Direct Comparisons Between Virtual and Experimental Powder Mixtures

Abstract

The objective of this research is to develop criteria for improving mixedness by proper selection of the powder components. Our two-pronged approach involves both computation and experimental determination of mixedness. Computation of mixedness utilizes a modular program that incorporates powder components and packs them via dropping and rolling. The virtual mixture is interrogated using concentric shell and tessellation analysis. The experimental determination of mixedness begins with epoxy-embedded microstruc tures. A focused ion beam produces smooth planar cross-sections for mixture analysis of a wide range of materials. Tessellation analysis of high resolution x-ray maps is used to interrogate the mixture, offering us the ability to compute tile area distributions, which allows us to compare the structure of simulated and experimental systems. Having this capability allows us to develop a benchmark for the mixedness possible in a chosen system. In addition, it allows us to develop techniques for improving that benchmark through variation of the powder component characteristics.