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A Statistical Analysis of Powder Flowability in Metal Additive Manufacturing
Author(s) -
Kiani Parnian,
Scipioni Bertoli Umberto,
Dupuy Alexander D.,
Ma Kaka,
Schoenung Julie M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.202000022
Subject(s) - materials science , raw material , particle size , particle (ecology) , morphology (biology) , particle size distribution , metallurgy , impurity , metal powder , flow (mathematics) , flow properties , metal , composite material , chemical engineering , geometry , mechanics , organic chemistry , mathematics , chemistry , oceanography , physics , biology , engineering , genetics , geology
The quality of parts fabricated with additive manufacturing is influenced by the flowability of the feedstock particles, which is the result of many factors, including chemistry (e.g., true density, the presence of surface oxides, and impurities), morphology (e.g., particle shape and the presence of satellites), and particle size distribution. This work investigates the relationship between powder characteristics and flow behavior of different powders using three flowability testing methods. Six powders of two compositions (316L stainless steel and AlSi10Mg), made using two different methods (gas‐ and water‐atomization), are investigated to rationalize the effect of powder chemistry and morphology on flow behavior. The results show that the true density of the powders can influence several flowability metrics. In addition, aspect ratio strongly influences the initiation of flow from a static condition, whereas average particle size strongly dictates the ease of maintaining that flow.