Development of rod shape TiAl intermetallics by mechanical alloying followed by pulse discharge sintering method?

Rod shape intermetallic TiAl is developed by the method of mechanical alloy ing (MA) followed by pulse discharge sintering (PDS) process for the potent ial application in the automotive valves. Sintering of powder element mixtu re, instead of mechanically alloyed powder, was employed for the manufactur ing of rod shape TiAl for comparison. The sintered TiAl rods were found to be homogeneous both in density and in microstructure in the axis direction. The effects of alloys' composition and sintering time on the microstructur e and mechanical properties were also investigated. This work indicated tha t rod shape TiAl alloys with thin cross section could be successfully sinte red with this process in which uniaxial pressure was applied. The fracture strength of TiAl alloys made by MA-PDS method was found to be much higher t han that of sintered elemental compact.