Simulation of current-activated pressure-assisted densification

Cohesive particles usually form very porous agglomerates. They support loads up to a consolidation pressure, which increases with decreasing particle size. Compaction of nano-powders can therefore be very costly and time consuming. If the particles are electrically conducting, which is the case e.g. for novel nano-structured thermoelectric materials, the technique of current-activated pressure-assisted densification (CAPAD) turns out to have many advantages. Electrical power deposited locally as Joule heat lowers the consolidation pressure such that higher densities without much coarsening are obtained. We present a new model combining particle dynamics, calculated by molecular dynamic methods, with a network model including thermoelectric properties.