The goal of this semester project is to measure the tensile properties of composites produced by an ultrafast sintering technique called Electro-Sinter Forging (ESF). ESF is a process in which the combination of a pressure pulse and an electrical discharge produce the sintering of electrically conductive powder preforms. It is very energetic and ultrafast (less than one second), and as a result can produce structures that are rarely seen elsewhere. This process is owned by a company, EPoS Sintering, accessible here: https://www.eposintering.com/.
The semester project is an extension of an ongoing study of Ti/TiC composites produced by this technique; in which the classical Ti6Al4V replaces pure titanium. Composites will be produced at EPOS using powders of the titanium alloy blended with carbon. Sintering results in Ti/TiC in-situ composite materials, potentially combined with other carbides. After sintering, elastic moduluses, tensile stress-strain curves and the sample microstructures will be characterized, to determine what influence usual alloying additions to titanium have on the resulting composite material structure and properties.
The project will be mostly conducted at EPFL, in the LMM, with potentially one or two visits at EPoS Sintering to produce the samples. A search of the underlying literature and the use of thermodynamic analysis to guide interpretation of the results are also part of the project. This project is preferentially offered to a master student.
Project supervisor: Gaëtan Denis
Contact: [email protected]