The colloid-chemistry control of metallic powders in aqueous slurries is proposed as a way to produce spherical granules of fine titanium particles able to be processed by powder metallurgy (PM) techniques. Significant improvement of sintering behaviour is achieved, leading to high dense parts at reduced sintering temperature and time.Consequently the control of grain growth during sintering was achieved, as well as the oxygen content. This approach can be extended to other strategies for Ti design, such as the homogeneous dispersion of second phases for further control of grain size and modification of properties.

Abstract. The colloid-chemistry control of metallic powders in aqueous slurries is proposed as a way to prepare Ti powders with small particle size for a better pressing behavior through the spray dry process. The chemical-physic behavior of titanium powders with two different particle size distributions dispersed in water has been studied by measuring the zeta potential as a function of pH, and dispersant concentration. The employment of poly-acrylic dispersants allowed the fabrication of stable slurries with solid contents up to 50 vol% that have been sprayed under different conditions to form agglomerates ranging between 50 and 200 µm. Conditions were selected to achieve spherical agglomerates formed by a broad distribution of particle sizes that shown excellent flowability. Agglomerates were pressed in a uniaxial die to measure the compressibility, showing an improvement in pressing behavior with respect to powders with bigger particle size. The sintering behavior is also improved, as values of 96 % of the theoretical density were obtained for compacts sintered in vacuum at 1100 ºC for 30 minutes.

Colloidal processing has long been used in ceramics to achieve green bodies with high densities, complex shapes and homogeneous microstructures, but they are rarely used to shape metal powders because of their high density and high surface reactivity. However, the possibility of processing fine particles makes these techniques interesting for metals, such as titanium, with a low density and high melting point. This work presents encouraging results in the design of aqueous suspensions of Ti particles to be shaped into bulk pieces by pressure slip casting (PSC), which opens new paths for the processing of fine and complex microstructures. Ti powders, measuring 10 µm in size, and mixtures of Ti and Al2O3 powders (added up to 5 wt.%) were dispersed in water by the addition of different stabilisers. The influence of the stabilisers in the slurry behaviour (in terms of nature, stereochemistry and active functional groups) was determined, as well as the incorporation of ceramic particles. A polyacrylic-based dispersant was selected as the best stabiliser to incorporate a second component (Al2O3) into the Ti suspension, whereas shear-thinning additives, such as TIRON, are preferred for PSC shaping. Suspensions with 1 wt.% Al2O3 were selected for processing composites by PSC and sintering. Sintered materials were characterised by measuring the density, oxygen content, hardness and *Abstract microstructure analysis by SEM. Ti bulk pieces with 97 % density and fine and homogeneous microstructure, of which the relationship between the oxygen content and hardness agrees with that measured for CPTi grade 4 (249±24 HV30), can be processed by PSC. KeywordsPowder processing, Rheology, Composites, Titanium, Colloidal Processing AbstractColloidal processing has long been used in ceramics to achieve green bodies with high densities, complex shapes and homogeneous microstructures, but they are rarely used to shape metal powders because of their high density and high surface reactivity. However, the possibility of processing fine particles makes these techniques interesting for metals, such as titanium, with a low density and high melting point. This work presents encouraging results in the design of aqueous suspensions of Ti particles to be shaped into bulk pieces by pressure slip casting (PSC), which opens new paths for the processing of fine and complex microstructures. Ti powders, measuring 10 µm in size, and mixtures of Ti and Al2O3 powders (added up to 5 wt.%) were dispersed in water by the addition of different stabilisers. The influence of the stabilisers in the slurry behaviour (in terms of nature, stereochemistry and active functional groups) was determined, as well as the incorporation of ceramic particles. A polyacrylic-based dispersant was selected as the best stabiliser to incorporate a second component (Al2O3) into the Ti suspension, whereas shear-thinning additives, such as TIRON, are preferred for PSC shaping. Suspensions with 1 wt.% Al2O3 were selected for processing composites by PSC and sintering. Sinter...

The conventional sintering of titanium requires high temperatures to obtain high densities and low porosity, giving rise to microstructures with high grain size, and high interstitial contents, both of which adversely affect the mechanical properties obtained. A novel approach is reported which uses fine (10 mm) spherical Ti powder to improve the sintering behaviour, together with a small percentage of alumina particles (0 . 5 mm) to restrict grain growth. Colloidal techniques were used to form spherical agglomerates, 50-300 mm in size, of Ti powder with alumina particles dispersed homogenously on the Ti surface. These agglomerates present good compressibility and make it possible to sinter effectively at low temperatures, increasing the relative density and decreasing grain size.

Aimed by reducing the total cost of products, powder metallurgy (PM) processing of Ti is a subject of high interest. However, using of conventional PM techniques presents difficulties due to the intrinsic characteristics of Ti, like low strain ability, and high reactivity, which lead to low compressibility. Moreover, Ti powders with small particle size are difficult to process by conventional PM techniques as they present a lower compressibility and also a poor flowability. On the other hand, the colloidal processing has been used for long in ceramics to achieve green bodies with high densities, complex shapes and homogeneous microstructures, but they are rarely used to shape metal powders because of its high density and high surface reactivity. However, the possibility to process fine particles makes these techniques interesting for metals with low density like Ti.The colloid-chemistry control of metallic powders in aqueous slurries is proposed as a way to prepare Ti porous parts with small particle size, throughout the formulation of aqueous slurries with solid contents as high as 50 vol.%. The chemical and chemical-physic stability of Ti powders 10 μm in size was determined by measuring the zeta potential as a function of pH, and dispersant concentration, while the later optimization of Ti slurries and their adequation for the use of different colloidal techniques, were studied in terms of rheology and the addition of the processing additives, such as gel or foaming agents. Techniques such as thermal gelling, foaming, and impregnation of exo-templates or robocasting were used to build Ti parts with random and/or tailored macroporosity. The shaped pieces made on Ti were sintered in vacuum at 1100 oC for 30 minutes, and their microstructure and mechanical properties were determined and compared with dense materials shaped by combining PM and colloidal techniques in previous works