Comparison of densification kinetics of a TiAl powder by spark plasma sintering and hot pressing

Densification kinetics by spark plasma sintering (SPS) and hot pressing (HP) have been compared, under isothermal conditions and with heating rates of 20 °C/min. Careful calibration of sample temperature has been carried out to obtain comparable results. In all cases, densification kinetics did not exhibit significant differences, ruling out any influence of the SPS current. The stress exponent n and the activation energy Q of the Norton law...