Modelling of Micro/Macro Densification Phenomena of Cu Powder during Capacitor Discharge Sintering

G. Maizza[1] and A. Tassinari[1]

[1]Dipartimento di Scienza dei Materiali ed Ingegneria Chimica, Politecnico di Torino, Torino, Italy
Published in 2009

Capacitor Discharge Sintering (CDS) is an ultrafast Electric Current Assisted Sintering method (u-ECAS) suited for electrically conductive powders. It is characterized by relatively short processing times (milliseconds range) and much lower sintering temperatures than the melting point of the powders. However, the CDS basic phenomena are not fully understood yet neither at the macroscale nor at the microscale. Both the short processing time and the closed-die system pose severe difficulties in experimental monitoring. From a modeling viewpoint, the CDS model introduces a new class of non linear problems, which involves not only a complex bulk multiphysics, but also an intricate contact multiphysics. This work presents a micro/macro CDS model based on the COMSOL Multiphysics® package applied to copper powder.

Download