In this study, we report the microstructure and characteristics of Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 contact materials using a controlled milling process with a subsequent compaction process. Using magnetic pulsed compaction (MPC), the milled Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 powders have been consolidated into bulk samples. The effects of the compaction conditions on the microstructure and characteristics have been investigated in detail. The nanoscale SnO2 phase and microscale Bi2O3 phase are well-distributed homogeneously in the Ag matrix after the consolidation process. The successful consolidation of Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 contact materials was achieved by an MPC process with subsequent atmospheric sintering, after which the hardness and electrical conductivity of the Ag-SnO2-Bi2O3 contact materials were found to be 62–75 HV and 52–63% IACS, respectively, which is related to the interfacial stability between the Ag matrix, the SnO2 phase, and the Bi2O3 phase.
Ti-based alloys are widely used in biomaterials owing to their excellent biocompatibility. In this study, Ti- Mn-Cu alloys are prepared by high-energy ball milling, magnetic pulsed compaction, and pressureless sintering. The microstructure and microhardness of the Ti-Mn-Cu alloys with variation of the Cu addition and compaction pressure are analyzed. The correlation between the composition, compaction pressure, and density is investigated by measuring the green density and sintered density for samples with different compositions, subjected to various compaction pressures. For all compositions, it is confirmed that the green density increases proportionally as the compaction pressure increases, but the sintered density decreases owing to gas formation from the pyrolysis of TiH2 powders and reduction of oxides on the surface of the starting powders during the sintering process. In addition, an increase in the amount of Cu addition changes the volume fractions of the α-Ti and β-Ti phases, and the microstructure of the alloys with different compositions also changes. It is demonstrated that these changes in the phase volume fraction and microstructure are closely related to the mechanical properties of the Ti-Mn-Cu alloys.