Thermal and electrical conductivities of sintered powder compacts

A simple new equation for calculating thermal and electrical conductivities of powder sintered compacts is proposed. In this equation, the effective conductivity of the sintered compact is a function of the solid material conductivity. the degree of compact porosity and the packing porosity of the starting powder. The latter parameter determines to a great extent the compact pore structure, since it depends on powder particle size, shape and distribution. The new equation is physically applicable from zero porosity to the packing porosity. The conductivity equation has been evaluated using sintered compacts of iron, nickel, titanium and aluminium. The compacts were prepared by cold pressing and sintering. Results are in very food agreement with theoretical predictions. (C) 2003 IoM Communications Ltd. Published by Maney for the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.