Powder Consolidation and Forming

Forming by Casting Methods

Slip Casting
Initial After formation of a thin cast
Slip casting process involves the flow of liquid through a porous medium,
described by Darcys law. In one dimension,
As the consolidation of the particles proceeds, the filtrate (i.e., the liquid) passes
through two types of porous media: (1) the consolidated layer and (2) the mold
Darcys law for liquid flow through porous consolidated layer
The rate of consolidation decreases with time, and this limits the
slip casting process to a certain thickness of the cast. Above this
value, further increases in the thickness are very time consuming
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Casting Methods
Factors Influence Slip Casting Effect of Cast Permeability, K
c
Carman-Kozeny equation
where P is the porosity, S is the specific surface area (i.e., per unit mass of the
solid phase),
s
is the density of the solid phase, and is a constant (equal to 5
for many systems) that defines the shape and tortuosity of the channels.

For a cast consisting of spherical, monodisperse particles with a diameter D, the
permeability can be expressed as,
Effect of Mold Parameters
Consolidation rate increases with the capillary suction pressure p of the mold
Capillary suction pressure varies inversely as the pore radius of the mold
So a decrease in the pore radius would lead to an increase in the casting rate
The permeability of the mold K
m
also decreases with a decrease in the pore
radius of the mold
So there should be an optimum pore size to give the maximum rate of casting
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Effect of Slurry Parameters
Forming by Casting Methods
The colloidal stability of the slurry has the strongest influence on the microstructure
of the cast
A well dispersed slip containing no agglomerates and stabilized by electrostatic
or steric repulsion leads to the formation of a fairly dense cast with better microstructural
uniformity
Fairly dense cast formed from a well-dispersed slip has a low permeability, and the rate of
casting is therefore low.
For industrial operations where such low casting rates are uneconomical, the slip is only
partially deflocculated.
V
s
Casting rate increases with increase in V
s


L
Casting rate increases with decrease in
L

Size, size distribution and shape -
1. For coarser particle (> 10-20 mm) colloidal effects
are insignificant
2. For larger sphere of same size packing density
is 60-65%
3. Irregular shape particles produce cast with lower
Packing density
4. For smaller particles (<10 mm) colloidal control
the packing density
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Microstructural Defects
Forming by Casting Methods
Large voids from air bubble
can be avoided by 1) improving the wetting properties of the particle by liquid
2) proper de-airing of the slurry
3) avoidance of turbulent flow of the liquid during casting
Segregation can be avoided by improving the colloidal stability of the slurry
Pressure Casting
Pressure casting of Al2O3 powder
At pH 2 (DS) and 8 (FS)
Greater productivity than slip casting
But molds are more expensive
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Tape Casting Methods
(Doctor-blade Process)
Slurry/Slip Preparation
Tape casting of a MgO doped Al
2
O
3
component
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Tape Casting Methods
Section of a Tape Casting unit
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Tape Casting Methods
Thickness of the dry tape, h
d
is,
where and are correction factors,
w
and
d
are the densities of
the slurry and the dry tape, respectively, h
o
and L are the height and thickness
of the doctor blade, respectively, p is the pressure difference (determined by
the height of the slurry in the reservoir), is the viscosity of the slurry, and U
is the velocity of the doctor blade relative to the casting surface
A knife-edged doctor blade (very small value of L) is unsuitable for tape-
casting. A flat bottomed doctor blade is effective practically.
A double doctor blade is often found to be useful when a uniform thickness
must be maintained over a long length of tape
Casting speed is dependent on the type of casting process: continuous or
batch. For a continuous process, the speed is determined by the length of the
casting machine, the thickness of the tape, and the volatility of the solvent.
Typical casting speeds can vary from 15 cm/min for a continuous process to
50 cm/min for a batch process
Carrier glass plate (lab scale), polyester and coated polyester carriers in
industrial scale
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Gel Casting Methods
The key element of the
process is the addition of an
organic monomer to the
solution which is
polymerized in situ to form a
strong, cross-linked gel.
In addition to preventing
segregation or settling of the
particles, the gel provides
strength to the body to
withstand capillary stresses
during drying so that thick as
well as thin parts can be
formed
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Gel Casting Methods
The monomer solution consists of the solvent (commonly water), a chain-forming
monomer, a chain-branching (cross-linking) monomer, and a free radical initiator
Commonly used chain formers are methacrylamide (MAM), hydroxymethacrylamide
(HMAM), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), and methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)
monomethacrylate (MPEGMA).
Sometimes two monomers may be used in combination (e.g., MAM and NVP, or MPEGMA
and HMAM).
The cross-linkers commonly used are methylene bisacrylamide (MBAM) and poly(ethylene
glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDMA).
The free radical initiator used most often is ammonium persulfate (APS) with
tetramethylethylene diamine (TEMED) used as a catalyst
The choice of the monomer system depends on several factors, such as the reactivity of the
system (including the reaction temperature), the strength, stiffness and toughness of the gel,
and the strength and machinability of the green body
One system used for several ceramics is MAM-MBAM in which the total monomer
concentration in the solution is 1020 wt% and the MAM to MBAM ratio is 26.
Another system is MAM-PEGDMA in which the monomer concentration is also 1020 wt%
but the MAM to PEGDMA ratio is 13
The commonly used mold materials for gelcasting are aluminum, glass, polyvinylchloride,
polystyrene, and polyethylene
Powder Consolidation and Forming
Forming by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) Methods
Kinetics of EPD:
1. Constant V EPD
2. Constant I EPD