DEVELOPMENT OF 1000-TON COMBUSTION DRIVEN COMPACTION PRESS FOR MATERIALS DEVELOPMENT AND PROCESSING

The following presents the technological development aspects and materials processing efforts of UTRON’s 1000 ton Combustion Driven Compaction (CDC) press. The 1000 ton press program has evolved from and earlier program in which a 300 ton press was manufactured and tested [10]. This “scaled-up” version of the CDC process has allowed larger surface area parts to be manufactured at the uniquely higher CDC compaction pressures (e.g., up to 150 tsi). Process advantages of this higher compaction pressure include: significantly higher green part densities, net shaping ability, improved material properties, and reduced part shrinkage. The primary focus for this effort has been to demonstrate the proof of concept and applicability of the CDC process for materials component manufacturing. To this end, results of the geometrical, physical, and materials properties of select CDC parts made with the 1000 ton press are presented. The parts were produced using commercially available copper, niobium, and rhenium-based alloy powders, and are given as a function of process parameters and select optimal sintering conditions. These components were near net shape or net shape quality at compaction pressures ranging from 50 tsi to 144 tsi. Upon inspection, the components exhibited higher part densities and improved properties when compared to conventional P/M pressing techniques. While a broad range of micro and nano materials can be compacted using the CDC process [8-13], this effort will address only those cases discussed above.