phase analysis of SPSed Binderless-WC, WC-6 wt%Co-1 wt% Mo2C, and WC-6 wt%Co-2.5 wt% Mo2C hard materials are investigated.

W2C is synthesized through a reaction-sintering process from an ultrafine-W and WC powder mixture using spark plasma sintering (SPS). The effect of various parameters, such as W:WC molar ratio, sintering temperature, and sintering time, on the synthesis behavior of W2C is investigated through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the microstructure, and final sintered density. Further, the etching properties of a W2C specimen are analyzed. A W2C sintered specimen with a particle size of 2.0 μm and a relative density over 98% could be obtained from a W-WC powder mixture with 55 mol%, after SPS at 1700℃ for 20 min under a pressure of 50 MPa. The sample etching rate is similar to that of SiC. Based on X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, it is confirmed that fluorocarbon-based layers such as C-F and C-F2 with lower etch rates are also formed.

The present study demonstrates the effect of magnetic pulse compaction and spark plasma sintering on the microstructure and mechanical property of a sintered W body. The relative density of green specimens prepared by magnetic pulse compaction increases with increase in applied pressure, but when the applied pressure is 3.4 GPa or more, some cracks in the specimen are observed. The pressureless-sintered W shows neck growth between W particles, but there are still many pores. The sintered body fabricated by spark plasma sintering exhibits a relative density of above 90 %, and the specimen sintered at 1,600 oC after magnetic pulse compaction shows the highest density, with a relative density of 93.6 %. Compared to the specimen for which the W powder is directly sintered, the specimen sintered after magnetic pulse compaction shows a smaller crystal grain size, which is explained by the reduced W particle size and microstructure homogenization during the magnetic pulse compaction process. Sintering at 1,600 oC led to the largest Vickers hardness value, but the value is slightly lower than that of the conventional W sintered body, which is attributed mainly to the increased grain size and low sintering density.

In this work, the electrical explosion of wire in liquid and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS) was introduced for the fabrication of Ni-graphite nanocomposites. The fabricated composite exhibited good enhancements in mechanical properties, such as yield strength and hardness, but reduced the ductility in comparison with that of nickel. The as-synthesized Ni-graphite (5 vol.% graphite) nanocomposite exhibited a compressive yield strength of 275 MPa (about 1.6 times of SPS-processed monolithic nickel ~170 MPa) and elongation to failure ~22%. The hardness of Nigraphite composite had a value of 135.46 HV, which is about 1.3 times higher than that of pure SPS-processed Ni (105.675 HV). In terms of processing, this work demonstrated that this processing route is a novel, simple, and low-cost method for the synthesis of nickel-graphite composites.

Recently, the amount of heat generated in devices has been increasing due to the miniaturization and high performance of electronic devices. Cu-graphite composites are emerging as a heat sink material, but its capability is limited due to the weak interface bonding between the two materials. To overcome these problems, Cu nanoparticles were deposited on a graphite flake surface by electroless plating to increase the interfacial bonds between Cu and graphite, and then composite materials were consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The Cu content was varied from 20 wt.% to 60 wt.% to investigate the effect of the graphite fraction and microstructure on thermal conductivity of the Cu-graphite composites. The highest thermal conductivity of 692 W m−1K−1 was achieved for the composite with 40 wt.% Cu. The measured coefficients of thermal expansion of the composites ranged from 5.36 × 10−6 to 3.06 × 10−6 K−1. We anticipate that the Cu-graphite composites have remarkable potential for heat dissipation applications in energy storage and electronics owing to their high thermal conductivity and low thermal expansion coefficient.

Nanoparticles of PbTe are prepared via chemical reaction of the equimolar aqueous solutions of Pb(CH3COO)2 and Te at 120°C. The size of the obtained particles is 100 nm after calcination in a hydrogen atmosphere. Dense specimens for the thermoelectric characterization are produced by spark plasma sintering of prepared powders at 400°C to 500°C under 80 MPa for 5 min. The relative densities of the prepared specimens reach approximately 97% and are identified as cubic based on X-ray diffraction analyses. The thermoelectric properties are evaluated between 100°C and 300°C via electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity. Compared with PbTe ingot, the reduction of the thermal conductivities by more than 30% is verified via phonon scattering at the grain boundaries, which thus contributes to the increase in the figure of merit.

W-10 wt% Ti alloys that have a homogeneous microstructure are prepared by thermal decomposition of WO3-TiH2 powder mixtures and spark plasma sintering. The reduction and dehydrogenation behavior of WO3 and TiH2 are analyzed by temperature programmed reduction and a thermogravimetric method, respectively. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the powder mixture, heat-treated in an argon atmosphere, shows W- oxides and TiO2 peaks. Conversely, the powder mixtures heated in a hydrogen atmosphere are composed of W, WO2 and TiO2 phases at 600 ℃ and W and W-rich β phases at 800 ℃. The densified specimen by spark plasma sintering at 1500 ℃ in a vacuum using hydrogen-reduced WO3-TiH2 powder mixtures shows a Vickers hardness value of 4.6 GPa and a homogeneous microstructure with pure W, β and Ti phases. The phase evolution dependent on the atmosphere and temperature is explained by the thermal decomposition and reaction behavior of WO3 and TiH2.

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT)–copper (Cu) composites are successfully fabricated by a combination of a binder-free wet mixing and spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The SPS is performed under various conditions to investigate optimized processing conditions for minimizing the structural defects of CNTs and densifying the MWCNT–Cu composites. The electrical conductivities of MWCNT–Cu composites are slightly increased for compositions containing up to 1 vol.% CNT and remain above the value for sintered Cu up to 2 vol.% CNT. Uniformly dispersed CNTs in the Cu matrix with clean interfaces between the treated MWCNT and Cu leading to effective electrical transfer from the treated MWCNT to the Cu is believed to be the origin of the improved electrical conductivity of the treated MWCNT–Cu composites. The results indicate the possibility of exploiting CNTs as a contributing reinforcement phase for improving the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties in the Cu matrix composites.

In this work, p-type Bi−Sb−Te alloys powders are prepared using gas atomization, a mass production powder preparation method involving rapid solidification. To study the effect of the sintering temperature on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties, gas-atomized powders are consolidated at different temperatures (623, 703, and 743 K) using spark plasma sintering. The crystal structures of the gas-atomized powders and sintered bulks are identified using an X-ray diffraction technique. Texture analysis by electron backscatter diffraction reveals that the grains are randomly oriented in the entire matrix, and no preferred orientation in any unique direction is observed. The hardness values decrease with increasing sintering temperature owing to a decrease in grain size. The conductivity increases gradually with increasing sintering temperature, whereas the Seebeck coefficient decreases owing to increases in the carrier mobility with grain size. The lowest thermal conductivity is obtained for the bulk sintered at a low temperature (603 K), mainly because of its fine-grained microstructure. A peak ZT of 1.06 is achieved for the sample sintered at 703 K owing to its moderate electrical conductivity and sustainable thermal conductivity.

We fabricate fine (<20 μm) powders of Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 alloys using a large-scale production method and subsequently consolidate them at temperatures of 573, 623, and 673 K using a spark plasma sintering process. The microstructure, mechanical properties, and thermoelectric properties are investigated for each sintering temperature. The microstructural features of both the powders and bulks are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, and the crystal structures are analyzed by X-ray diffraction analysis. The grain size increases with increasing sintering temperature from 573 to 673 K. In addition, the mechanical properties increase significantly with decreasing sintering temperature owing to an increase in grain boundaries. The results indicate that the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient (217 μV/K) of the sample sintered at 673 K increase simultaneously owing to decreased carrier concentration and increased mobility. As a result, a high ZT value of 0.92 at 300 K is achieved. According to the results, a sintering temperature of 673 K is preferable for consolidation of fine (<20 μm) powders.

In this study, we report the microstructure and the high-temperature oxidation behavior of Fe-Ni alloys by spark plasma sintering. Structural characterization is performed by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The oxidation behavior of Fe-Ni alloys is studied by means of a high-temperature oxidation test at 1000oC in air. The effect of Ni content of Fe-Ni alloys on the microstructure and on the oxidation characteristics is investigated in detail. In the case of Fe-2Ni and Fe-5Ni alloys, the microstructure is a ferrite (α) phase with body centered cubic (BCC) structure, and the microstructure of Fe-10Ni and Fe-20Ni alloys is considered to be a massive martensite (α’) phase with the same BCC structure as that of the ferrite phase. As the Ni content increases, the micro-Vickers hardness of the alloys also increases. It can also be seen that the oxidation resistance is improved by decreasing the thickness of the oxide film.

In this study, bulk nickel-carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites are synthesized by a novel method which includes a combination of ultrasonication, electrical explosion of wire in liquid and spark plasma sintering. The mechanical characteristics of the bulk Ni-CNT composites synthesized with CNT contents of 0.7, 1, 3 and 5 wt.% are investigated. X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques are used to observe the different phases, morphologies and structures of the composite powders as well as the sintered samples. The obtained results reveal that the as-synthesized composite exhibits substantial enhancement in the microhardness and values more than 140 HV are observed. However an empirical reinforcement limit of 3 wt.% is determined for the CNT content, beyond which, there is no significant improvement in the mechanical properties.