Mechanical properties and shear failure surfaces for two alumina powders in triaxial compression

In the manufacture of ceramic components, near-net-shape parts are commonly formed by uniaxially pressing granulated powders in rigid dies. Density gradients that are introduced into a powder compact during press-forming often increase the cost of manufacturing, and can degrade the performance and reliability of the finished part. Finite element method (FEM) modeling can be used to predict powder compaction response, and can provide insight into the causes of density gradients in green powder compacts; however, accurate numerical simulations require accurate material properties and realistic constitutive laws. To support an effort to implement an advanced cap plasticity model within the finite element framework to realistically simulate powder compaction, we have undertaken a project to directly measure as many of the requisite powder properties for modeling as possible. A soil mechanics approach has been refined and used to measure the pressure dependent properties of ceramic powders up to 68.9 MPa (10,000 psi). Due to the large strains associated with compacting low bulk density ceramic powders, a two-stage process was developed to accurately determine the pressure-density relationship of a ceramic powder in hydrostatic compression, and the properties of that same powder compact under deviatoric loading at the same specific pressures. Using this approach, the seven parameters that are required for application of a modified Drucker-Prager cap plasticity model were determined directly. The details of the experimental techniques used to obtain the modeling parameters and the results for two different granulated alumina powders are presented.     

Study of microcellular injection-molded polypropylene/waste ground rubber tire powder blend

Microcellular polypropylene/waste ground rubber tire powder blend processing was performed on an injection-molding machine with a chemical foaming agent. The molded samples produced based on the design of experiments (DOE) matrices were subjected to tensile testing and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses. Molding conditions and waste ground rubber tire (WGRT) powder have been found to have profound effects on the cell structures and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP) and waste ground rubber tire powder composite samples. The result shows that microcellular PP/WGRT blend samples exhibit smaller cell size and higher cell density compare with polypropylene resin. Among the molding parameters studied, chemical foaming agent weight percentage has the most significant effect on cell size, cell density, and tensile strength. The results also suggest that tensile strength of microcellular PP/WGRT composites is sensitive to weight reduction, and skin thickness.     

Effect of compact density on phase transition kinetics from anatase phase to rutile phase during sintering of ultrafine titania powder compacts

The effect of compact density on the phase transition from anatase phase to rutile phase during sintering of ultrafine TiO₂ powder compacts has been investigated. The compact densities are varied using different compaction pressures. The shrinkage behaviors of compacts are monitored in situ at the condition of uniform heating rate by dilatometric measurement and subsequently related to the phase transition kinetics in the respective compact densities. A phase transition behavior of the compacts (59.3% of theoretical density (TD)) made with 65 MPa pressure is compared either with that of the compacts (86.9% TD) made with 4.5 GPa pressure or with that of loose powder pack without compaction. The phase transition kinetics is proved to be affected strongly by the density of green compacts. The compact with high green density exhibits lower transition temperature than those with low green density. The occurrence of anatase → rutile phase transition at the lower temperature in the high density compacts is attributed to the relatively large coordination number compared with the low density compacts.     

Influence of Process Parameters on Cu–Fly Ash Composite by Powder Metallurgy Technique

In this study influence of compaction pressure, sintering temperature, and sintering time on mechanical and wear behavior of the fly ash reinforced copper-based composites are analyzed. The composites were prepared by powder metallurgy (P/M) technique with copper as matrix, 5 and 10 wt% of fly ash as reinforcement. The green compacts were prepared at three different pressures such as 350, 400, and 450 MPa. The prepared green composites were sintered at 700, 800, and 900 °C for the time period of 30, 60, and 90 min, respectively. From the results it is observed that when the process parameter increases the density, hardness, compression strength, and wear resistance increases.     

A THREE-DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT MODEL FOR POWDER COMPACTION—TIME-DEPENDENT FORMULATION AND VALIDATION

Many industrial powders have been documented to have time-dependent compression response. However, in the literature very few time-dependent formulations are reported for three-dimensional analysis of powder compaction. In the paper, a time-dependent constitutive model, based on the theory proposed by Adachi and Oka, was used in a three-dimensional finite element formulation suitable for PC or desktop environments. The finite element model (FEM) predicts both the stress and density distributions in the powder mass during compression, i.e., from no load to the maximum compression load. A user-friendly interactive GUI (graphical user interface) was developed for the 3-D FEM, making it easy to use. To validate the FEM, microcrystalline cellulose was compressed to form cylindrical pellets using a press. The pellet was used to obtain spatial density distribution using the sectioning method. Then, the measured density distribution was compared with the Adachi and Oka model-based FEM calculated values. The density distributions were predicted within the 95% confidence interval of measured values. In addition, the overall error between the measured and predicted density values throughout the pressed pellet was less than 10%     

Comparative study on the densification process of different titanium powders

In the powder metallurgy of titanium and titanium alloys, titanium powders produced through hydrogenation/dehydrogenation (HDH) approach and titanium hydride powder are extensively used. The choice of initial powder greatly influences the properties and performance of as-sintered materials. In the present study, comparative experiments were performed on two powders of various sizes to elucidate the peculiarities of their densification process and the characteristics (as-sintered density, impurity content, and tensile properties) of the processed materials. As expected, the sintering performance of both powder-type compacts were greatly affected by the specific surface and contact areas, so finer powders and higher compaction pressures were used to achieve higher densities upon sintering. However, the systematic results clearly indicated the advantage of using titanium hydride powder as a starting material in titanium powder metallurgy. At equal size, compaction, and sintering parameters, materials processed from titanium hydride powder had higher density and lower impurity content, thereby providing better balance of tensile properties compared with materials processed from HDH titanium powder. This advantage is explained by the higher relative density of green compacts made of brittle titanium hydride powder and by the higher sintering ability of such compacts activated by powder-released hydrogen.     

Tooling Design and Compaction Analysis on P/M Copper Bushes

The successful production of P/M (powder metallurgy) components depends to a large extent on the tooling used for powder compaction. While designing the tool, the complexities arise from the interaction of the parameters such as powder characteristics, expected green density, the size and geometry of the product, and to whom the properties of the tool materials during compaction should be addressed. Floating type of compaction tooling set (die, punches, and core rod) was designed and fabricated. Pure electrolytic copper powder was compacted in the above-mentioned tool to obtain P/M copper bushes. Compaction pressure-density relationship and their influence on green strength are analyzed.     

A THREE-DIMENSIONAL FINITE ELEMENT MODEL FOR POWDER COMPACTION—TIME-DEPENDENT FORMULATION AND VALIDATION

ABSTRACT

Many industrial powders have been documented to have time-dependent compression response. However, in the literature very few time-dependent formulations are reported for three-dimensional analysis of powder compaction. In the paper, a time-dependent constitutive model, based on the theory proposed by Adachi and Oka, was used in a three-dimensional finite element formulation suitable for PC or desktop environments. The finite element model (FEM) predicts both the stress and density distributions in the powder mass during compression, i.e., from no load to the maximum compression load. A user-friendly interactive GUI (graphical user interface) was developed for the 3-D FEM, making it easy to use. To validate the FEM, microcrystalline cellulose was compressed to form cylindrical pellets using a press. The pellet was used to obtain spatial density distribution using the sectioning method. Then, the measured density distribution was compared with the Adachi and Oka model-based FEM calculated values. The density distributions were predicted within the 95% confidence interval of measured values. In addition, the overall error between the measured and predicted density values throughout the pressed pellet was less than 10%     

High Pressure Compaction and Sintering of Nano-Size γ- Al2O3 Powder

The effects of pressure on the compaction and subsequent sintering of nano-size Y- γ-Al₂O₃ powder were studied. Pressures up to 5 GPa were used to compact the powder in a WC piston/cylinder type die and also in a diamond anvil cell. The green body compacts obtained from both methods of compaction were pressureless sintered at temperatures between 1000°C to 1600°C. Results demonstrated that green body density was enhanced with increased compaction pressure. For compaction pressures less than 3 GPa, microstructures containing significant porosity developed at all sintering temperatures studied and is due to the development of a highly porous or vermicular structure during the y too phase transformation, occurring at temperatures between 1000°C and I I50°C. At compaction pressures greater than 3 GPa, however, the formation of the vermicular structure did not occur and near theoretical densities with grain size = 150 nm were obtained.     

Strength and shrinkage behaviors of roller-compacted concrete with rubber additives

The strength and shrinkage behaviors of roller-compacted concrete (RCR) with used tire-rubber additive were experimentally investigated by keeping the compressive strengths of all specimens at the level of 40 MPa. Four rubber contents were used: 50, 80, 100, and 120 kg/m³. Test results show that the rubber particles homogeneously distributed in RCR, rubber particle emersion was not observed during vibrating for compaction. The workability of RCR was slightly influenced by replacing portion of sand with the same volume of tire rubber particles. RCR specimen exhibited a ductile failure under compression. In comparison with the control concrete, when the compressive strength was kept constant for RCR, the tensile strength, flexural strength, and ultimate tension elongation increased with the increase of rubber content. The incorporation of tire rubber did not help in reducing the drying shrinkage, on the contrary, a little more drying shrinkage developed in RCR than that in the control concrete.     

基于非线性黏弹性本构模型的轮胎滚动和生热

轮胎的滚动阻力和自生热是造成轮胎失效的原因之一,轮胎内部能量的产生主要取决于轮胎中橡胶材料的黏弹性能量耗散。文中基于超弹性模型和并行流变模型(PRF)描述了橡胶材料的非线性黏弹性响应特征,提出了一种预测实心轮胎温度分布和滚动阻力的方法。首先将线性黏弹性Prony级数转化为PRF模型的初始参数,并利用Isight软件根据多应变工况加载得到的应力松弛测试数据来校准材料参数,然后采用显式-热力耦合分析方法分析基于Prony级数和PRF模型的实心轮胎滚动过程的差异。结果表明,Prony级数无法描述橡胶材料的非线性行为,在显式动力学下计算的轮胎生热结果为0;PRF模型可以表征橡胶材料的非线性行为,并且计算的轮胎模型在0.3s内温度上升了0.14℃。     

Improved compaction of ZnO nano-powder triggered by the presence of acetate and its effect on sintering

Abstract

The retention of nanocrystallinity in dense ceramic materials is still a challenge, even with the application of external pressure during sintering. The compaction behavior of high purity and acetate enriched zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-powders was investigated. It was found that acetate in combination with water plays a key role during the compaction into green bodies at moderate temperatures. Application of constant pressure resulted in a homogeneous green body with superior packing density (86% of theoretical value) at moderate temperature (85 °C) in the presence of water. In contrast, no improvement in density could be achieved if pure ZnO powder was used. This compaction behavior offers superior packing of the particles, resulting in a high relative density of the consolidated compact with negligible coarsening. Dissolution accompanying creep diffusion based matter transport is suggested to strongly support reorientation of ZnO particles towards densities beyond the theoretical limit for packing of ideal monosized spheres. Finally, the sintering trajectory reveals that grain growth is retarded compared to conventional processing up to 90% of theoretical density. Moreover, nearly no radial shrinkage was observed after sinter-forging for bodies performed with this advanced processing method.     

Ultrasound facilitates and improves removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solution by the discarded tire rubber

Some of the heavy metal ions such as cadmium are toxic and represent as hazardous pollutants due to their persistence in the environment. In this study the ground discarded tire rubber was used for the sorption of cadmium from aqueous solution. The batch sorption tests were conducted to investigate the sorption of Cd(II) by discarded tire rubber in the presence and absence of ultrasound. To assess the capability of sorbent, research parameters such as ultrasonic waves, solution temperature, particle size of ground tire and others were investigated. The experimental data were fitted in Langmuir model better than Freundlich one. Therefore, the former model was applied to the sorption equilibrium in order to determine the maximum metal sorption capacity in the presence and absence of ultrasound. The Langmuir constants were also obtained from the isotherms under different conditions. In the presence of ultrasound the tire rubber was a more efficient sorbent for this pollutant than its absence. According to the results, the internal porous and film diffusions were both effective in the sorption process. The porous and film diffusion coefficients of the ground tire rubber were, respectively, about 1.8 and 2.7 times more in the presence of ultrasound than its absence. The effect of ultrasound on the sorption process could be explained by the thermal and non-thermal properties of ultrasonic field.     

Improved compaction of ZnO nano-powder triggered by the presence of acetate and its effect on sintering

The retention of nanocrystallinity in dense ceramic materials is still a challenge, even with the application of external pressure during sintering. The compaction behavior of high purity and acetate enriched zinc oxide (ZnO) nano-powders was investigated. It was found that acetate in combination with water plays a key role during the compaction into green bodies at moderate temperatures. Application of constant pressure resulted in a homogeneous green body with superior packing density (86% of theoretical value) at moderate temperature (85 °C) in the presence of water. In contrast, no improvement in density could be achieved if pure ZnO powder was used. This compaction behavior offers superior packing of the particles, resulting in a high relative density of the consolidated compact with negligible coarsening. Dissolution accompanying creep diffusion based matter transport is suggested to strongly support reorientation of ZnO particles towards densities beyond the theoretical limit for packing of ideal monosized spheres. Finally, the sintering trajectory reveals that grain growth is retarded compared to conventional processing up to 90% of theoretical density. Moreover, nearly no radial shrinkage was observed after sinter-forging for bodies performed with this advanced processing method.     

Modelling pressure-assisted densification by power-law creep

Densification of ceramic powders by power-law creep during pressure-assisted compaction is analysed. The proposed densification model is based on two existing power-law creep densification models: one for a relative density up to 0.9 (stage I) and the other for densities above 0.9 (stage II). Using these two models independently in their respective density ranges for predicting hot pressing of homogeneous alumina powder results in a discontinuity in the densification rate time history curves as well as in the radial and hoop stress time histories in the compact. To eliminate these discontinuities a novel method of combining the two models into a single unified model is presented. Blending of the models is based on the assumption that porosity changes gradually from being completely open at the beginning of compaction to completely closed at full density. Experimental data generated by hot pressing homogeneous alumina cylindrical compacts at two different temperatures of 1400 and 1450°C at different pressures were used to obtain the material creep constants that were employed in the unified model. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Cracking cone fracture after cold compaction of argillaceous particles

Cold uniaxial pressing of powder into a green body is a common forming process used in ceramic and pharmaceutical industries. Argillaceous particles are used as a model system to investigate granule failure during compaction. Indeed, the volume enclosed between the die and punches is reduced and the powder consolidates until a final height is obtained or a prescribed compacting pressure is reached. Desired properties of the green body are high strength, uniform density, no defects and fracture. In this work an experimental investigation has been focused on the ‘cracking cone’ fracture in powder compacts. This includes studies of crack propagation and determination of operating conditions to avoid the green body fracture. The numerical modelling is implemented using a finite element method based on the Von Mises criterion. A case of simulation is presented to demonstrate the ability of the model to compute the distribution of the relative stresses.     

Densification behavior of aluminum alloy powder mixed with zirconia powder inclusion under cold compaction

Densification behavior of composite powders was investigated under cold compaction. Experimental data were obtained for aluminum alloy powder mixed with zirconia powder inclusion under triaxial compression. The Cap model with constraint factors was implemented into a finite element program (ABAQUS) to simulate compaction responses of composite powders during cold compaction. Finite element results were compared with experimental data for densification behavior of composite powders under cold isostatic pressing and die compaction. The agreement between experimental data and finite element calculations from the Cap model with the constraint factors was good for composite powders with low volume fractions of inclusions.     

Numerische und experimentelle Untersuchungen zum Pulverpressen von Aluminium

Numerical and Experimental Investigations of Aluminium Powder Compaction The FEM simulation is a powerful means which can drastically reduce the time to production and costs in the optimization of powder forming processes. The current paper investigates experimentally and numerically die compaction of aluminium powder. The plastic deformation is formulated by using the Drucker‐Prager‐Cap‐model. This yield criterion describes the compressibility of porous bodies and allows the prediction of crack formation in the green compact. Axial compaction tests have been performed to determine material parameters for hardening. Simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the ability of the model to compute the distribution of the relative density. Furthermore, the compaction of an axisymmetric workpiece was simulated in order to determine optimal tools kinematics and to avoid crack formation.     

Flow Properties of Cohesive Powders Tested by a Press Shear Cell

The most important design parameters for roller presses can be referred to flow and compression characteristics of bulk materials. Usually the flow properties are measured in the low stress range 1–50 kPa at the shear rate of about 1 mm/min. But this does not fit the stress regimes in the roller press. Therefore, the compression and flow behavior of the powder have to be investigated at higher pressures, shear rates, and shear displacements. These properties of bulk materials in the so-called medium pressure range 50–1000 kPa can be analyzed using a press shear cell. Tests were implemented with limestone, bentonite, and microcrystalline cellulose at average 23°C powder bed temperature using shear rates from 0.00042 to 0.042 m/s and a more realistic preshear displacement from 0.1 to 2 m for practical applications in powder compaction. Physical observation based compression functions were developed for the low and medium pressure range, which include simple equations for the compression rate and specific compression work.     

Flow Properties of Cohesive Powders Tested by a Press Shear Cell

The most important design parameters for roller presses can be referred to flow and compression characteristics of bulk materials. Usually the flow properties are measured in the low stress range 1-50 kPa at the shear rate of about 1 mm/min. But this does not fit the stress regimes in the roller press. Therefore, the compression and flow behavior of the powder have to be investigated at higher pressures, shear rates, and shear displacements. These properties of bulk materials in the so-called medium pressure range 50-1000 kPa can be analyzed using a press shear cell. Tests were implemented with limestone, bentonite, and microcrystalline cellulose at average 23°C powder bed temperature using shear rates from 0.00042 to 0.042 m/s and a more realistic preshear displacement from 0.1 to 2 m for practical applications in powder compaction. Physical observation based compression functions were developed for the low and medium pressure range, which include simple equations for the compression rate and specific compression work.