Analytical and Experimental Investigation of Explosive Powder Metallurgy Method of Titanium Diboride Using Water as the Interface Medium

Titnium diboride is a wear-resistant compound having high hardness, low density and high electrical and thermal conductivity in the solid state. In this study, the explosive powder metallurgy process for production of samples from TiB2 powder was investigated. At first, analytical solution of the explosive powder metallurgy process with water as interface medium was performed in order to determine the suitable explosive material to consiolidate the TiB2 powder. In the experimental section, with the different design of assemblies the pieces were produced with this method. Analysis of the density and hardness of the produced parts showed that the use of momentum traps with proper height and titanium powder in the assemblies, can reduce the shock wave stretching back into the die and produce disks with relative density of 98% and a hardness of 2600 Vickers. In addition, investigation of the microstructure of the produced components using scanning electron microscopy showed that there was a good connection between the powder particles and the samples were free of any cracks.