Densification and deformation during uniaxial cold compaction of stainless steel powder with different particle size

The behaviour of austenitic stainless steel powder column during uniaxial cold compaction was investigated in this work. Powders with different particle size were compacted to the same green density in a hydraulic press, also providing different H/D ratios in order to account for the influence of geometry. The analysis of the data continuously recorded by the press allowed distinguishing the contribution of the reversible phenomena (elastic deformation of powders and tools) and of the irreversible phenomena (rearrangement and plastic deformation of the powders). An analytical model for densification was proposed, considering both density and increase in density versus the applied pressure. The trend of reversible and permanent deformations versus the applied pressure was evaluated, also proposing an analytical model. The comparison between the densification curves and the curves of permanent deformation allowed highlighting the physical meaning of the model describing the increase in density for the different particle size.