Post hot rolling of spark plasma sintered Ti–Mo–B₄C composites

Ti–10 wt% Mo–1 wt% B₄C composites were fabricated using spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique to study the effect of sintering temperature and dwell time on their microstructure and mechanical properties. The composites were sintered at different temperature degrees (1150, 1300 and 1450 °C) with dwell time of 5 and 10 min under the external pressure of 50 MPa. The composites prepared in 10 min were hot-rolled to investigate the influence of the thermomechanical process on their mechanical characteristics. The high value of relative density (99.92%) could be obtained for the composite sintered at 1450 °C and further hot-rolled at 900 °C. The formation of in-situ phases (TiB and TiC) during the SPS process was illustrated by X-ray analysis. The microstructural investigation verified the influence of sintering temperature elevation and holding time on decreasing the amount of porosities. Furthermore, we explored the role of post hot rolling at 900 °C on the microstructural modification and activation of strengthening mechanism on the prepared composites.