EPMA Club Project to look at mechanical behaviour and microstructure of PM materials
September 19, 2019
A European Powder Metallurgy Association (EPMA) Club Project, focusing on the analysis of the mechanical behaviour and the evolution of microstructure in Powder Metallurgy materials, is being proposed by Spain’s IMDEA Materials Institute. The EPMA is inviting delegates at its Euro PM2019 Congress & Exhibition, taking place at the MECC Congress Centre in Maastricht, the Netherlands, to attend a preliminary meeting to discuss the multidisciplinary project on October 13, 2019.
The initial Club Project will involve an in-depth study of the mechanical properties and damage prediction of one selected material. The material has yet to be defined, but initial proposals are a stainless steel, such as 316L, or a superalloy such as Inconel. Under the project, PM samples would be compared against samples produced by different manufacturing techniques, such as press & sinter Powder Metallurgy, Additive Manufacturing, Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) or Metal Injection Moulding (MIM).
According to the EPMA, the study will cover two different aspects of PM material microstructures:
- Mechanical and microstructural behaviour will be studied by means of standard tensile samples as well through special ‘in-situ’ micro tensile samples machined from blanks produced by the different PM techniques. In the case of AM, the tensile specimens will be obtained in the direction of the build and the perpendicular direction.
- Damage analysis and damage prediction in samples will be obtained by the different methods. Damage will be investigated under tensile stresses at room temperature. The damage will be evaluated as a function of the plastic strain, estimated by digital image correlation, and these data will serve as inputs for the development of a continuum numerical modelling, which could later be used as a predictive tool.
The final scope of the project will be decided during the meeting. Those with an interest in joining the project and who wish to attend the preliminary meeting are invited to contact Bruno Vicenzi ([email protected]), EPMA Technical Manager.
