Effects of spark plasma sintering temperature on densification, hardness and thermal conductivity of titanium carbide

The effects of spark plasma sintering (SPS) temperature on densification, microstructure, hardness and thermal conductivity of monolithic TiC ceramics were studied. Three samples were spark plasma sintered at temperatures of 1800, 1900 and 2000 °C for holding time of 7 min under pressure of 40 MPa. The relative density, hardness and thermal conductivity increased with sintering temperature from 1800° to 1900°C, but the mentioned properties decreased by spark plasma sintering at 2000 °C. The microstructural analyses showed that a fully-sintered TiC ceramic can be achieved at the SPS temperature of 1900 °C, with no significant growth of grains. The relative density, Vickers hardness and thermal conductivity of the TiC ceramic, sintered at the optimal temperature of 1900 °C, reached 99.4%, 25.7 GPa and 17.9 W/mK, respectively.