In this research the in-situ TiB reinforced titanium matrix composite was fabricated by spark plasma sintering process at 1050 ⁰C under 50 MPa pressure. The effect of TiB2 addition on the densification behavior of pure titanium was investigated based on the analysis of microstructural characteristics and current data obtained during spark plasma sintering. The microstructure images showed that the sintered sample consists of α+β titanium phase and contains the in-situ TiB whiskers. XRD result and SEM observations confirm the formation of TiB whiskers as a result of the chemical reaction between Ti and TiB2 during the sintering process. Also the scanning electron micrographs provide evidence that coarse TiB2 powder led to incomplete reaction and decrease of the amount of TiB whiskers in the Ti matrix. Moreover, a detailed characterization of the fracture surface indicated that hybrid-fracture mode appears in the fracture surface of the Ti–TiB2 composite, which includes the brittle fracture of TiB reinforcements and the quasi-cleavage of the Ti matrix.
