Ultrasonic sensing of powder densification

Abstract
An independent scattering theory has been applied to the interpretation of ultrasonic velocity measurements made on porous metal samples produced either by a cold or a high-temperature compaction process. The results suggest that the pores in both processes are not spherical, an aspect ration of 1:3 fitting best with the data for low (<4%) pore volume fractions. For the hot compacted powders, the pores are smooth due to active diffusional processes during processing. For these types of voids, the results can be extended to a pore fraction of 10%, at which point voids form an interconnected network that violates the model assumptions. The cold pressed samples are not as well predicted by the theory because of poor particle bonding.