Preparation and properties of TiB2/AlSi10Mg composite powders used for selective laser melting

TiB2/AlSi10Mg composite powders used for selective laser melting were prepared by high-energy ball milling and plasma spheroidization, using the AlSi10Mg powders and high purity TiB2 powders as the raw materials prepared by gas atomization. The microstructure and properties of TiB2/AlSi10Mg composite powders before and after plasma spheroidization were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), laser particle size analyzer, and UV-visible spectrophotometer. The results show that the plasma spheroidization TiB2/AlSi10Mg composite powders have the excellent sphericity and the uniform particle size distribution. Moreover, the chemical reactions between TiB2 and Al may form the Al3Ti phases, which can obtain the metallurgical bonding interface and improve the bonding strength. The core-shell structure of the composite powders is similar to that of TiB2 coated with AlSi10Mg. The laser absorption rate of the powders is improved from 23.2% (A