INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ROORKEE

Theory of Production Processes - II

MIN-309

Powder Metallurgy
By
Prof. Navneet Arora
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Roorkee - 247667
Powder Metallurgy (PM)

• Powder metallurgy is a metal processing technology in which parts are produced from metallic
powders.

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History of PM

3000 BC Egyptians used gold and copper powders for decorative purposes.

1815 William Wollaston prepared platinum powders, compacted, sintered (heated) them.

1870 US patent for self lubricating bearings 99% Tin powder + 1% petroleum.

1908 Incandescent lamp (Tungsten powder) - commercial product.

1920 Cemented carbide (WC-Co) tools were fabricated.

1960 PM gears and other components.

1980 Parts for aircraft turbine engine.

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Powder Metallurgy : Introduction

• Powder metallurgy is the process of blending fine powdered materials, compacting

the same into a desired shape or form inside a mould followed by heating of the
compacted powder in a controlled atmosphere, referred to as sintering to facilitate
the formation of bonding of the powder particles to form the final part.

• Powder Metallurgy route is very suitable for parts that are required to be
manufactured from a single or multiple materials (in powder form) with very high
strength and melting temperature that pose challenge for the application of casting
or deformation processes.

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4
PM: Introduction

In powder metallurgy, the powders are compressed into the desired shape and then heated to cause
bonding of the particles into a hard, rigid mass. Heat treatment, called sintering is performed at a
temperature below the melting point of the metal.

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STEPS IN PM

1. Powder Manufacturing, 2. Blending of Powders,

3. Compacting of Powders in a mould or die, and 4. Sintering.

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PM: Advantages

1. PM parts can be mass produced to net shape or near net shape, eliminating or reducing
the need for subsequent processing.
2. PM process itself involves very little waste of material (eg. In a casting process, the
sprues, runners, risers are wasted materials). Little or no scrap.
3. Specified level of porosity can be maintained (eg. we can produce porous metal parts
such as filters, oil impregnated bearings and gears).
4. Certain metals that are difficult to fabricate by other methods can be shaped by PM (eg.
Tungsten filaments used in incandescent lamp bulbs are made using PM).
5. Certain metal alloy combinations can be formed by PM that cant be produced by other
methods.
6. Dimensional control ± 0.13mm achievable in routine.
7. PM production methods can be automated for economical production.

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PM : Limitations

1. High tooling and equipment cost.

2. Expensive metallic powders.

3. Difficulties with storing and handling metal powders (degradation of metal over time and fire
hazard with particular metals)

4. Limitations on part geometry because metal powders do not readily flow laterally in the die during
pressing.

5. Variations in material density throughout the part may be a problem in PM.

6. Mostly PM components are < 3.0 kg. However, even 20 kg parts can be prepared i.e. size
limitation.

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PM Applications

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Geometric Features

Metallic Powder – A powder can be defined as a finely divided particulate solid.

• Geometry of individual powder can be defined by -

- Particle size and distribution

- Particle shape and internal structure

- Surface area

Particle Size – dimension of individual powder.

It can be-

Single dimension – spherical shape

Two or three dimensions – other shapes

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Geometric Features (contd.)

• To obtain particle size data

- Most common method is the use of screen of different mesh sizes.

- Microscopy and X-ray techniques are other methods

• Mesh Count – No. of openings per linear inch of screen.

- eg. Mesh Count 200 or MC200 means there are 200 openings per
linear inch. If mesh is square the 2002 = 40,000 openings per square inch.

- Higher the MC, smaller the particle size.

Particles Sorting

Particles are sorted by passing them through a series of screens of progressively smaller mesh size.

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Geometric Features (contd.)

Particle Size
The openings in the screen are less than

the reciprocal of the mesh count

because of the thickness of the wire in the screen.

1
PS = 𝑀𝐶 − 𝑡𝑤

PS – Particle Size

MC – Mesh Count

tw – Wire Thickness of screen mesh

The procedure of separating the powders by size is called classification.

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Geometric Features (contd.)

Particle Shape
Aspect ratio is a measure of shape.
𝑀𝑎𝑥.𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
Aspect ratio =
𝑚𝑖𝑛.𝑑𝑖𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
Aspect ratio = 1.0 for spherical particle.
= 2 to 4 for an accicular grain.
Surface Area
Assuming that the particle shape is a perfect sphere, its area A and volume V are given by-
ᴨ𝐷3
A= ᴨD2 V= D = diameter of spherical particle
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Area to volume ratio (A/V) for a sphere is then given by A/V = 6/D

In general A/V = Ks/D, where Ks = shape factor

D= diameter of sphere of equivalent volume as the non-spherical particle
Ks = 6.0 for sphere and Ks > 6 for particle shapes other than sphere

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Geometric Features (contd.)

Smaller Particle Size and Higher Shape Factor – will give higher surface area for the same total
weight of metal powders.

Therefore, greater area for surface oxidation to occur and smaller size more agglomeration of particles
which is a disadvantage in automatic feeding of powders

However, reason for using smaller particle size is that they provide more uniform shrinkage and better
mechanical properties in the final PM product.

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 Other Features

Other Features - Inter-particle friction, flow characteristics,

packing density, porosity, chemistry and surface films

Inter-particle Friction Measured with the help of angle of repose.

• Larger angles indicate greater inter-particle friction.

• Smaller particle sizes show greater friction and steeper angles.

• Spherical shapes result lowest inter-particle friction as shape

deviates from spherical, the friction between particles tends to
increase.
Fig. Inter-particle friction as indicated
• To reduce inter-particle friction and facilitate flow during pressing, by the angle of repose of a pile of
powder poured from a narrow tunnel.
lubricants are often added to the powders in small amounts.

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Other Features (contd.)

Packing Density and Porosity

Packing characteristics depends upon 1. True density 2. Bulk density

1. True Density – Density of material if the powders were melted into a solid mass.

2. Bulk Density – Density of powders in the loose state after pouring

(this includes effect of pores between particles)

Bulk density < True density

𝑩𝒖𝒍𝒌 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚
Packing Factor = (Typical values for loose powders – range is 0.5 - 0.7)
𝑻𝒓𝒖𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚

Packing Factor depends on 1. Particle Shape 2. Distribution of Particle Size

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Other Features (contd.)

Packing Factor increases

- if particles of various sizes are present. (Because smaller powders will fit into the interstices of the larger
ones that would otherwise be taken up by air).

- If powders are vibrated (because thus settle more tightly).

- if external pressure is applied (eg. during compaction because of rearrangement and deformation of
particles).

Porosity + Packing factor = 1.0

Chemistry and Surface Film

Powder can be either Pure Metal or Pre-alloyed.

Surface Film – because area has increased in powder, the surface film (oxides, silica, moisture etc.)
problem is increased. These films must be removed prior to shape processing.

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1. Production of Metallic Powders

- Virtually any metal can be made into powder form by using one or more of various techniques
available to produce powders.

- The powder producer companies are usually different from those which make PM parts.

- The choice of production method is influenced by the structure, property and end application of the
finished part.

Possible Methods
1.1 Atomization (most versatile and popular method)

1.2 Mechanical methods

1.3 Chemical reduction

1.4 Electrolytic
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1.1 Atomization Method (Production of Metallic Powders)

ATOMISING PROCESS:

- In this process, molten metal is separated into small droplets and frozen rapidly
before the drops come into contact with each other or with a solid surface.

- A thin stream of molten metal is disintegrated by subjecting it to the impact of high-

energy jets of gas or liquid.

- Applicable to all metals that can be melted and is used commercially for the
production of iron; copper; alloy steels; brass; bronze; low-melting-point metals such
as aluminum, tin, lead, zinc, and cadmium; and, in selected instances, tungsten,
titanium, rhenium, and other high-melting-point materials.

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1.1 Atomization Method (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

(a) Gas Atomization – high velocity stream (inert gas or air) is utilized to atomize the liquid metal.
In Fig. (a), the gas flows through the expansion nozzle, siphoning molten metal from the melt below
and spraying it into a container. The droplets solidify into powder form.

Fig. (a) Gas atomization.

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1.1 Atomization Method (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

(b) Air Atomization

In Fig. b, the molten metal flows by
gravity through a nozzle and is
immediately atomized by air jets.
The resulting metal powders which
tend to be spherical, are collected
in a chamber below.

Fig. (b) Air Atomization.

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1.1 Atomization Method (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

c) Water Atomization
It is same as gas atomization, except that high velocity water
stream is used instead of gas - called water atomization.

Water atomization is most common atomization method

particularly suited to metals that melt below 1600°C. Cooling
is more rapid and the resulting powder shape is irregular
rather than spherical. Disadvantage of using water is
oxidation on the particle surface (Recently synthetic oil is
being used).

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1.1 Atomization Method (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

In both air and water atomization,

• Particle size is controlled by the velocity of fluid
stream.
• Particle size is inversely related to velocity.

d) Rotating Disc Method - Here liquid metal

stream pours into a rapidly rotating disk that
sprays the metal in all directions to produce
powders.

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1.1 Atomization Method (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

Rotating Consumable Electrode Method

• Metal is melted by the arc between

rotating consumable electrode and
stationary electrode.

• Due to the rotation of electrode the

molten metal is atomised by the
centrifugal force in the chamber of inert
gas.

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1.2 Mechanical Methods (Production of Metallic Powders)

Mechanical Methods
• Particle size reduction is attained by impacting
of particles against each other.

• Example: milling

• Force acting during milling are impact, attrition,

shear and compression.

• Milling is achieved by crushers, grinders etc.

• Crushing is used for making ceramic powders,

whereas grinding is used for attaining powders
of reactive metals like Titanium.

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 1.2 Mechanical Methods (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

Ball Mills: This contains cylindrical vessel rotating

horizontally along the axis. Length of the cylinder is
more or less equal to diameter. The vessel is charged
with the grinding media. The grinding media may be
made of hardened steel, or tungsten carbide, ceramics
like agate, porcelain, alumina, zirconia.

Jet Milling: Multiple collisions enhance the reduction

process and therefore, multiple jet arrangements are
normally incorporated in the mill design. The fluid
used is either air about 0.7 MPa or stream at 2 MPa.
In the case of volatile materials, protective
atmosphere of nitrogen and carbon-dioxide is used.
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1.2 Mechanical Methods (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

Attrition Mill:
In this case, the charge is ground to fine
size by the action of a vertical shaft with
side arms attached to it. The ball to charge
ratio may be 5:1, 10:1, 15:1. This method
is more efficient in achieving fine particle
size.

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1.3 Chemical Reduction (Production of Metallic Powders)

Chemical Reduction
• Metals are liberated from their oxides by reducing agents such as H2 or CO.

• Iron, Tungsten, Cu powders are produced by this method.

• Selected metal/alloy is crushed, mixed with carbon and passed through continuous furnace where
reaction takes place and a cake of sponge metal is left.

• Since no refining operation is involved, the purity of the powder is dependent on that of the raw
materials. The irregular sponge-like particles are soft, readily compressible and give compacts of
good green strength.

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1.4 Electrolysis (Production of Metallic Powders)

Electrolysis - An electrolytic cell is set up in which the source of

desired metal is anode. The anode is slowly dissolved under an applied
voltage, transported through the electrolyte, and deposited on the
cathode. The deposit is removed, washed and dried to yield a metallic
powder of very high purity. The technique is used for producing powders of
Beryllium, Copper, Iron, Silver, Titanium etc.

Example Metals of high purity are precipitated from aqueous solution on

the cathode of an electrolytic cell.

• Copper powder

• Electrolyte: copper sulphate and sulphuric acid. Crude copper as anode.

• Reaction: at anode: Cu -----> Cu2+ + e-;

at cathode: Cu2+ + 2e- -----> Cu.

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1.4 Electrolysis (contd.) (Production of Metallic Powders)

The final deposition occurs in three ways:

1. A hard brittle layer of pure metal which is subsequently milled to obtain powder.

2. A soft, spongy substance which is loosely adherent and easily removed by scrubbing.

3. A direct powder deposit from the electrolyte that collects at the bottom of the cell.

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Operations in PM

• Primary Operations
• Blending and Mixing of powders

• Compacting

• Sintering

• Secondary Operations
• Densification and Sizing

• Impregnation and Infiltration

• Heat Treatment and Finishing

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Primary Operations in PM

The steps are –

a) Blending and mixing of

the powders.

b) Compaction – Powders
are pressed into desired
part shape.

c) Sintering – Heating to a
temperature below melting
point to cause solid state
bonding of the particles and
strengthening of the part.
Blending Compaction Sintering
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Primary Operations in PM (contd.)

Blending and Mixing

Aim - homogeneous mixing.
Blending

When powders of same chemical composition but possibly different particle size are
intermingled. Different particle sizes are often blended to reduce porosity.

Binders can be added to the mixture of the powder particles to enhance the green strength
during the powder compaction process.

Mixing
When powders of different chemistries being combined.
Blending and mixing are accomplished by mechanical means.

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Primary Operations in PM : Blending & Mixing (contd.)

Rotation in a drum Rotation in a Agitation in a Stirring in a

double cone screw mixer blade mixer
container

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Primary Operations in PM : Blending & Mixing (contd.)

Other ingredients added to metallic powders-

Lubricants – To reduce friction between particles and die wall during compaction.

Binders – (in some cases) To achieve adequate strength in the pressed but unsintered part

Deflocculants – Inhibit agglomeration of powders for better flow characteristics during subsequent
processing.

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 Primary Operations in PM : Compaction
• High pressure is applied to form
them into required shape.
• In pressing – opposing punches
squeeze the powders contained
in a die.
Steps in pressing cycle-
1. Cycle start
2. Filling the die cavity with
powder, done by automatic feed in
production.
3. Initial
4. and final positions of upper and
lower punches during compaction.
5. Ejection of part.

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Primary Operations in PM : Compaction (contd.)

• Work-part after pressing is

called green compact (green
means not fully processed)
and density is called green
density is much greater than
starting bulk density.

• Green strength of the part

when pressed is adequate
for handling but far less than Fig. a Effect of applied pressure during compaction. 1.Initial loose powders
that achieved after sintering. after filling 2. Repacking 3. Deformation of particles
Fig. b Density of powders as a function of pressure.

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Primary Operations in PM : Compaction (contd.)

Compaction involves,
1) flow of powder particles past one another interacting with each other and with die-punch,
2) deformation of particles.
In the case of homogeneous compaction, two stages are observed.
First stage:
rapid densification occurs when pressure is applied due to particle movement and rearrangement
resulting in improved packing;
Second stage:
increase in applied pressure leads to elastic and plastic deformation resulting in locking and cold
welding of particles. In the second stage, large increments in pressures are seen to effect a small
increase in density.

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 Primary Operations in PM : Compaction (contd.)

Single die compaction: The powders close to the punch and die walls experience much better force than
in center. This results in green density variation across the sample length. Longer the sample more the
density difference. This non-uniformity can result in non-uniformity in properties of sintered part.

Double ended die compaction: In this case, powder experiences more uniform pressure from both top and
bottom, resulting in minimization of density variation. But this variation will still be considerable if the
components have high aspect ratio (length to diameter ratio).

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Primary Operations in PM : Sintering

Sintering Aim – To increase strength and hardness.

Temp. 0.7 – 0.9 times of metal’s melting point (absolute scale)
As metal remains unmelted. Thus, also called solid state or solid phase sintering.

Fig. Shows sintering on

microscopic scale

Particle bonding is Contact points The pores Grain boundaries

initiated at contact grow into necks. between particles develop between
points. are reduced in particles in place of
size. necked region.

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Primary Operations in PM : Sintering (Contd.)

• Heating of the compacted powder perform to a specific temperature (below the melting temperature
of the principle powder particles while well above the temperature that would allow diffusion between
the neighboring particles).

• The nature and strength of the bond between the particles depends on the mechanism of diffusion
and plastic flow of the powder particles, and evaporation of volatile material from the compacted
preform.

• Bonding among the powder particles takes places in three ways:

(1) melting of minor constituents in the powder particles,

(2) diffusion between the powder particles, and

(3) mechanical bonding

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 Primary Operations in PM : Sintering (contd.)

Fig. Heat treatment in

three steps :
1. Preheat –
Lubricants and
binders are burnt off
2. Sinter
3. Cool Down

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Primary Operations in PM : Sintering (contd.)

In modern sintering practice the atmosphere in the furnace is controlled.

Purpose -

1. Protection from oxidation.

2. Providing a reducing atmosphere to remove existing oxides.

3. Providing a carburizing atmosphere.

4. Assisting in removing lubricants and binders used in pressing.

Common sintering furnace atmosphere are - inert gas, nitrogen based, dissociated ammonia,
hydrogen and natural gas based.

Vacuum atomospheres are used for certain metals such as stainless steel and Tungsten.

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Secondary Operations in PM

II. Secondary Operations :

1. Densification and Sizing 2. Impregnation and Infiltration 3. Heat Treatment and Finishing

Purpose : To increase density, Improve accuracy, Accomplish additional shaping

1. Densification and Sizing

Densification or repressing is a pressing operation in which the part is squeezed in a closed die to
increase density and improve physical properties.

Sizing is the pressing of a sintered part to improve dimensional accuracy.

Coining is a press working operation on a sintered part to press details into its surface.

Machining is rarely done.

However, internal and external threads, side holes and other details require machining.

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Secondary Operations in PM (Contd..)

2. Impregnation and Infiltration :

• Porosity is a unique and inherent characteristics of powder metallurgy technology. It can be
exploited to create special products by filling the available pore space with oils, polymers or
metals that have lower melting temperatures than the base powder metal.

• Impregnation is the term used when oil or other fluid is permeated into the pores of a
sintered PM part. The most common products of this process are oil-impregnated bearings,
gears and similar machinery components.

• Self lubricating bearings usually made of bronze or iron with 10% to 30% oil by volume are
widely used in the automotive industry.

• The treatment is accomplished by immersing the sintered parts in a bath of hot oil.

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Secondary Operations in PM (contd.)

Infiltration
• Infiltration is an operation in which the pores of the PM part are filled with a molten metal.
• The melting point of the filler metal must be below that of the PM part.
• The process involves heating the filler metal in contact with the sintered component so that
capillary action draws the filler into the pores.
• The resulting structure is relatively non porous and the infiltered part has a more uniform
density as well as improved toughness and strength.
• An application of the process is copper infiltration of iron PM parts.

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Secondary Operations in PM (contd.)

3. Heat Treatment and Finishing :

Powder metal components can be heat treated and finished by most of the operations used on parts
fabricated by casting and other metal working processes.

Special care must be exercised in heat treatment because of porosity.

eg. Salt baths are not used for heating PM parts.

Plating and coating operations are applied to sintered parts for appearance purposes and corrosion
resistance.
Again, precautions must be taken to avoid entrapment of chemical solutions in the pores,
impregnation and infiltration are frequently used for this purpose.

Common platings for PM parts include copper, nickel, chromium, zinc and cadmium.

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 Materials and Products for PM
Raw materials for PM processing are more expensive than for other metal working because of the additional
energy required to reduce the metal to powder form. ∴ PM is competitive only in a certain range of
applications.

PM Materials : From a chemistry stand point metal powders can be classified as: Elemental and Pre-alloyed

Elemental powders (Iron, Al, Cu) : Consist of a pure metal and are used in applications where high purity is
important. eg. Pure Iron – magnetic properties

Pre-alloyed powders : Each particle is an alloy composed of desired chemical composition. eg. Cu alloys,
Stainless Steel, High Speed Steel (HSS).

Commonly used metals (in approximate order of tonnage usage) : Iron (mixed with graphite), Al, Cu & alloys,
Ni, Stainless Steel, HSS, others (W, Mo, Ti, Tin etc.)

PM products : Gears, bearings, sprocket, fasteners, electrical contacts, cutting tools, etc.

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Design Considerations in PM

Economics of PM processing usually require large part

quantities to justify the cost of equipment and special tooling
required. Minimum quantities of 10,000 units are suggested
although exceptions exist.

PM is unique in its capability to fabricate parts with a

controlled level of porosity. Porosities upto 50% are
possible.

PM can be used to make parts out of unusual metals and

alloys - materials that would be difficult if not impossible to
fabricate by other means. Fig. Part features to be avoided in PM
(a) Side holes and
Design features such as undercuts and holes on the part (b) Side undercuts. Part ejection is
impossible
sides as shown in fig. must be avoided.
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 Design Considerations in PM (contd.)

The geometry of the part must permit

ejection from the die after pressing, this
generally means that the part must
have vertical or near vertical sides,
although steps in the part are
permissible.
Vertical undercuts and holes as shown
in Fig. are permissible, because they
do not interfere with ejection.
Fig 12. Permissible part features in PM
Screw threads cannot be fabricated by (a) Vertical hole, blind and through
(b) Vertical stepped hole
PM pressing, if required they must be
(c) Undercut in vertical direction
machined into the PM component. These features allow part ejection.
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Design Considerations in PM (contd.)

Chamfers and corner radii are possible by PM pressing as shown in Fig.

Fig. Chamfers & corner radii are accomplished but certain rules should be observed
(a) Avoid acute chamfer angles
(b) Large angles are preferred for punch rigidity
(c) Small inside radius is desirable
(d) Full outside corner radius is difficult because punch is fragile at corner’s edge
(e) Outside corner problem can be solved by combining radius and chamfer
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Design Considerations in PM (contd.)

Wall thickness should be a minimum of 1.5 mm between holes or a hole and the outside part wall as
indicated in Fig. minimum recommended hole diameter is 1.5 mm.

Fig. Minimum recommended wall

thickness
(a) Between holes
(b) Between a hole and a
outside wall should be 1.5
mm

(a) (b)
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PM Numerical

Dertermine the shape factor for

(1) A spherical particle
(2) A cubic particle and
(3) A cylindrical particle with a length-to-diameter ratio of 2.

53
PM Numerical

Solution :
𝐴 𝐾𝑠
Case1. In general, the ratio of surface area to volume can be expressed as =
𝑉 𝐷𝑒𝑞

Ks – Shape factor

Deq – is the diameter of sphere that has the same volume as the particle or object
being considered.

πD3
In case of a spherical particle, D = Deq, A = πD2, V =
6

A πD2
Then, Ks= Deq = D = 𝟔. 𝟎
V πD ൘
3
6

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PM Numerical

Case 2. Surface area of a cube of length L is

A = 6L2 & V = L3

πDeq3
Particle’s equivalent diameter is : = V = L3
6
3 6
Deq = . L = 1.24 L
π
A
Shape factor = Ks = Deq
V
6L2
= 3 × 1.24L = 𝟕. 𝟒𝟒
L

55
PM Numerical

L
Case 3. Cylindrical particle : = 2 Given
D

2πD2 πD2
A= + πDL = 2 + 2πD2 = 2.5πD2
4
πD2 πD2 πD3
V= ×L= × 2D =
4 4 2

πDeq3 πD3
Equivalent diameter =V=
6 2
3
Deq = 3D = 1.442D

A 2.5πD2
∴ Ks = Deq = 3
× 1.442D = 𝟕. 𝟐𝟏
V πD Τ2

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Thanks…

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