Densification behavior of aluminum alloy powder under cold compaction

Densification behavior of aluminum alloy (Al6061) powder was investigated under cold compaction. Experimental data were obtained under triaxial compression with various loading conditions. A special form of the Cap model was proposed from experimental data of Al6061 powder under triaxial compression. The proposed yield function and several other yield functions in the literature were implemented into a finite element program (ABAQUS) to compare with experimental data for densification behavior of Al6061 powder under cold isostatic pressing and die compaction. The agreement between finite element calculations from the proposed yield function and experimental data is very good under cold isostatic pressing and die compaction.