Processing and Simulation of Consolidation of Amorphous Aluminum-Based Powder Material

Amorphous aluminum-based materials are light yet much stronger than conventional materials, which offers opportunities in aerospace applications. However, processing the aluminum-based powder into a bulk amorphous material requires relatively low temperature and high pressure, which presents significant challenges. A two-step approach is being explored to reach the goal of a fully dense bulk amorphous or partially amorphous material. First, isostatic pressing is used to partially consolidate the material. Second, extrusion is used to take the partially dense material to full density. Process models are used to design the extrusion process, including the extrusion ratio and extrusion length, to limit the temperature increase during extrusion as a result of adiabatic heating, and to avoid excessive heating to limit devitrification of the amorphous material. A parametric study of extrusion parameters was completed and processing parameters were recommended. The use of process modeling is aimed at understanding the results from the extrusion experiments and limiting the number of iterations during extrusion.