Structure and Properties of Ti3AlC2-SiC and Ti3AlC2-TiC Materials Obtained by Powder Injection Molding Technology

Abstract

Powder injection melting (PIM) and material extrusion additive manufacturing (MEAM) are promising production technologies that allow us to obtain products from modern composite materials. These technologies make it possible to obtain products of complex shape from ceramic composite materials, which is a non-trivial task. A highly filled polymer feedstock is used as a source material in such technologies. In this work, a study of the structures and properties of samples obtained from SiC-Ti3AlC2 and TiC-Ti3AlC2 feedstocks by the PIM method was performed. The main purpose of this work was to study the influence of the powder compositions in feedstocks on the rheological properties and the structures of the obtained samples, as well as to determine the sintering parameters of samples of these compositions. In the future, it is planned to use the received and studied feedstocks in material extrusion additive manufacturing (MEAM). It was found that the investigated compositions had different MFI values depending on the composition. The effect of the sintering parameters on the structure and properties was shown. During the sintering of SiC-Ti3AlC2 ceramics in the temperature range of 1200–1400 °C in a vacuum, the main components of the mixture interacted with the formation of Ti3SiC2 and TiC. For materials of the TiC-Ti3AlC2 composition, partial oxidation of the material and the formation of titanium and aluminum oxides was observed.

Additive Manufacturing of Ti3AlC2/TiC and Ti3AlC2/SiC Ceramics Using the Fused Granules Fabrication Technique

“…The selection of the correct temperature was carried out at the feedstock development stage [27]. The optimal operating temperature is determined by the properties of the polymer binder.…”