Discrete element method （DEM） is used in the present paper to simulate the microstructural evolution of a planar layer of copper particles during sintering. Formation of agglomerates and the effect of their rearrangement on densification are mainly focused on. Comparing to the existing experimental observations, we find that agglomerate can form spontaneously in sintering and its rearrangement could accelerate the densification of compacts. Snapshots of numerical simulations agree qualitatively well with experimental observations. The method could be readily extended to investigate the effect of agglomerate on sintering in a three- dimensional model, which should be very useful for understanding the evolution of microstructure of sintering systems.
Discrete element method （DEM） is used to study the factors affecting agglomeration in three-dimensional copper particle systems during solid-state sintering. A new parameter is proposed to characterize agglomeration. The effects of a series of factors are studied, including particle size, size distribution, inter-particle tangential viscosity, tem- perature, initial density and initial distribution of particles on agglomeration. We find that the systems with smaller particles, broader particle size distribution, smaller viscos- ity, higher sintering temperature and smaller initial density have stronger particle agglomeration and different distribu- tions of particles induce different agglomerations. This study should be very useful for understanding the phenomenon of agglomeration and the micro-structural evolution during sin- tering and guiding sintering routes to avoid detrimental ag- glomeration.
Effects of agglomerates on the densification behavior and microstructural evolution during solid-state sintering of a cube of copper particles have been studied with discrete element method (DEM).It is found that the densification of the sintering system decreases as the volume fraction of agglomerates increases.At a given volume fraction of agglomerates,the smaller the size of agglomerates,the poorer the densification and more inhomogeneous the compact is.The morphology and distribution of agglomerates have negligible effects on the densification,especially for the case with a low volume fraction of agglomerates.Agglomerates with a smaller average coordination number would have more restriction on the densification of sintering bodies.To our best knowledge,it is the first time to study the effect of agglomerates on sintering behavior using DEM.This study should be useful for further investigations of the effect of various inhomogeneities of microstructure on the complex sintering process by DEM.
