Flow properties of Aluminium based powders for powder metallurgy

摘要

There is an increasing usage of powder metallurgy products based on aluminium alloys in lightweight structural parts and internal combustion engine components including camshaft bearing, shock absorber pistons and brake callipers. They are driven by the need of automotive industries to reduce the weight of the vehicles. In order to increase the competitiveness of the P/M parts, there is an urgent need to improve the flow properties of the aluminium based powder blends. Current research at Birmingham University is focussed on the investigation of flow properties of AL based powder blends as a function of morphology, size distribution, blending conditions, alloying and lubricant additions. The powder flow behaviour and microstrucrure have been studied using a combination of Hall Flowmeter, Scan Electron Microscopy and laser scattering method. This paper presents a detailed study of the interrelationship between powder flow, blending conditions and powder characteristics.