Localized Overheating Phenomena and Optimization of Spark-Plasma Sintering Tooling Design

Materials

Diletta Giuntini¹  Eugene A. Olevsky¹  Cristina Garcia-Cardona¹  Andrey L. Maximenko²  Maria S. Yurlova²  Christopher D. Haines³  Darold G. Martin³ 

[1] Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA 92182, USA; E-Mails:;Key Laboratory for Electromagnetic Field Assisted Materials Processing, Engineering Physics University, Moscow 115409, Russia; E-Mails:;US Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC), Picatinny Arsenal, NJ 07806, USA; E-Mails:

关键词: Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS);    Field Assisted Sintering (FAST);    finite element;    modeling;    temperature distribution;    overheating;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ma6072612

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The present paper shows the application of a three-dimensional coupled electrical, thermal, mechanical finite element macro-scale modeling framework of Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) to an actual problem of SPS tooling overheating, encountered during SPS experimentation. The overheating phenomenon is analyzed by varying the geometry of the tooling that exhibits the problem, namely by modeling various tooling configurations involving sequences of disk-shape spacers with step-wise increasing radii. The analysis is conducted by means of finite element simulations, intended to obtain temperature spatial distributions in the graphite press-forms, including punches, dies, and spacers; to identify the temperature peaks and their respective timing, and to propose a more suitable SPS tooling configuration with the avoidance of the overheating as a final aim. Electric currents-based Joule heating, heat transfer, mechanical conditions, and densification are imbedded in the model, utilizing the finite-element software COMSOL™, which possesses a distinguishing ability of coupling multiple physics. Thereby the implementation of a finite element method applicable to a broad range of SPS procedures is carried out, together with the more specific optimization of the SPS tooling design when dealing with excessive heating phenomena.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.