Aluminum nitride has been favored for applications in manufacturing substrates for heat sinks due to its elevated temperature operability, high thermal conductivity, and low thermal expansion coefficient. Powder injection molding is a high-volume manufacturing technique that can translate these useful material properties into complex shapes. In order to design and fabricate components from aluminum nitride, it is important to know the injection-molding behavior at different powder–binder compositions. However, the lack of a materials database for design and simulation at different powder–polymer compositions is a significant barrier. In this paper, a database of rheological and thermal properties for aluminum nitride–polymer mixtures at various volume fractions of powder was compiled from experimental measurements. This database was used to carry out mold-filling simulations to understand the effects of powder content on the process parameters and defect evolution during the injection-molding process. The experimental techniques and simulation tools can be used to design new materials, select component geometry attributes, and optimize process parameters while eliminating expensive and time-consuming trial-and-error practices prevalent in the area of powder injection molding.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R.M. German and S.J. Park, Mathematical Relations in Particulate Materials Processing: Ceramics, Powder Metals, Cermets, Carbides, Hard Materials, and Minerals (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2008).
V.P. Onbattuvelli, S. Vallury, T. McCabe, S.J. Park, and S. Atre, Powder Inject. Mould. Int. 4, 64 (2010).
J. Chen, J.-G. Mi, and K.-Y. Chan, Fluid Phase Equilib. 178, 87 (2001).
L.E. Nielsen, Predicting the Properties of Mixtures: Mixture Rules in Science and Engineering (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1978).
T. Zhang, J.R.G. Evans, and K.K. Dutta, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 5, 303 (1989).
D.T. Jamieson and G. Cartwright, Properties of Binary Liquid Mixtures: Heat Capacity (East Kilbride, Scotland: National Engineering Laboratory, 1978).
R.K. Sinnott, J.M. Coulson, and J.F. Richardson, Chemical Engineering Design (Waltham: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2005).
C.J. Cremers and H.A. Fine, Thermal Conductivity (New York: Springer, 1991).
C.P. Wong and R.S. Bollampally, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 74, 3396 (1999).
Y. Zhang, Z. Shen, and Z. Tong, Electronic Packaging Technology, 2007 (New York: IEEE, 2007), p. 1.
Y.P. Mamunya, Eur. Polym. J. 38, 1887 (2002).
T. Zhang and J.R.G. Evans, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 6, 15 (1990).
S. Elomari, R. Boukhili, and D.J. Lloyd, Acta Mater. 44, 1873 (1996).
T. Zhang and J.R.G. Evans, J. Eur. Ceram. Soc. 5, 165 (1989).
P.C. Hiemenz and R. Rajagopalan, Principles of Colloid and Surface Chemistry (Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1997).
V.P. Onbattuvelli, “The Effects of Nanoparticle Addition on the Processing, Structure and Properties of SiC and AlN” (Ph.D. Thesis/Dissertation, Oregon State University, 2010).
X.Z. Shi, M. Huang, Z.F. Zhao, and C.Y. Shen, Adv. Mater. Res. 189–193, 2103 (2011).
H.H. Chiang, C.A. Hieber, and K.K. Wang, Polym. Eng. Sci. 31, 116 (1991).
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to acknowledge financial support from the National Science Foundation (Award # CMII 1200144).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kate, K.H., Onbattuvelli, V.P., Enneti, R.K. et al. Measurements of Powder–Polymer Mixture Properties and Their Use in Powder Injection Molding Simulations for Aluminum Nitride. JOM 64, 1048–1058 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-012-0404-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-012-0404-3