Replication Experiments in Microgravity Liquid Phase Sintering

Although considerable experience exists with sintering on Earth, the behavior under reduced gravity conditions is poorly understood. This study analyzes replica microgravity liquid phase sintering data for seven tungsten alloys (35 to 88 wt pct tungsten) sintered for three hold times (1, 180, or 600 minutes) at 1773 K (1500 °C) using 0.002 pct of standard gravity. Equivalent sintering is performed on Earth using the same heating cycles. Microgravity sintering results in a lower density and more shape distortion. For Earth-based sintering, minimized distortion is associated with low liquid contents to avoid solid settling and slumping. Distortion in microgravity sintering involves viscous spreading of the component at points of contact with the containment crucible. Distortion in microgravity is minimized by short hold times; long hold times allow progressive component reshaping toward a spherical shape. Microgravity sintering also exhibits pore coalescence into large, stable voids that cause component swelling. The microgravity sintering results show good replication in terms of mass change and sintered density. Distortion is scattered but statistically similar between the replica microgravity runs. However, subtle factors, not typically of concern on Earth, emerge to influence microgravity sintering, such that ground experiments do not provide a basis to predict microgravity behavior.