Analysis of bulk behaviour of particles based on their individual properties

An in-depth understanding of bulk behaviour of particles based on their individual properties is a vital step for the powder handling industries, a good example is the selection of appropriate powder material and their flow consistency in additive manufacturing process which would have significant effects on the quality of the final products. Identification of the most reliable method to characterise powder flow behaviour in correlation to the conditions of powder spreading is still challenging. For instance, the low consolidation state of the powders within the process requires a characterisation technique which is capable of measurement for such conditions

Spreadability of powders for additive manufacturing: a critical review of metrics and characterisation methods

Powder bed fusion methods of additive manufacturing (AM) require consistent, reproducible, and uniform layers of powder for the reliable production of high-quality parts, where properties of powder are central to achieving this. Among these properties, powder flowability and spreadability play critical roles in determining the quality of these powder layers. While extensive research has been conducted on powder flow and spreading behaviour, and on their characterisation, there is little critical comparison and review of these terms in the context of AM. Such a review is necessary to further develop and enhance our comprehension of spreading dynamics and its relation to powder properties in AM systems. This review paper aims to build a coherent understanding of the correlation between powder characteristics and spreading in powder based additive manufacturing and its impact on manufactured parts. It highlights the current progress in comprehending spreading dynamics, the influence of powder characteristics, environmental conditions, spreading system, and the development of testing tools to assess powder spreadability. Furthermore, the paper critically discusses the challenge of finding appropriate quantitative metrics and recent advances in the use of standardised methods for evaluating powder spreadability

Analysis of the osteogenic and mechanical characteristics of iron (Fe2+/Fe3+)-doped β‑calcium pyrophosphate

The calcium phosphate is the main mineral constituent of bone. Although there has been significant amount of research on finding ideal synthetic bone, no suitable scaffold material has yet been found. In this investigation, the iron doped brushite (CaHPO4·2H2O) has been investigated for osteogenic potential and mechanical properties. The synthesis of iron-oxide doping in the form of Fe2+,3+-ions were carried out using the solution based method in which the ammonium hydrogen phosphate and calcium nitrate solutions were used in stoichiometric ratio for synthesizing CaHPO4·2H2O, with doping concentrations of Fe2+,3+-ions between 5 mol% and 30 mol%. The synthesized powders were analysed using X-ray powder diffraction, FTIR, SEM and Raman spectroscopic techniques. The heat treatment of synthesized powder was carried out at 1000 °C in air for 5 h, and it was found that the dominant crystalline phase in samples with <20 mol% was β-CPP, which also formed an iron-rich solid solution phase. Increasing the concentrations of Fe2+,3+-ions enhances the phase fraction of FePO4 and amorphous phase. Amongst the Fe2+,3+-doped β-CPP minerals, it was found that the 10 mol% Fe2+,3+-doped β-CPP offers the best combination of bio-mechanical and osteogenic properties as a scaffold for bone tissue regenerative engineering