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Sintered compacts fabricated by spark plasma sintering (SPS) at 1050оС were investigated. Titanium and aluminum powders in a ratio of 25 % (at.) and 75 % (at.) respectively were chosen as starting materials. Powder mixture heating up to elevated temperatures led to a partial loss of an aluminum component and to the formation of a multiphase structure consisting of Al3Ti, Al2Ti, AlTi and AlTi3. The density of sintered powder mixtures was 3.7 g/cm3; an average microhardness value was about 470 HV.

Laminate composites with an intermetallic component are some of the most prospective constructional and functional materials. The basic formation method of such materials consists in heating a stack composed of metallic plates reacting at elevated temperatures to form intermetallic phases. The temperature of the process is usually approximately equal to a melting point of a more easily fusible component. In this study, an alternative technology of producing a titanium – titanium aluminide composite with a laminate structure is suggested. It consists in combining metallic (titanium and aluminum) powder mixtures pre-sintered at 400 оС with titanium plates, alternate stacking of these components and subsequent spark plasma sintering (SPS) of the fabricated workpieces. Applying this technology allowed for the fabrication of metal-intermetallic laminate (MIL) materials with an inhomogeneous structure of intermetallic interlayers. The phases revealed in the composite by X-Ray diffraction (XRD) were α-Ti, Al, Al3Ti and Al2Ti. Moreover, the results of the energy-dispersive analysis gave the evidence of the formation of Ti-enriched phases in powder layers after SPS. A small number of voids were observed between the structural components of the intermetallic layers. Voids were also detected at “metal-intermetallic” interfaces; however, the quality of connection between different layers in the composite was very high. The microhardness of an intermetallic layer formed in the composite was comparable to the microhardness of the Al3Ti compound. The microhardness of titanium was equal to 1600 MPa.

Analysis of structural variations taking place at the stainless steel (09Cr18Ni10Ti) - bronze (CuBe2Ni) interface obtained by explosive welding was conducted in the current work. The produced weld joint was post heat-treated in the temperature range from 500 to 800 °С. Microstructural characterizations were carried out using optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results of the analysis revealed the presence of 2 zones at the interface: mixing zone of bronze and stainless steel and a diffusion zone. The diffusion processes in the weld joint during heating were studied by the energy-dispersive analysis (EDX). EDX studies revealed that at 800 °С copper contained in bronze completely migrated from the diffusion layer to the mixing zone whereas iron concentration, on the contrary, increased in the diffusion layer. Voids appeared in the mixing zone of stainless steel and bronze due to the difference of diffusion coefficients of basic elements in the composite.