Finite element modelling on the effect of the height-to-diameter ratio of bilayer iron powder compact

Abstract In this study, finite element modelling (FEM) had been implemented to capture the changes in interfacial local relative density (RD) distribution between compressed layers of a green bilayer iron powder compact system. Validation work had been taken as an initial work before undergoing several modelling tests on different green bilayer iron compacts with specified height-to-diameter (H/D) ratios. Our proposed experimental framework with a new mapping technique was used to gather the details of RD distribution on a real green single (Sample A1) and a bilayer iron sample (Sample A2). We produced the desired experimental local RD distribution under a magnification of 100X via an optical microscope and visualization through Tecplot software. An effective prediction on local RD distribution on single green iron powder compacts allowed for further assumption in layered samples. To proceed, four kinds of H/D ratios of 1.0 (Sample A2), 1.3 (Sample B), 1.6 (Sample C) and 1.9 (Sample D) were assigned for layers with the same thickness. Via modelling, observation on the highest interfacial local RD distribution had been successfully captured for H/D ratios of 1.0, followed by 1.3 and 1.6. It had been revealed that the green bilayer iron powder compacts efficiently delivered its densification as well as minimization on its density gradient compared to the green single iron powder compact.