Static and dynamic compaction of ceramic powders

The static and dynamic compaction of ceramic powders was investigated experimentally using a high-pressure friction-compensated press to achieve static stresses of 1.6 GPa and with a novel gas gun setup to stresses of 5.9 GPa for a tungsten carbide powder. Experiments were performed in the partial compaction region to nearly full compaction. The effects of variables including initial density, particle size distribution, particle morphology, and loading path were investigated in the static experiments. Only particle morphology was found to significantly affect the compaction response. Post-test examination of the powder reveals fracture of the grains as well as breaking at particle edges. In dynamic experiments, steady structured compaction waves traveling at very low velocities were observed. The strain rate within the compaction waves was found to scale nearly linearly with the shock stress, in contrast with many fully dense materials where strain rate scales with stress to the fourth power. Similar scaling is found for data from the literature on TiO₂ powder. The dynamic response of WC powder is found to be significantly stiffer than the static response, probably because deformation in the dynamic case is confined to the relatively narrow compaction wave front. Comparison of new static powder compaction results with shock data from the literature for SiO₂ also reveals a stiffer dynamic response.     

离散元法铁粉末压制中粒径分布对力链演化机制的影响

为阐明粒径分布对铁粉压制中体系内部细观力学行为的影响, 基于离散元理论, 通过改变铁粉颗粒粒径分布建立压制模型, 结合力链提取方法, 通过对力链空间分布、力链数目、力链长度和力链方向性的分析, 探究粒径分布对力链演化的影响机理. 研究结果表明: 不同粒径分布的粉体压制时形成的力链空间分布具有差异, 粒径分布范围越小, 形成的力链分布越集中, 反之, 粒径分布范围越大, 形成的力链分布越松散且均匀; 在粉末压制时, 粒径分布对力链数目也有影响, 具体表现为随着粉体的粒径分布范围变大, 力链总数逐渐减少; 粉体的粒径分布对颗粒形成短力链的数目起着显著影响, 而对力链长度的影响较为有限; 随着粒径分布范围的增大, 力链的方向由均匀分布逐渐集中在特定角度方向, 表现出一定各向异性, 形成的交叉力链网络结构有利于提高粉体致密化程度. 本文为从粉体粒径分布影响层面拓展粉末压制细观力学理论提供基础, 亦为进一步结合粉体粒径分布及体系内力链演变过程改善粉末致密化行为提供指导.      

Numerical investigation into the influence of the punch shape on the mechanical behavior of pharmaceutical powders during compaction

During the production of pharmaceutical tablets using powder compaction, certain common problems can occur, such as sticking, tearing, cutting, and lamination. In the past, the compressibility of the powder was calculated only along the axis of the device; consequently, critical areas of the material throughout the volume could not be identified. Therefore, finite element method （FEM） can be used to predict these defects in conjunction with the use of an appropriate constitutive model. This article summarizes the current research in the field of powder compaction, describes the Drucker-Prager Cap model calibration procedure and its implementation in FEM, and also examines the mechanical behavior of powder during compaction. In addition, the mechanical behavior of pharmaceutical powders in relation to changes in friction at the wall of the system is examined, and the dependence of lubrication effect on the geometry of the compaction space is also investigated. The influence of friction on the compaction process for the flat-face, fiat-face radius edge, and standard convex tablets is examined while highlighting how the effects of friction change depending on the shape of these tablets.     

Analysis of shear band instabilities in compaction of powders

A model for metal powder compaction is proposed as an interpolation between well-known models corresponding to a high level of porosity with low inter-particle cohesive strength or a low level of porosity with high cohesion. A simple model for analysis of shear band development in uniformly strained solids is used to study the possibility of flow localization during metal powder compaction. It is found that the material model predicts localization when the porosity is high and the cohesion is low, and localization is also predicted at intermediate levels of porosity, but not at low porosity levels where full cohesion applies.     

基于颗粒物质力学的铁粉末压制中摩擦特性对力链演化影响

结合颗粒物质力学理论,通过离散元法实现铁粉末压制过程模拟并通过压制方程进行验证,针对粉末体系中的力链演化问题,提出力链特征定量分析方式,进一步通过分析不同颗粒间摩擦系数、侧壁摩擦系数与颗粒运动状态转变的方式,探讨摩擦特性对力链量化特征的影响,从而建立摩擦行为与力链演化间的联系. 研究结果表明:随颗粒间摩擦系数增大,整体力链数目变少,力链方向系数、承载不均匀度及单位屈曲度均变大,而随侧壁摩擦系数增大,力链特征差异较小,则颗粒间摩擦系数较侧壁摩擦系数对力链特征演化具有更显著影响. 同时发现,颗粒接触状态的改变与力链特征演化间具有对应性. 研究成果将进一步拓展粉末压制中考虑摩擦行为及力链演化过程在内的粉体致密化行为理论.      

尼龙粉末在SLS预热温度下的离散元模型参数确定及其流动特性分析

尼龙粉末是增材制造中常用的粉体材料,温度对其流动性有重要影响. 探索尼龙粉末增材制造预热温度下的流动性是研究选择性激光烧结(selective laser sintering, SLS)工艺中粉体铺展成形的基础. 选取SLS技术中的尼龙粉末为原材料,采用离散元数值方法,研究尼龙粉末的流动行为,是增材制造工艺数值模拟和铺粉工艺优化的研究热点. 以Hertz-Mindlin模型为基础,基于Hamaker理论模型和库伦定律,在尼龙粉末的接触动力学模型中引入范德华力和静电力,建立预热温度下尼龙粉末流动的离散元模型(discrete element method, DEM),通过对比相应实验结果,标定了该模型的参数. 对加热旋转圆筒中尼龙粉末流动过程进行了DEM数值模拟,校核了所建模型的正确性,并研究了粉体粒径分布对尼龙粉末流动特性的影响规律. 研究表明,尼龙粉末黏附力是静电力与范德华力的共同作用结果;随着粉体粒径的增大,尼龙粉末崩塌角增大,流动性增强;相对于高斯粒径分布,粒径均匀分布的尼龙粉末颗粒流动性更强. 研究结果可指导SLS中铺粉工艺的优化.      

Correlation mechanism of friction behavior and topological properties of the contact network during powder compaction

The effect of friction behavior on the compacted density is significant, but the relationship between the topological properties of the contact network and friction behavior during powder compaction remains unclear. Based on the discrete element method (DEM), a DEM model for die compaction was established, and the Hertz contact model was modified into an elastoplastic contact model that was more suitable for metal-powder compaction. The evolution of the topological properties of the contact network and its mechanism during powder compaction was explored using the elastoplastic contact model. The results demonstrate that the friction behavior between the particles is closely related to the topological properties of the contact network. Side wall friction results in smaller clustering coefficient (CC) and excess contact (EC) in the lower region near the side wall. Corresponding to this phenomenon, the upper region near the side wall has more high-stress particles when the major principal stress threshold was considered, and the CC and EC are significantly higher than those in the other regions. This study provides a theoretical basis for improving powder compaction behavior.     

Structural relaxation and avalanche dynamics of particle piles under vertical vibration

Granular matter can exhibit solid or liquid behavior, which contains complex physical mechanisms. In this work, we experimentally investigated the structural relaxation and avalanche dynamics of particle piles under vertical vibration. The influence of vibration parameters on the avalanche process was studied. The morphological features of avalanches were recorded and classified using high-speed camera. The effects of vibration parameters and particle properties on the relaxation mode are obtained. It is found that the evolution of particle pile height with time can be described by an exponential decay function. The relaxation rate and avalanche characteristics of four types of particles with different sizes are discussed. At the same acceleration level, for two larger particles, a smaller amplitude (A = 0.025 mm) leads to a faster relaxation rate, while for two smaller particles, a large amplitude (A = 0.500 mm) leads to a faster relaxation rate. The analogy powder surface tension is introduced to address the cohesion and flowability evolution of particles under vibration.     

钨粉爆炸烧结对粉末初始参数依赖关系的研究

本文从粉末爆炸烧结的能量沉积概念出发,提出了粉末爆炸烧结下限概念,讨论了钨粉末的爆炸烧结密度值和硬度分布对粉末初始参数的依赖关系,给出了实验结果。从理论和实验阐述了粉末初始参数在爆炸烧结实验中的重要作用。     

Electrostatic beneficiation of fly ash in a free-falling system

A systematic study of fly ash electrostatic beneficiation in a free-falling separation system was carried out to provide fundamental understanding of the separation efficiency for the design of a suitable process for industrial applications. The parameters investigated included feeding position, electric field strength, particle size and moisture content. Particles larger than 105 μm presented the best separation efficiency among four different size fractions, whereas particles smaller than 44 μm showed minimal separation. However, sonication treatments helped separation by liberating more carbon from ash particles, although particle sizes were reduced as well. Experiments also showed that exposure to moisture significantly altered charging behavior of fly ash and its subsequent separation due to more free mobile ion-induced charge exchanges. The optimal feeding position was found to be slightly on the side of the negative electrode, leading to a 30% reduction in loss-on-ignition (LOI) and a 45% recovery in a single pass. A simplified mechanical model based on trajectory analysis for charged particles in an electrical field was in reasonable agreement with experimental results.     

惰化剂粒径对铝粉火焰传播特性影响的实验研究

为探索惰化剂粒径对可燃工业粉尘火焰传播特性的影响,通过建立竖直粉尘燃烧管道实验平台,在碳酸氢钠质量分数为30%的惰化条件下,就碳酸氢钠粒径对铝粉燃烧火焰传播特性的影响进行了实验研究。结果表明:平均粒径为30 μm的碳酸氢钠粉体对平均粒径为15 μm的铝粉的火焰传播速度具有较好的抑制作用,惰性粉体与可燃工业粉尘应存在粒度匹配效应;碳酸氢钠粉体对铝粉火焰温度的惰化抑制效果与其粒径呈反比关系;碳酸氢钠粉体会减小铝粉火焰预热区厚度,预热区厚度随碳酸氢钠粒径的增加先减小后增大。此外,分析了碳酸氢钠粒径对铝粉火焰传播特性影响的作用机理。     

Devolatilization and ash comminution of two different sewage sludges under fluidized bed combustion conditions

Two different wet sewage sludges have been characterized under fluidized bed combustion conditions with reference to their devolatilization behavior and ash comminution with the aid of different and complementary experimental protocols. Analysis of the devolatilization process allowed to determine the size of fuel particle able to achieve effective lateral spreading of the volatile matter across the cross-section of medium-scale combustors. Primary fragmentation and primary ash particle characterization pointed out the formation of a significant amount of relatively large fragments. The mechanical properties of these fragments have been characterized by means of elutriation/abrasion tests using both quartz and sludge ash beds.     

WC/Al2O3颗粒增强Cu基复合材料爆炸粉末烧结实验研究

利用爆炸粉末烧结工艺,探索WC /Al2O3同时作为增强基颗粒制取多种颗粒增强Cu基复合材料的可行性,同时分析了工艺参数对压实坯致密度的影响。研究了复合材料的微观组织和致密度、韧性和硬度等性能,爆炸粉末烧结法可以成功制出WC/ Al2O3/Cu多种颗粒增强金属基复合材料。     

Estimation of structural element sizes in sand and compacted blocks of ground calcium carbonate using a void network model

An algorithm has been developed for the calculation of the size of the effective structural or skeletal elements which make up the solid phase of an unconsolidated or consolidated porous block. It is based on a previously presented algorithm, but it has now been validated on unconsolidated samples and tested on consolidated samples. It also includes a virtual reality representation of the structures. First, a network model named Pore-Cor is made to reproduce the percolation behaviour of the experimental sample, by matching its simulated percolation characteristics to an experimental mercury intrusion curve. The algorithm then grows skeletal elements between the cubic pores and cylindrical throats of the void network model until they touch up to four of the adjacent void features. The size distributions of the simulated solid elements are compared with each other and with experimentally determined particle size distributions, using a Mann–Whitney test. The algorithm was shown to simulate skeletal elements with the correct trends in size distribution for two different sand samples, provided the sand packed itself optimally under the applied mercury pressure. It was also applied to two samples of variously compressed calcium carbonate powder, having fine and coarse particle size distributions respectively. The simulation demonstrated that on compressing the powder at the minimum force, the skeletal elements differed from the constituent particle sizes, as expected. The average size of the skeletal elements increased as the compression force was increased on the calcium carbonate powders. The results suggest that the method could be useful as a tool for probing the effect of compaction on aggregation or sintering, and for studying other effects such as cementation in geological samples, where other more direct techniques cannot be applied.     

Instability of sintering of porous bodies

Sintering models are discussed and used to analyze flow instabilities that may arise during preliminary compaction of powders. These instabilities can be at the origin of heterogeneities in the densification. The material is modeled as a viscoplastic thermal sensitive porous material. The modeling includes the limit case of a linear viscous material. The effects of sintering conditions (temperature and pressure in the case of pressure sintering) and the effects of material characteristics such as porosity, heat capacity, theoretical density, surface tension, particle size and creep parameters on stability of sintering are investigated. The heat release associated with the plastic flow is shown to sometimes have an important role. Stability criteria are derived and applied to the analysis of sintering and hot isostatic pressing, using various sintering models. These stability criteria can be used to optimize the densification process; one can control, for example, temperature so as to avoid any instability. Stability maps enabling an optimization of temperature–pressure regime in hot isostatic pressing are built for sample metal (nickel) powder.     

岩盐用作路基填料的力学性质试验

通过试验,研究了察尔汗岩盐用作路基填料的压实特性、抗压强度以及循环荷载下的变形性状。主要探讨了岩盐试样中细粒含量比例对试样压实特性的影响规律;天然岩盐抗压强度的大小分布,以及岩盐抗压强度与粒径、干密度、含水量的关系;交通循环荷载作用下,岩盐的动应变发展情况等。这些结论对盐湖公路建设具有一定的指导意义。     

A two-phase mixture theory for the deflagration-to-detonation transition (ddt) in reactive granular materials

In this paper, a two-phase mixture theory is presented which describes the deflagration-to-detonation transition (DDT) in reactive granular materials. The theory is based on the continuum theory of mixtures formulated to include the compressibility of all phases and the compaction behavior of the granular material. By requiring the model to satisfy an entropy inequality, specific expressions for the exchange of mass, momentum and energy are proposed which are consistent with known empirical models. The model is applied to describe the combustion processes associated with DDT in a pressed column of HMX. Numerical results, using the method-of-lines, are obtained for a representative column of length 10 cm packed to a 70% density with an average grain size of 100 μm. The results are found to predict the transition to detonation in run distances commensurate with experimental observations. Additional calculations have been carried out to demonstrate the effect of particle size and porosity and to study bed compaction by varying the compaction viscosity of the granular explosive.     

超细二氧化硅粉体对淀粉火焰抑制的实验研究

为了探究不同粒径二氧化硅粉体抑制效果上的差异,采用小尺寸竖直燃烧管道系统,研究添加10 μm和30 nm二氧化硅粉体时,不同粒径小麦淀粉燃烧的火焰传播、温度、速度等参数特性的变化。实验结果表明:超细二氧化硅粉体能减弱小麦淀粉燃烧反应强度;30 nm二氧化硅粉体抑制效果优于10 μm二氧化硅,当小麦淀粉粒径小于25 μm时,质量浓度为0.43 kg/m3、粒径30 nm的超细二氧化硅粉体可使小麦淀粉火焰亮度明显下降,最高温度下降38.07%,最大速度和平均速度分别下降42.25%、65.59%;超细二氧化硅粉体主要起物理抑制作用,抑制效果与小麦粒径成反比关系,小麦粒径越小,二氧化硅抑制效果越好。     

The biaxial loading response of powder aluminum at elevated temperature

Nuclear fuel can be fabricated using powder-metallurgy processes by compacting uranium-oxide powder with aluminum powder to form a cermet and then extruding the cermet to form fuel tubes. This method of production allows greater control of uranium-oxide particle size and distribution in the tube, making the production of fuel with greater concentrations of uranium oxide possible, and thus decreasing the volume of radioactive waste remaining after the fuel is spent. As the concentration of uranium oxide increases, however, there is an increase in failures during extrusion. To address this problem, an experimental procedure was developed to examine the response of powder aluminum, a material with a structure similar to that of the cermet fuel, to biaxial loadings such as those experienced during extrusion. Biaxial loadings can be varied from pure shear to simple tension or compression, or to combinations of these loadings in a numerically controlled ‘tension-torsion’ testing machine. Data obtained using this system were used to develop a model for the post-yield behavior in extruded powder aluminum which includes information derived both from the macroscopic stress-strain behavior of 1100 aluminum and extruded powder aluminum and from the observed microscopic structure of the extruded powder aluminum. This paper describes the development of the experimental system and shows the different biaxial mechanical behavior of the two materials. Test fixtures were developed and software was written to control constant strain-rate tension, compression, torsion, combined tension-torsion, and combined compression-torsion tests performed using a computer-controlled MTS biaxial testing machine. Extruded powder aluminum and 1100 aluminum specimens were tested at 427°C, the powder-aluminum extrusion temperature, under those loading conditions. Each specimen was subjected to only one loading cycle. Data were recorded during loading only. Tested specimens were also sectioned and examined microscopically.     

气相反应介质中添加铝粉后的微观机理研究

利用ＯＭＡ谱仪及三台单色谱仪研究了爆炸激波管中铝粉在氢氧爆轰激励下快速反应的发射谱及辐射特性。研究发现:铝粉氧化反应主要机理是铝粉和氧反应；铝粉和水的反应是次要的。铝粉颗粒变细可以明显增强ＡｌＯ辐射强度，加快铝反应速率。利用我们研制的分光技术测量ＡｌＯ的三条振动谱线强度，确定了ＡｌＯ激发温度。测量表明:随着铝粉颗粒变细，ＡｌＯ激发温度明显提高。利用连续辐射谱确定的辐射温度同样说明添加铝粉可以提高反应温度。