Microstructure and Physical Properties of Nanocrystalline Aluminum Consolidated by Spark Plasma Sintering

Abstract

Spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique was employed to fabricate nanocrystalline aluminum (Al) with the organic-coated Al nanopowders as raw material. A low initial pressure of 1 MPa and a high holding pressure of 300 MPa were used in the investigation. The effect of sintering temperature on the microstructure and the physical properties of the nanocrystalline Al was investigated. The results demonstrated that both the grain size and the thermal diffusivity of the nanocrystalline Al increase with an increase in sintering temperature. However, the resistivity of the nanocrystalline Al deceases with increasing sintering temperature.