NET

COMPACTION
N.

F.

PRESSURE

Kunin

and

B.

OF
D.

METAL

POWDERS

Yurchenko

The densification of a powder comprises the principal process and several secondary phenomena.
The principal process consists in raising the density of the material from an initial level, equal to the
apparent density, to the required value. The work necessary for achieving this density is the net work of
densification and depends solely on the properties and condition of the material being densified. The real
densification process, however, takes place under certain specific conditions~ For this reason, the work
of densification depends, for instance, on the ratio of the material-filling height to the die diameter and on
the magnitude of external-friction forces.
The net work of densification can be determined with adequate accuracy from a simpler case of densifieation, namely, from a compaction process in which the friction losses can be calculated. In such a
case,the difference between the over-all specific work of compaction and the net work of densification will
give the magnitude of friction losses for the given material and compaction conditions. From knowledge
of the magnitude of friction losses it is possible to establish the compaction efficiency and to evaluate the
effectiveness of the compaction process under given conditions.
The over-all compaction pressure P is balanced by the pressure required for powder densification
Pn, and the friction of the powder agginst the die walls, Pf, i.e.:
P = Pn -}-/:'p

(1)

In the over-all pressure, let us consider the net-pressure component, i.e., the pressure which must
be applied to achieve powder densification alone. The friction force generated as a result of reaction between the material being pressed and the die walls is
Pf == ndhlxK~,

(2)

w h e r e ~ is the c o m p r e s s i v e s t r e s s acting on the punch, t~ the c o e f f i c i e n t of f r i c t i o n , K the coefficient of

l a t e r a l p r e s s u r e , h the c o m p a c t height, and d the c o m p a c t d i a m e t e r .
H e n c e , the f r i c t i o n s t r e s s will be:

4P t

4h~Ka 9

crf ----~

==

(3)

Let us e x p r e s s the height h in t e r m s of the p o w d e r - b a t c h m a s s m and the m a t e r i a l d e n s i t y Y :

h=

4V
~d 2

4m
7rid~

(4)

and substitute it into Eq. (3). We obtain:

16m~Ka
at =

(5)

~d3~,

T a k i n g into a c c o u n t Eq. (1), we have:

a= ~
and the net pressure

16m~K(~
nd~.Y

is
%=(1

16rn~K )
~d3y

~"

Moscow Chemical Engineering Institute. Translated from Poroshkovaya

pp. 15-22, August, 1968o Original article submitted April 4, 1967.

604

(6)
Metallurgiya, Noo 8 (68),

/am 3

~......~o3n

~, g/cm 3

7
.. >....o.~c.~

.os n

6 //

;I'%,

r1~.-

fj 2 o
#ft

4'

3
f,~,ql
2

500

1000

1500

08, 6," g/c

500

Fig. 1
Fig. i. Compaction
Fig. 2. Curves

TSO0 ~n, kg/cm 2

1000

Fig. 2

curves of metal powders

of net compaction

pressure

in 1.755-cm

diameter

die.

of metal powders.

Since the magnitude in the p a r e n t h e s e s depends only slightly on p r e s s u r e , it follows that the values of
net p r e s s u r e a r e a p p r o x i m a t e l y p r o p o r t i o n a l to, but s o m e w h a t lower than, the o v e r - a l l p r e s s u r e s .
EXPERIMENTAL

METHOD

AND

RESULTS

P o w d e r s w e r e c o m p a c t e d at r o o m t e m p e r a t u r e in a UMM-5 t e n s i l e - t e s t i n g machine at a velocity of

4 r a m / r a i n . Dies 1.027, 1.395, 1.594, and 1.755 c m in d i a m e t e r w e r e used f o r compaction. The c o m p a c t
height was a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1.4 c m . The die wails and the working p a r t of the punch w e r e brushed with oleic
acid. The following industrially produced powders (the a p p a r e n t d e n s i t i e s , in g / c m 3, a r e given i n p a r e n t h e s e s )
w e r e c o m p a c t e d : iron (2.02), copper (1.43), aluminum (1.02), nickel (2.73), cobalt (2.32), and tin (3.98).
Compaction was c a r r i e d out at p r e s s u r e s ranging f r o m 0 to 2100 k g / c m 2.
P r o c e s s i n g the indicator d i a g r a m s obtained yielded density 7 vs p r e s s u r e P r e l a t i o n s h i p s , which
w e r e then used for plotting e x p e r i m e n t a l g r a p h s . Figure 1 shows the compaction c u r v e s of the m e t a l
powders in the 1.755-cm d i a m e t e r die with a final c o m p a c t height of 1.4 c m .
Calculation

of Net

Compaction

Pressure

To calculate the net specific compaction pressure crn, use was made of values of specific pressure
at various densities 7 (from the curves in Fig. i) and products of the coefficients of external friction and
lateral pressure #K at various densities, as reported in [i].
Using Eq. (6), let us calculate the values of net compaction pressure for copper. From experimental data it follows that, for the 1.755-cm diameter die, the compact weight was 21.54 g. Let us take a density of 6.0 g/cm 3. To this density corresponds a specific pressure of 1540 kg/cm 2. For this density, we
find from [i] that #K = 0.0405. Substituting these values into Eq. (6), we obtain fin = 1330 kg/em 2, a
value 210 kg/cm 2 lower than for ordinary pressing.
The
for other
shown in
However,

same procedure was employed to calculate values of ~n both for other densities of copper and
materials. The dependence of net specific compaction pressure on density for various metals is
Fig. 2, from which it will be seen that these curves are similar in character to those in Fig. i.
they are all as it were displaced to the left and slightly shortened.

605

~fcm3
7

g/cm3
~

..oSn

,L..~

/---@
d

I
I

3
2

o-1

**-2

5o0

lzTOO

1500 6n, kg/cm 2

5o0

Fig. 3

IOOO 1500 20006~kg/cm z

Fig. 4

Figo 3. Curves of net compaction p r e s s u r e for metal powders in dies

1.755 (1) and 1.027 cm (2) in d i a m e t e r .
Fig. 4. Compaction curves of copper powder: I) hydrostatic p r e s s i n g ;
II) pure p r e s s i n g ; III) orthodox pressing~
Experimental

Verification

of t h e

Net

Compaction

Pressure

Formula

C o m p a r i s o n of Net P r e s s u r e s Calculated for Powder Compaction in Dies of Various D i a m e t e r s . The

absolute values of net specific p r e s s u r e would be expected to be independent of the size of the die-wall f r i c tion surface. To verify the validity of Eq. (6), let us calculate the net specific compaction p r e s s u r e f o r c o p per powder in the 1.755-cm d i a m e t e r die and c o m p a r e the resulting values with data for the 1.027-cm dia m e t e r die.
Figure 3 shows curves of net specific p r e s s u r e ~n plotted against density for tin, copper, and aluminum powders p r e s s e d in dies 1.755 and 1.027 cm in d i a m e t e r . As can be seen f r o m this figure, smooth
c u r v e s can be drawn through plot points obtained for dies of various d i a m e t e r s . This is evidence that the
techniques described can be applied to calculating friction f o r c e s and net p r e s s u r e .
C o m p a r i s o n of P u r e and Hydrostatic P r e s s i n g . The c o r r e c t n e s s of values of net specific compaction
p r e s s u r e can be a s s e s s e d by comparing them with data obtained in hydrostatic p r e s s i n g , in which external
friction is absent. Hydrostatic pressing was p e r f o r m e d in the N. L R a s s k a z o v apparatus, which consists of
a die with a blind bottom and a punch with self-sealing glands. The channel diameter of the apparatus was
3.6 cm. The die of the apparatus was filled with machine oil, into which was lowered a rubber sphere with
50 g of copper powder. After this preparation, load was applied to the apparatus in a 30-ton p r e s s . The
final compaction p r e s s u r e was indicated by the p r e s s m a n o m e t e r . Compaction was effeeted in steps, i.e.,
a new powder batch was compacted at each p r e s s u r e stage. At the final c o m p a c t density, the sphere radius
was approximately equal to the height of a c o m p a c t obtained by orthodox pressing.
Figure 4 shows density vs p r e s s u r e c u r v e s obtained for copper in hydrostatic (I), pure (II), and o r t h o dox (III) compaction. It can be seen f r o m the figure that all the c u r v e s are s i m i l a r . The p u r e - c o m p a c t i o n
curve lies below the h y d r o s t a t i c - c o m p a c t i o n curve. This is entirely understandable, because in hydrostatic
compaction the m a t e r i a l is subjected to uniform c o m p r e s s i o n f r o m all sides and, at a given specific p r e s sure, the c o m p a c t density will of course be higher.
Thus, it is reasonable to claim that proposed technique f o r calculating net compaction p r e s s u r e can
be applied in this c a s e .
Compaction

Efficiency

As already noted above, compaction pressure may be represented as a sum of two components:
the
net compaction pressure and the pressure necessary for overcoming the friction resistance. In exactly the

606

T A B L E 1.
Densities

V a l u e s of R e a l and Net S p e c i f i c W o r k in C o m p a c t i o n of P o w d e r s to V a r i o u s

D e_nsit~g/cm s

Specific I
Metal

work, ]/ 3,00
kg_cm/g
,

3,50

4,50

4,00

5,00

-6,0o

5,50

6,50- - i -7,00

1,25

1,50

12,25[ 22,0 / 34,0

I1,5 / 21,5 / 32,3
7,0 [ 14,0 / 26,0
6,25] 13,0 I 22,7
6,5 13,5
5 6,2 12,0

Fe
Co
Ni
Sn

A:

49,5 [ 68,5 I 93,0

44,3 / 60,0 [ 80,0
45,5 / 72,5 /
37,0 [ 58,0 l
24,5 I
64,5
20,7 / 34,3 t 53,0
8,5
6,5

2,25

2,50

i __

12,5 18,251 26,5

1 0 1 5 1 5

51

2,00

....

18,0 26,0 35,0 46,5160,0 77,5 97,51122,0 -17,0, 24,0, 32,0 42,3, 54,0, 69,0 86,0 106~3 [,

Cu

1,75

14,0 35,0 63,0 1C2,0 150,0 220,0

12,o 32,o " , 0 I 88,0[ 125,0 180,0

T A B L E 2. S p e c i f i c W o r k in C o m p a c t i o n of T i n P o w d e r to V a r i o u s D e n s i t i e s in
D i e s of V a r i o u s D i a m e t e r s
Density, g/cm 3
Die diameter, mm

5,0

5,50

6,00

6,50

7,00

7,20

1,027

6,2
5,8
5,4
5,0
4,[

10,7
9.8
9,0
8,6
6,9

16,7
15,l
13,9
13,0
10,2

24,5
21,9
20,1
18,6
I3,6

37,5
31,9
28,9
26,7
18,6

48,5
40,2
35,3
32,0
2l ,6

I, 395
l, 594
l, 755
Pure compaction

same manner, the total work A is a sum

and the work of friction Af, i.e.:

of two components:

the corresponding

work

of densification A n

A = A~ + At.

(7)

F o r the r e l a t i v e l y s i m p l e c a s e s e x a m i n e d in the p r e v i o u s s e c t i o n s , it w a s p o s s i b l e to s e p a r a t e the n e t

c o m p a c t i o n p r e s s u r e f r o m the f r i c t i o n p r e s s u r e ; t h i s p e r m i t t e d d e t e r m i n a t i o n of the n e t c o m p a c t i o n p r e s sure required for attaining a given density.
U s i n g t h e 7 vs ~ n c u r v e s p r e s e n t e d in F i g . 2 f o r v a r i o u s m e t a l p o w d e r s , the n e t w o r k of c o m p a c t i o n
was calculated from the equation:

A, = ! (~dV.

(8)

Since, however,

V--

m
7

then

dV = @2 dV.
S u b s t i t u t i n g the v a l u e of dV into Eq. (8), we o b t a i n the n e t w o r k :
A~ = m
This can be determined by numerical
i.e., the specific work of compaction,

or graphic
is:

y2
f (~.dv

integration.

(9)
Accordingly,

the net work

per unit mass,

an,

y %dy
a~ =

7~

(10)

607

?.

00

/i
5~
!

70

60

50
58

5!

#
7 ~.g/cma

1,0

/,5 $,cm
Fig. 6

Fig. 5

Fig. 5. Dependence of efficiency on density in c o m p a c t i o n of m e t a l powders

in die of 1.755-cm d i a m e t e r .
Fig. 6. Dependence of efficiency on die d i a m e t e r in compaction of tin to v a r i ous densities: 1) y = 5 . 0 ; 2 ) 3+ = 5 . 5 ; 3 ) 3+ = 6 . 0 ; 4 ) 3+ = 6 . 5 ; 5 ) y = 7 . 0 g / c m 3.
Using the c u r v e s in F i g s . 1 and 2, let us calculate, with the aid of Eq. (10), the values of r e a l and net
specific work of compaction. The technique of such an evaluation is d e s c r i b e d in detail in [2]. The c a l culated values of real (a) and net (an) specific work of c o m p a c t i o n f o r the m e t a l powders investigated a r e
listed in Table 1. Using these data, it is possible to c o m p a r e the values of r e a l and net work of d e n s i f i c a tion and to d e t e r m i n e what proportion of the full work is employed as the net work.
T h u s , the efficiency of a given densification p r o c e s s can be e x p r e s s e d in the f o r m of the coefficient
= an
a

(11)

F i g u r e 5 illustrates the dependence of this efficiency on density for v a r i o u s m e t a l s in the c a s e of

compaction in a die of 1.755-cm d i a m e t e r . It will be seen f r o m this figure that, with increasing density,
the efficiency rapidly r i s e s , attains a m a x i m u m , and then fails off. Such a v a r i a t i o n in the efficiency is
fully understandable. With rising density, the coefficient of lateral p r e s s u r e i n c r e a s e s . As a r e s u l t , the
f o r c e s and work of friction i n c r e a s e , which produces a drop in the efficiency. At a p o r o s i t y of 40%, the e f ficiency is a m a x i m u m (91.2%) in the compaction of aluminum powder and slightly lower (89.0%) f o r c o p p e r
and iron; next, in o r d e r of d e c r e a s i n g efficiency, follow nickel (82.9%), cobalt (78%), and tin (59%). Thus,
at a given p o r o s i t y , the values of ~? f o r different m e t a l s a r e s i m i l a r and amount to a p p r o x i m a t e l y 85%.
The value of ~ is affected by the die d i a m e t e r . In Table 2 a r e listed values of specific w o r k for the
compaction of tin powder in dies of various d i a m e t e r s . The s a m e table p r e s e n t s values of specific work
f o r pure compaction. It is evident that, the g r e a t e r the die d i a m e t e r , the s m a l t e r is the specific work of
densification. Figure 6 i l l u s t r a t e s the influence of the die d i a m e t e r on ~? for tin at various densities. It
can be seen f r o m the figure that, with increasing die d i a m e t e r , the value of ~ f o r any given density r i s e s ;
at the s a m e t i m e , the higher the density, the lower is the position occupied by the efficiency c u r v e .
T h u s , we can note that the efficiency r i s e s with increasing die d i a m e t e r .
d e c r e a s e in the p r e s s u r e expanded on external friction.

This is due to a relative

C ONC L U S I O N S
1. The following f o r m u l a is p r o p o s e d f o r calculating the net specific p r e s s u r e ~n in the compaction of
powder m a t e r i a l s :
6n

= (1
\

16mt~K
adaY ) ~'

where m is the c o m p a c t weight, /~ the coefficient of external f r i c t i o n , K the coefficient of lateral p r e s s u r e ,

d the die-opening d i a m e t e r , 7 the density, and ~ the specific c o m p a c t i o n p r e s s u r e .

608

2. Numerical values are given for the net specific pressure and net specific work of compaction in
the pressing of iron, copper, aluminum, cobalt, nickel, and tin powders to various densities.
3o The net specific work of compaction is dependent on the size of the rtlbbing die surfaces and characterizes the compressibility of a given material at a given compaction velocity.
4. Values of compaction efficiency are quoted for various compact densities~
porosity of 40%, compaction efficiency for all the metals investigated is about 85%.
5. It is demonstrated

that, with increasing die diameter, compaction efficiency rises.

LITERATURE

1o

2.

For instance, at a

CITED

N. F. Kunin and B. D. Yurehenko, P o r o s h k o v a y a Met., No. 5 (1968).

N. Fo Kunin and B. D. Yurchenko, P o r o s h k o v a y a Met., No. 6 (1964)o

609