Design Project Presentation

on

Fabrication of Microwave Sintering Setup

for Powder Metallurgical Components

Guided By :
Dr. Amit Sharma

Presented By:
Anjali Thomas (121720)
Dhruv Raj (121736)
Drishti Kurre (121737)
Gaurav Singh (121738)
Shashank Shekhar Singh

Contents

Powder Metallurgy- An Introduction

Science of producing metal powders and making finished

/semi finished objects from mixed or alloyed powders with
or without the addition of nonmetallic constituents.

The P/M process is a rapid, economical and high volume

production method for making precious components from
powders.

New types of powder allow the production of larger and

higher strength materials.

P/M is a choice when requirement for strength, wear

resistance or high operating temperatures exceeds the
capability of die casting alloys.

P/M

offers greater precision eliminating most or all of

the finish machining operations required for casting.
It

avoids casting defects such as blow holes, shrinkage

and inclusion.
The

biggest consumers of P/M parts at presents are

automotive industries.
Hardware,

tools,
cameras,
farm
and
garden
equipment's industries, business machine, sporting
goods and military products are few more areas.

Basic Steps of Powder Metallurgy

Metal Powder Production

Manufacturing methods for metal powder production

may be classed as follows:1. Mechanical Methods
2. Physical Methods
3. Chemical Methods
Metal powder are the main constituent of a P/M
product , final properties of the finished P/M part
depends on size, shape, and surface area of powder
particles.

Mechanical Methods:

It is the cheapest powder production methods.

These methods involve using mechanical forces such

as compressive forces, attrition, shear or impact to
facilitate particle size reduction of bulk materials. EgMilling, Grinding etc.

These processes are not used as primary methods for

the production of metal powders.

Such methods have been used as the primary

process for the following cases:1. Material which are relatively easy to fracture.
2. Reactive materials.
3. Common metals which are required in the form of
flake powder.

Milling:During

milling, impact, attrition, shear and compression

forces are acted upon particles.
During impact, striking of one powder particle against
another occurs. Attrition refers to the production of
wear debris due to the rubbing action between two
particles.

Ball Milling:It

consist of rotating drums with hard wear resistant

balls. The critical factors is the speed of drums rotation.
This contains cylindrical vessel rotating horizontally
along the axis. Length of the cylinder is more or less
equal to diameter.

This contains cylindrical vessel rotating horizontally

along the axis. Length of the cylinder is more or less
equal to diameter.

The vessel is charged with the grinding media. The

grinding media may be made of hardened steel, or
tungsten carbide, ceramics like agate, porcelain,
alumina, zirconia.

This process grinds the

impact/collision & attrition.

powder

materials

by

Physical Method:Under this, two methods are prevalent.

1. Electrolytic Method
2. Atomization Method

Electrolytic Method:In

this method, the processing conditions are so chosen

that metals of high purity are precipitated from aqueous
solution on the cathode of an electrolytic cell.
This method is mainly used for producing copper, iron
powders. This method is also used for producing zinc,
tin, nickel, cadmium, antimony, silver, lead, beryllium
powders.

Copper powder :Solution

containing copper sulphate and sulphuric

acid; crude copper as anode
Reaction:
At anode:
At cathode:
The

Cu Cu+ + eCu+ + e- Cu

copper powder is washed and filtered and finally

given an annealing and reducing treatment at
temperature between 800 K 1100 K in an atmosphere
of partially combusted hydrocarbon gas.

Advantages:
Powders

of high purity with excellent sinterability

Wide

range of powder quality can be produced by

altering bath composition

Disadvantages:
Time

consuming process; Pollution of work place

because of toxic chemicals;
Waste

disposal is another issue, cost involved in

oxidation of powders and hence they should be washed
thoroughly.

Atomization

This uses high pressure fluid jets to break up a

molten metal stream into very fine droplets, which
then solidify into fine particles.

Types:1. Gas Atomization

2. Water Atomization
3. Centrifugal Atomization
4. Vacuum Atomization

Gas AtomizationHigh velocity argon, nitrogen and helium gas jets are
used. The molten metal is disintegrated and collected
as atomized powder in a water bath. Fluidized bed
cooling is used when certain powder characteristics

Water AtomizationHigh

pressure water jets are used to bring about the

disintegration of molten metal stream.
Water jets are used mainly because of their higher
viscosity and quenching ability.
This is an inexpensive process and can be used for
small or large scale production. But water should not
chemically react with metals or alloys used.

Centrifugal AtomizationOne

end of the metal bar is heated and melted by

bringing it into contact with a non-consumable tungsten
electrode, while rotating it longitudinally at very high
speeds.
The centrifugal force created causes the metal drops to
be thrown off outwards. This will then be solidified as
spherical shaped particles inside an evacuated
chamber.

Vacuum AtomizationIn this method, when a molten metal supersaturated

with a gas under pressure is suddenly exposed into
vacuum, the gas coming from metal solution expands,
causing atomization of the metal stream. This process
gives very high purity powder. Usually hydrogen is used
as gas. Hydrogen and argon mixture can also be used.

Chemical methodsThis method consist of two process

1.Chemical reduction
2.Chemical decomposition of compounds.

Chemical ReductionChemical reduction involves chemical compounds most

frequently an oxide, but sometimes a halide or other salt of the
metal. This may be carried out1.From the solid state- Reduction of iron oxide with carbon or of
tungsten oxide with hydrogen.
2.From the gaseous state- reduction of titanium tetra chloride
vapour with molten magnesium the well known Kroll process.
3.From the aqueous solution- Precipitation of cement copper
from copper sulphate solution with iron or In the reduction of an
ammonia
nickel
salt
solution
with
hydrogen
under
pressure(hydrometallurgical method).

Chemical Decomposition of CompoundUnder this category of powder production two methods

are very common. These are:
1.Decomposition

of metal hydrides

2.Decomposition

of metal carbonyls

Metal Powder Treatment

AnnealingIt is a heat process whereby a metal is heated to a specific
temperature / colour and then allowed to cool slowly.
The aims of annealing are:1.To

soften the powder

2.To

reduce the residual amount of oxygen, carbon and

nitrogen from the powder.
The

annealing operation may be done in an atmosphere

furnace or a vacuum furnace.
Annealing

temperature are kept as low as possible to

minimize sintering.

Powder Mixing
It is mixing of solid lubricant with a metal powder or
powders of several other metals. Sometimes the
additives act as lubricant as well as alloying addition.
Eg Graphite in Iron Powder.

Types of MixturesDouble

Cone Mixtures:- This consist of vertical cylinder

with conical ends which rotates about a horizontal axis.

V -Mixtures:This is constructed by joining two cylinder of equal length

into a V as the V rotates about its horizontal axis. The
powder charge splits and refold.

Particle size reduction:By reducing the particle size, it

increases the surface area
increases the homogeneity of non uniform mixture
increases chemical reaction rate

Various method of size reduction can be classified as :The material Is drawn down into the tapered crushing
chamber which reduces the size by compression and frictional forces.
1.Crushing:-

2.Ball

Milling:- These are of two types : Centrifugal and Planetary mills

In Centrifugal ball mills, a single bowl fastener is merely

horizontally and eccentrically driven while not rotating itself.
In Planetary ball mills, two or four bowls fastener, each of which
accommodate one grinding bowl are attached to supporting disc.
3.Disc

Grinder:- The disc grinder are suited for processing hard brittle

material.
4.

Attritor Milling:- This milling is achieved by high energy ball milling

under condition such that powder are not only fragmented but also
rewelded
together.

Metal powder compaction

Application of high pressure to the powders to form them into the
required shape.
conventional compaction method is pressing, in which opposite
punches squeeze the powder contained in a die.
- the work part after pressing is called a green compact, the word
green meaning not yet fully processed.
- the green strength of the part when pressed is adequate for
handling but far less than after sintering.

Compacting is usually
performed at
room
temperature . Pressure
ranges from 10 tons
per square inch (138
MPa) to 60 tons per
square inch827 (827
MPa).

Additional considerations during compacting

When the pressure is applied by only one punch, the maximum
density occurs right below the punch surface and decreases away
from the punch.
for complex shapes, multiple punches should be used.

Compaction with a single

moving punch showing the
resultant non uniform
density, highest where
particle movement is
greatest.

Density distribution
obtained with double acting
press and two moving
punches. More uniformity
and thicker parts can be
compacted easily

Compaction Techniques
Pressure

Pressureless

Cold Isostatic Pressing

Slip Casting

Hot Isostatic Pressing

Gravity Compaction

High Energy Rte

techniques

Continuous Pressureless
Compaction

Vibratory Compaction

Continuous Compaction

Forging or Extrusion

Pressure
COLD ISOSTATIC PRESSING
Placement

of powder in flexible rubber mold.

Hydrostatic
Most

pressurization in chamber by water.

common pressure 400 mpa.

Typical application: automotive cylinder liner

Single action uniaxial press forming and cold

isostatic press forming

Compaction Pressure
Hot isostatic pressing
Powder container is usually made up of high
melting point sheet metal.
Pressurizing
Common

media: inert gas

condition: 1100, 100 mpa

Advantages: compacts of 100 density , good

mechanical properties, good metallurgical bonding.

Limitation: wider dimensional tolerances, greater cost

and time.

Hot Isostatic pressing

Compaction- Pressure
High energy rate techniques
Explosive

or spark discharge methods are applied

in closed die.
Short
High

time and high pressures

punch and die wear, limited tolerance, high

cost.

Vibratory compaction:
Simultaneous
Use

application of pressure and vibration

of much lower pressure

Complicated

equipment design.

CONTINUOUS COMPACTION
Applied
Flowing

to simple shapes (rod, sheet, tube, plate, etc)

loose powder between a set of vertically

oriented
olls at much lower speed.

FORGING OR EXTRUSION

Canning of powder

Heating or evacuation of sealed container

followed by forging or extrusion

Mechanical or chemical removal of container

material.

Compaction Pressureless
Slip Casting

Preparation of slip (powder suspended in liquid and

additives)
Keeping slip in mold made up of fluid absorbing material
Formation of Slip casting
Removal of slip followed by drying operation.

Continuous Pressureless Technique

Application of powder in the form of slurry
Consolidation and drying
Used to produce porous sheets for electrodes of nickelcadmium batteries

Sintering
Sintering is defined as the thermal treatment of a powder or
compact at a temperature below the melting point of the
main constituent, for the purpose of increasing its strength
by bonding together of the particles.
Important Parameters in Sintering
We can divide parameters into four broad categories
Powder

preparation:

-- Particle size
-- Shape
-- Size distribution

Important Parameters in
Sintering
Distribution

of: Dopants, Second phases

Powder

Consolidation: Density, Pore size

distribution
Firing:

Heating rate, Temperature, Applied pressure,

Atmosphere

Types of Sintering
1.

Solid state sintering

Only solid phases are present at the sinter temperature

2.

Liquid phase sintering

Small amounts of liquid phase are present during

sintering
3.

Reactive sintering
Particles react with each other to new product phases

Important Parameters in Sintering

Some parameters, such as the sintering temperature,

applied pressure, average particle size and
atmosphere can be controlled with sufficient accuracy

Others, such as the powder characteristics and

particle packing are more difficult to control but have
a significant effect on sintering

What Happens During Sintering?

Atomic diffusion takes place and the welded areas
formed during compaction grow until eventually
they may be lost completely
Recrystallisation and grain growth may follow, and
the pores tend to become rounded and the total
porosity, as a percentage of the whole volume
tends to decrease
In the pressing operation the powder particles are
brought together and deformed at the points of
contact

What Happens During Sintering?

At elevated temperature - the sintering

temperature - the atoms can move more easily and

quickly migrate along the particle surfaces (the
technical term is Diffusion)

At the sintering temperature new crystallites form

at the points of contact so that the original interparticle boundaries disappear, or become
recognizable merely as grain boundaries (This
process is called Recrystallisation)

What Happens During Sintering?

The total internal surface area of the

pressed body is reduced by sintering

Neck-like junctions are formed

between adjacent particles as can be
seen on the adjoining scanning
electron micrograph

Driving Force for Sintering

As with all processes, sintering is accompanied by an
increase in the free energy of the system. The sources
that give rise to the amount of free energy are
commonly referred to as the driving forces for
sintering. The main possible driving forces are
The
An
A

curvature of the particle surfaces

externally applied pressure

chemical reaction

Driving Force for Sintering

Schematically it can be shown as

Stages of Sintering
Three stages are distinguished in sintering

First Stage
After burn out of any organic additives, two
things happen to the powder particles when the
mobility of the surface atoms has become high
enough; initially rough surface of the particles is
smoothed and neck formation occurs

Stages of Sintering

Second Stage
Densification and pore shrinkage. If grain boundaries
are formed after the first stage, these are new source
of atoms for filling up the concave areas which
diminishes the outer surface of the particle

Third Stage
Grain growth takes place, the pores break up and form
closed spherical bubbles

Stages of Sintering
The three stages in the dry sintering can be shown as

Advantages of Sintering
Particular advantages of this powder
technology include:
1.

the possibility of very high purity for the starting

materials and their great uniformity

2.

preservation of purity due to the restricted nature of

subsequent fabrication steps

3.

stabilization of the details of repetitive operations by

control of grain size in the input stages

Microwave sintering

Microwave heating and sintering is fundamentally different from

the conventional sintering, which involves radiant/resistance
heating followed by transfer of thermal energy via conduction to
the inside of the body being processed.

Microwave heating is a volumetric heating involving conversion

of electromagnetic energy into thermal energy, which is
instantaneous, rapid and highly efficient. powdered metals are
very good absorbers of microwaves and heat up effectively, with
heating rates as high as 100C min-1.

Most other materials are either transparent or absorb

microwaves to varying degrees at ambient temperature. The
degree of microwave absorption, and consequently of heating,
changes dramatically with temperature.

Microwave vs. Conventional Heating

The use of microwave energy for materials processing
has major potential, and real advantages over
conventional heating. These include:

Time and energy savings

Rapid heating rates

Considerably reduced processing time and

temperature

Fine microstructures and hence improved mechanical

properties and better product performance

Lower environmental impact

Why Microwave Sintering ?

There are two main reasons why the microwave process
yields better mechanical properties, especially in the
case of powder metals
It

produces a finer grain size, and the shape of the

porosity, if any, is quite different than in a conventional
part.
In

microwave-processed powder metal components, we

have observed round-edged porosities producing higher
ductility and toughness.

OBJECTIVES

To study previous researches on microwave heating mechanism

To modify a domestic microwave oven for sintering

To Study the microwave sintered properties of test component

References

THANK YOU