Study of the Phase Composition and Microstructure of Complex Carbide (Ti, W)C Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering of WC and TiC Powders

—The possibility of low-temperature in situ synthesis of (Ti, W)C using plasma-chemical WC nanopowders and industrial micron TiC powders is demonstrated. Sintering/synthesis of WC–(25, 50, and 75) wt % TiC is carried out by electric pulsed (“spark”) plasma sintering (SPS) by heating powders in a vacuum at a rate of 50°C/min to a temperature of more than 1200°C under conditions of applying a stress of 70 MPa. It is established that the synthesis proceeds most efficiently in nanopowders with an addition of 50 and 75 wt % TiC. It is shown that the joint use of plasma-chemical synthesis of nanopowders and SPS makes it possible to obtain fine-grained (with a grain size of less than 1 μm) samples with increased density and satisfactory mechanical properties (Vickers hardness is 17–18 GPa, and minimum Palmquist crack resistance coefficient is ~3 MPa m 1/2 ).