Regularities of Combustion of Ti + 2B Mixture: Mechanical Activation of Boron

TiB2 ceramics were produced by forced SHS compaction. The influence of preliminary mechanical activation of boron powder on the properties and combustion characteristics of Ti + 2B reaction mixture was studied. Mechanically activated boron powder was shown to become plastic under a pressure above 30 MPa. In mixtures with titanium, activated boron acted as a lubricant allowing free movement of coarser titanium particles relative to each other and consolidation to higher density values (0.8) without intensive growth of contact surface between the titanium particles (Ti–Ti). Mechanical activation was found to increase the contact surface between reactants (Ti–B) and consequently, the combustion temperature up to 3000°C.