Investigation on the rheological behavior of Al-Fe-V-Si/Alumina composite powders

Abstract

In this paper, the rheological properties of the feedstocks of Al-Fe-V-Si and Al-Fe-V-Si composites reinforced with alumina were investigated. The feedstocks, containing four different types of powder (Al-Fe-V-Si, Al-Fe-V-Si + 5 % Al2O3, Al-Fe-V-Si + 10 % Al2O3, Al-Fe-V-Si + 15 % Al2O3) and a polyethylene glycol based binder, were prepared. The volumetric fraction of the binder in the feedstock was varied between 37 % and 39 %. After the preparation of feedstocks, the rheology experiments were carried out using a capillary rheometer at various temperatures and pressures. According to the experimental results, the lowest viscosity values were found for the feedstock having the metallic powder. In addition, melt flow index was obtained to be within the range of 90-325 g/10 min for the investigated feedstocks and it increased with increasing temperature and pressure.