Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-03T04:20:09.763Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spark plasma sintering of zirconium carbide and oxycarbide: Finite element modeling of current density, temperature, and stress distributions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Guy Antou ,
Gendre Mathieu ,
Gilles Trolliard  and
Alexandre Maître
Alexandre Maître*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Science des Procédés Céramiques et de Traitements de Surface (SPCTS) UMR CNRS 6638—Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, F-87060 Limoges Cedex—France
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: alexandre.maitre@unilim.fr
Get access

Abstract

A combined experimental/numerical approach was developed to determine the distribution of current density, temperature, and stress arising within the sample during spark plasma sintering (SPS) treatment of zirconium carbide (ZrCx) or oxycarbide (ZrCxOy). Stress distribution was calculated by using a numerical thermomechanical model, assuming that a slip without mechanical friction exists at the interfaces between the sample and the graphite elements. Heating up to 1950 °C at 100 °C min−1 and a constant applied pressure of 100 MPa were retained as process conditions. Simulated temperature distributions were found to be in excellent agreement with those measured experimentally. The numerical model confirms that, during the zirconium oxycarbide sintering, the temperature measured by the pyrometer on the die surface largely underestimates the actual temperature of the sample. This real temperature is in fact near the optimized sintering temperature for hot-pressed zirconium oxycarbide specimens. It is also shown that high stress gradients existing within the sample are much higher than the thermal ones. The amplitude of the stress gradients was found to be correlated with those of temperature even if they are also influenced by the macroscopic sample properties (coefficient of thermal expansion and elastic modulus). At high temperature, the radial and angular stresses, which are much higher than the vertical applied stress, provide the more significant contribution to the stress-related driving force for densification during the SPS treatment. The heat lost by radiation toward the wall chambers controlled both the thermal and stress gradients.

Keywords

SimulationSinteringThermal stresses
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , February 2009 , pp. 404 - 412
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Nygren, M., Shen, Z.: Novel assemblies via spark plasma sintering. Silicates Industrials 69, 211 (2004)Google Scholar
2.Tokita, M.: Development of large-size ceramic-metal bulk functionally gradient materials (FGM) fabricated by spark plasma sintering. Mater. Sci. Forum 83, 308 (1999)Google Scholar
3.Grozan, J.R., Zavaliangos, A.: Sintering activation by external electrical field. Mater. Sci. Eng., A 287, 171 (2000)Google Scholar
4.Khor, K.A., Cheng, A.K.H., Yu, L.G., Boey, F.: Thermal conductivity and dielectric constant of spark plasma sintered aluminium nitride. Mater. Sci. Eng., A 347, 300 (2003)Google Scholar
5.Gao, L., Miyamoto, H.: Spark plasma sintering technology. J. Inorg. Mater. 12, 129 (1997)Google Scholar
6.Tokita, M.: Tends on advanced SPS spark plasma sintering. J. Soc. Powder Technol. Jpn. 30, 790 (1993)Google Scholar
7.Guillard, F., Allemand, A., Galy, J.: Spark plasma sintering of SiC and ZrCProceedings of the Congress Sintering 2005 edited by D. Bouvard (Grenoble France 2005)8790Google Scholar
8.Goutier, F., Trolliard, G., Maître, A., Valette, S., Estournès, C.: Role of the impurities on the SPS sintering of ZrC–ZrB2 composites. J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 28, 671 (2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Xiong, Y., Fu, Z.Y., Wang, H., Wang, Y.C., Zhang, Q.J.: Microstructure and IR transmittance of spark plasma translucent AlN ceramics with CaF2 additive. Mater. Sci. Eng., B 123, 57 (2005)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.Zavaliangos, A., Zhang, J., Krammer, M., Groza, J.R.: Temperature evolution during field activated sintering. Mater. Sci. Eng., A 379, 218 (2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.Vanmeensel, K., Laptev, A., Hennicke, J., Vleugels, J., Van der Biest, O.: Modeling of the temperature distribution during field assisted sintering. Acta Mater. 53, 4379 (2005)Google Scholar
12.Anselmi-Tamburini, U., Gennari, S., Garay, J.E., Munir, Z.A.: Fundamental investigations on the spark plasma sintering/synthesis process: II. Modeling of current and temperature distributions. Mater. Sci. Eng., A 394, 139 (2005)Google Scholar
13.Maizza, G., Grasso, S., Sakka, Y., Noda, T., Ohashi, O.: Relation between microstructure, properties and spark plasma sintering (SPS) parameters of pure ultrafine WC powder. Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater. 8, 644 (2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14.Wang, X., Casolco, S.R., Xu, G., Garay, J.E.: Finite element modeling of electric current-activated sintering: The effect of coupled electrical potential, temperature and stress. Acta Mater. 55, 3611 (2007)Google Scholar
15.Comsol Multiphysics, User Guide 3.3( COMSOL AB Sweden, 2006)Google Scholar
16.Barnier, P., Brodhag, C., Thévenot, F.: Hot-pressing kinetics of zirconium carbide. J. Mater. Sci. 22, 109 (1986)Google Scholar
17.Driesner, A.R., Wagner, P.: Friction coefficients of graphite over the temperature interval 25 °C to 2450 °C. J. Appl. Phys. 29, 901 (1958)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Olevsky, E., Froyen, L.: Constitutive modeling of spark-plasma sintering of conductive materials. Scr. Mater. 55, 1175 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Toth, L.E.: Transition Metal Carbides and Nitrides(Academic Press New York and London 1971)152184Google Scholar
20.Frost, H.J., Ashby, M.F.: Deformation-Mechanism Maps, Ch. 11(Pergamon Press New York 1982)Google Scholar
21.Richardson, J.H.: Thermal expansion of three group IVA carbides to 2700 °C. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 48, 497 (1965)Google Scholar
22.Storms, E.K.: The Refractory Carbides(Academic Press New York 1967)1834Google Scholar
23.Samsonov, G.V., Voronkin, M.A.: Properties of binary carbides of titanium and subgroup Va metals. Poroshkovaya Metall. (Kiev). 4, 64 (1976)Google Scholar