A comparative tomography study on the sintering dynamics of Ti6Al4V and Ti22Al25Nb alloys

In situ three-dimensional monitoring of sintering processes remains challenging due to limitations in spatial resolution, thermo-mechanical stability, and imaging compatibility. To overcome these hurdles, we developed a custom spark plasma sintering (SPS) apparatus integrated with laboratory X-ray microscope to comparatively investigate the sintering dynamics of Ti6Al4V and Ti22Al25Nb alloys. Quantitative analysis reveals that Ti6Al4V densifies more rapidly; however, the densification rates of both alloys converge after the initial sintering stage. This suggests that the dominant densification mechanisms become similar for both alloys once a critical neck size is established, thereby providing guidance for optimizing processing parameters in advanced powder consolidation.