Investigations on dynamic compaction of metal powders. Part I: Experimental

This paper investigates the use of a simple drop weight instrumented impact loading facility to produce metal powder compacts with better qualities than attained by the conventional means. Experiments were performed on Fe powder, Fe-C-Cu-Mn powder mix, and Cu-Zn powder mix at different height to diameter ratios and compacted at different energies. The overall density, density variation within the compact, dimensional accuracy, and microstructure were compared with quasistatic specimens compacted using conventional hydraulic press. The results showed that the dynamic compaction specimens attained better densification and dimensional accuracy than quasistatic compaction specimens.