Densification mechanism of copper micro-components prepared by the micro-forming fields activated sintering technology

Abstract In present work, the Micro-forming Fields Activated Sintering Technology (Micro-FAST) with the coupling effects of electrical and pressure fields as the dominant driving force, has been proved to be very successful in the fabrication of the nearly full-density (relative density: 98.28%) micro-cylinder parts from ultrafine grained copper powders. Detailed microstructural characterizations of the sintered samples revealed that the densification mechanism comprised mainly three stages of (I) Rearrangement of particles, (II) Deformation, and (III) Rapid Solidification. Clarification of mechanisms will not only deepen our knowledge of the deformation behaviors of powder materials under the coupling effects, but also promote the real engineering applications of this new technique.