along grain
boundaries. At a higher magnification (see Fig. 10c), the microcracks
initiated in the carbide particles were found perpendicular
to the tensile direction, due to the stress concentration at the brittle
titanium carbides under monotonic tensile loading. As a consequence,
the acicular brittle titanium carbide particles should be
responsible for the low ductility of the MIM Ti–16Nb (1500)
samples.