Task 1.

1. Flow Characterization of Different Metal Powders:

A powder rheometer FT-4 was used to measure the flowability of different metal
powders. This device comprises of blade which is revolved and moved vertically in the sample to
measure the force. All tests were performed out in glass jars with a diameter of 25 mm and a
volume of 25 cm3 for stability and flowrate.
1.1. Stability and Flow rate:
The test process involves lowering a rotating blade into the different metal powders at a
set axial and rotational speed and then pulling it up at the same speed, all while recording torque
and axial force. To analyze the consistent blade motion's resistance, the first eight test cycles
employ an axial speed of 100 mm/s blade tip speed. To assess the resistance's dependency on
blade speed, the last four cycles use decreasing axial speeds, starting at 100 mm/s and reducing to
70, 40, and 10 mm/s. The powder is conditioned (the blade travels through it in a pre-determined
pattern) between each test cycle to remove the prior test's effect and restore the powder to a
consistent starting condition.

Fig. 1 shows the graph between total energy and tip speed of blade.

The test results are shown Table 1.

Figure 1 Graph between Total Energy and Tip speed of blade and Cycles
 Table 1 Dynamic Properties of different metal Powders

SE,
Material and Batch BFE, mJ SI FRI mJ/g CBD, g/ml
New AlSi / FlowRate_03 248.98 0.98 1.12 2.91 1.42
Ti / FlowRate_03 355.03 0.99 1.20 2.17 2.71
Stainless Steel H12M2 / FlowRate_03 685.56 1.07 1.22 2.05 4.56
Old AlSi / FlowRate_03 284.82 1.05 1.21 3.24 1.44
Ti6Al4 / FlowRate_03 312.11 0.98 1.15 2.05 2.55
Inconel-718 / FlowRate_03 560.89 1.03 1.14 1.34 4.92

The BEF( Basic Flow Energy) is the energy of flow, which is calculated during the 7 th
cycle [1]. The BFE value of a powder with strong flowability is often thought to be lower. From
the Table 1, it can be seen that New AlSi has lower BEF value which means that it has higher
flowability than other metal powders and energy require for the blade is smaller. Stainless Steel
H12M2 has higher BEF value which means that energy required for blade to move in the bed
powder is large. The metal powders which has good flowability are in the following order:

New AlSi > Old AlSi> Ti6Al4>Ti> Inconel-718>Stainless Steel H12M2

The SI(Stability Index) is the ratio of 7 th cycle to 1st cycle of blade flow energy [1]. This
is a term used to explain how the blade’s flow energy of a sample changes over time. The closer
the SI value is to 1, the more stable the sample's flow is. In all six samples, Ti has stability index
very close to 1 and it is remained steady throughout stirring.

th
Flow Energy of 7 cycle 355.03
Stability index(SI )= = =0.99
Flow Energy of 1st cycle 358.66

The FRI (Flow Rate Index) is the ratio of energy flow of 11th cycle to the energy flow of
8th cycle.
Flow Energy of 11th cycle 279.98
Flow Rate index ( FRI )= = =1.12
Flow Energy of 8th cycle 248.99

If the powder has FRI value closer to 1, it means that powder is less sensitive to its flow
changes and flowability of the powder is high. From Table 1, it can be seen that new AlSi has
FRI value closer to 1, so it has high flowability. The metal powders which has good flowability
based on FRI value are in the following order:
 New AlSi > Inconel-718> Ti6Al4>Ti>Old AlSi>Stainless Steel H12M2
The SE(Specific Energy) is the energy required to move the metal powders(when the blade
moving up) [1]. The contribution of cohesive/adhesive forces from interparticle interactions can
be accurately assessed using SE. The specific energy of Old AlSi is slightly larger, the friction
and mechanical interlocking is relatively strong.

2. Shear Cell Test:

The flowability of different metal powders in large shear conditions is measured using a shear
cell test on a FT-4 rheometer. The shear cell is comprised of two glass cylinders that are
overlapped and have a diameter of 25mm and a volume of 10mm. To begin, metal powders are
compressed by applying normal tension about 9kPa.
 Flow Function (FF) for characterization of powders is defined as the ratio of major
principal stress(MPS) to unconfined yield stress (UYS) [2]:
Major Principal Stress
FF=
Unconfined Yield Stress
According to Jenike powders were categorized, as not flowing for ff < 1, very cohesive
for 1 < ff < 2, cohesive for 2 < ff < 4, easy-flowing for 4 < ff < 10 and free-flowing for ff >
10.

Cohesion,
Material and Batch UYS, kPa MPS, kPa FF AIF, º AIF (E), º
kPa
AlSi10Mg new used /
0.29169 0.89220 12.34836 13.84028 23.64199 25.59505
ShearCell_04
Ti / ShearCell_04 0.36516 0.98809 11.57866 11.71827 17.06239 19.48865

Stainless Steel H12M2 /

0.13453 0.40376 11.80504 29.23776 22.64149 23.55851
ShearCell_04

Inconel-718 / ShearCell_04 0.18290 0.48349 10.90487 22.55464 15.77863 17.02491

Ti6Al4 / ShearCell_04 0.32638 0.89958 11.66913 12.97171 18.06824 20.23912

Old AlSi10Mg /
0.27213 0.81683 12.28559 15.04051 22.64827 24.45497
ShearCell_04
Table 2 Data obtained from Shear Cell Test

All of the powders had low cohesiveness values and good flow characteristics. cohesion
increased in following order: Stainless Steel < Inconel < Old AlSi10Mg < New
AlSi10Mg<Ti6Al4<Ti. All powders might be categorized into the "free-flowing" category using ff
values, indicating that they have excellent flow qualities. According to ff values, powder
flowability should be classified in the following order: Stainless Steel > Inconel > Old AlSi10Mg
>New AlSi10Mg>Ti6Al4>Ti. On the basis of cohesion and Flowability index FF, the powder
which has high FF value, and low cohesion value is more flowable.

References

Figure 2 Shear stress vs Applied Normal Stress

[1] H. D. L. W. W. B. Z. &. X. L. (. N. Yun, "Study on the flowability of TC4 Alloy Powder for 3D Printing. In IOP
Conference Series:," Materials Science and Engineering (Vol. 439, No. 4, p. 042006). IOP Publishing..
[2] C. G. J. P. J. B. V. F. P. M. S. A. F. K. S. K. d. R. M. J. S. Enferad, "Powders surface formulation effect on powder
rheological behaviors," 24ème Congrès Français de Mécanique, 2019.