Direct extrusion of titanium alloy powder

Effective routes for the consolidation of cost affordable titanium powder are essential for the fabrication of titanium components at acceptable production costs. An in-house canning and degassing capability has been developed and employed for the encapsulation and consolidation of hydride–dehydride titanium powder. Degassing trials were conducted to determine the optimum degassing temperature for these powders. Cans of titanium powder were extruded and analysed to assess the effect of degassing and entrapped residual salt from potential extraction processes on the consolidation behaviour. It has been shown that it is not necessary to degas titanium powder above 500°C to limit oxygen pick-up. The strength of extruded titanium powder is higher than conventional commercial purity alloys; however, the ductility is lower.