Sintering experiments with various molybdenum powders are rationalized using a master sintering curve concept that collapses density, grain size, or other parameters onto a single curve. In this case, the integral work of sintering is developed and customized for different green densities. Construction of the master sintering curve is described to show how the curve can be normalized with respect to green density effects. Various grades of molybdenum for metal injection molding and die compaction are included in the analysis, processed over a range of heating cycles. Die-compacted samples of varying green densities are used to illustrate the efficacy of the new, normalized master sintering curve concept. Sintering cycle optimization is one possible outcome from this analysis.
The master sintering curve (MSC) is a simple and functional sinter model that is used to describe the densification of a particulate material during sintering when one sintering mechanism is dominant. Usually the MSC is expressed mathematically by a sigmoid relationship between the natural logarithm of the work of sintering and the relative density. The work of sintering is an integral term that includes the time and temperature path followed by the material during sintering as well as the apparent activation energy for densification of the material. In this work, the sigmoid form of the MSC is linearized by relating the natural logarithm of the work of sintering to the densification parameter. Linearization of the MSC simplifies the characterization of the model parameters. This is illustrated by example of different powder metal systems, showing how the linearized MSC model parameters can be easily determined directly from the plotted experimental data.
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