Influence of discharge plasma modification on physical properties and resultant densification mechanism of spherical titanium powder

During powder sintering, it is widely accepted that the three unfavorable features, i.e., closed-pore hollow powder, satellite powder, and low excess free energy, can affect the densification behavior; however, their specific influences have previously never been determined. In this work, we report the efficient elimination of the three unfavorable features for atomized spherical titanium powder via discharge plasma modification and further clarify their influences on the densification behavior during spark plasma sintering. Our results show that the activation energy of power-law creep for the modified powder is two times lower than that of the atomized counterpart. [Display omitted] •DPM can eliminate the three defect concomitants of atomized spherical powder.•Dislocation density and surface activity of DPMed powder is increased distinctly.•Higher dislocation density and surface activity promote powder densification in SPS.•PLC Activation energy for DPMed powder is lower than half of that of atomized one.