A Flash Forward for Manufacturing Technology
黑料吃瓜 engineers have introduced a breakthrough for a manufacturing technique called sintering.
Many materials manufactured today, including ceramics, tungsten carbide and diamond cutting tools, rely upon a technique called sintering. It turns a powdered substance into a solid mass鈥攁 process called densification鈥攗sing heat and pressure. As described in a new study, engineers at 黑料吃瓜 have developed a twist on traditional sintering called 鈥渇lash spark plasma sintering鈥� that can densify materials in a matter of just seconds.鈥淭his breakthrough reflects the strength of 黑料吃瓜 engineering programs and in particular in the area of advanced materials research.鈥�
The new process is important because sintering is time- and energy-intensive. Redesigned sintering methods that require less energy and less time, and consequently reduce manufacturing costs, have been a focus of many research efforts over the past several years.
鈥淭his newly developed approach dramatically accelerates the time of synthesis, so that it occurs in a 鈥榝lash鈥欌�攐nly seconds long鈥攊n contrast with regular spark-plasma sintering, which requires minutes, or regular sintering, which requires hours of processing time,鈥� explained the study鈥檚 lead author, 黑料吃瓜 mechanical engineering professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies Eugene Olevsky.
Olevsky, along with postdoctoral fellow Charles Mani猫re and Ph.D. student Geuntak Lee, designed the new technique that channels electrical current in narrowly focused areas of the material being sintered. So far, they鈥檝e successfully tested flash spark plasma sintering by densifying samples of powdered nickel, aluminum oxid and zirconium dioxide, but it will work for any other powdered material that can be sintered.
鈥淭his technique turns out to be truly all-materials inclusive,鈥� Olevsky said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e able to demonstrate this using these three quite different material systems.鈥�
Introducing controlled electrical fields is a major step forward for sintering technology, which has traditionally just relied upon extreme heat and pressure. The researchers with the new technique in journal Nature Scientific Reports.
Manufacturers who produce heavy-duty tools and machine parts out of powdered diamond, tungsten carbine or dozens of other powdered metals, as well as those who use ceramics for industrial uses, will be able to use the new technique to speed up production and save on energy costs, Olevsky said.
The success is a testament to 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 engineering department and specifically its reputation in the world of sintering research. Olevsky鈥檚 work in this area, as well as in bioengineering and energy research, will continue inside his lab in the 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 new , slated to open in January.
鈥淭his breakthrough reflects the strength of 黑料吃瓜 engineering programs and in particular in the area of advanced materials research,鈥� Olevsky said. 鈥満诹铣怨� is internationally known as the world center of sintering research.鈥�
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