Analysis of the Propagation Conditions and Reaction Mechanisms During TiC Combustion Synthesis Performed Under High Isostatic Pressure

Titanium carbide was synthesized from self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) performed under isostatic gas pressure ranging from 70 bars up to 700 bars. Propagation conditions of the combustion reaction have been studied as a function of gas pressure for C reactant of different diameters (20 μm and 7 μm). For coarse particles, the reaction stops upon increasing pressure, while for fine particles, reaction self-propagates up to 700 bars. It is shown that this change in propagation conditions can be explained by considering both thermal and kinetic effects. Finally, TiC formation mechanisms are discussed for SHS performed under high isostatic pressure.