Modeling Temperature in Coupled Electrical and Thermal Simulations of the Electroconsolidation® Process

Electroconsolidation® is a process for densifying complex-shaped parts by using electrically conductive particulate solids as a pressure-transmitting medium. The part is immersed in a bed of the particulate medium contained in a die chamber. Sintering temperature is achieved by resistive heating of the medium while applying compaction pressure. The process is capable of ultrahigh temperatures and short cycle times and offers the potential for low processing costs.

Control of the process and selection of process conditions require knowledge of the temperatures within the die. Temperature gradients exist because of the high heating rate and because of variations of density and electrical resistivity of the medium due to the presence of the part. Direct measurement of temperature with thermocouples or other conventional means is impractical because of the high temperatures, high currents, and high pressures that are involved. Therefore, a computer model was developed to predict temperature as a function of time and applied voltage for any location in the die. The computer model is composed of three parts: a geometrical model to approximate the density and resistivity variations in the medium, a finite-element model to calculate the rate of resistive heating within each element, and a finite-difference model to calculate the temperature distribution based on solution of the heat-transfer equations. Predicted temperatures have been shown to be in excellent agreement with measurements, and numerical simulation provided encouraging consistency and reasonably accurate predictions of temperature profiles within the die. The model demonstrated the feasibility of a new process to achieve simultaneous application of pressure and heat to powder densification in Electroconsolidation.