Using the Spark Plasma Sintering System for Fabrication of Advanced Semiconductor Materials.

The interest in the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) technique has continuously increased over the last few years. This article shows the possibility of the development of an SPS device used for material processing and synthesis in both scientific and industrial applications and aims to present manufacturing methods and the versatility of an SPS device, presenting examples of processing Arc-Melted- (half-Heusler, cobalt triantimonide) and Self-propagating High-temperature Synthesis (SHS)-synthesized semiconductor (bismuth telluride) materials. The SPS system functionality development is presented, the purpose of which was to broaden the knowledge of the nature of SPS processes.

Discrete Element Framework for Determination of Sintering and Postsintering Residual Stresses of Particle Reinforced Composites.

In this paper, the discrete element method framework is employed to determine and analyze the stresses induced during and after the powder metallurgy process of particle-reinforced composite. Applied mechanical loading and the differences in the thermal expansion coefficients of metal/intermetallic matrix and ceramic reinforcing particles during cooling produce the complex state of stresses in and between the particles, leading to the occurrence of material defects, such as cracks, and in consequence the composite degradation. Therefore, the viscoelastic model of pressure-assisted sintering of a two-phase powder mixture is applied in order to study the stress field of particle assembly of intermetallic-ceramic composite NiAl/Al2O3.

Micro-Macro Relationships in the Simulation of Wave Propagation Phenomenon Using the Discrete Element Method.

The present work is aimed to investigate the capability of the discrete element method (DEM) to model properly wave propagation in solid materials, with special focus on the determination of elastic properties through wave velocities. Reference micro-macro relationships for elastic constitutive parameters have been based on the kinematic hypothesis as well as obtained numerically by simulation of a quasistatic uniaxial compression test. The validity of these relationships in the dynamic analysis of the wave propagation has been checked.

Discrete Element Modeling of Intermetallic Matrix Composite Manufacturing by Powder Metallurgy.

This paper presents a numerical and experimental analysis of manufacturing of intermetallic ceramic composites by powder metallurgy techniques. The scope of the paper includes the formulation and development of an original numerical model of powder metallurgy of two-phase material within the framework of the discrete element method, simulations of powder metallurgy processes for different combinations of process parameters, and a verification of the numerical model based on own experimental results. Intermetallic-based composite NiAl⁻Al 2 O 3 has been selected as representative material for experimental and numerical studies in this investigation.