COMPACTION AND SINTERING OF ULTRAFINE POWDERS

The properties of many particulate materials can be improved through t he application of ultrafine powders. There are, however, many peculiar ities associated with the consolidation (i.e. compaction and sintering ) of these powders. In this article, the following aspects of ultrafin e powders are considered: the influence of powder properties on the in terparticle friction characteristics; the content of adsorbed gases an d storage problems; the effect of compaction pressure on the density o f silicon nitride and nickel powders; the sintering parameters of thes e powders; and selected properties of consolidated nanocrystalline mat erials.