Effect of granulating conditions on characteristics of wet granulated aluminium alloy powder

Effects of PVA binder parameters on the characteristics of granulated aluminium alloy powder produced by a fluidised bed wet type granulator were investigated. The granulated powder had a mean particle size of about 75-100 (mu)m and showed a spherical shape. Flow ability was remarkably improved and it was equivalent to that of iron powder. Apparent density of the granules decreased compared with that of the primary raw powder because of both its uniform particle size distribution and internal porosity. Dimensional tolerance of the green compacts obtained using the granules was much improved compared with that using the raw powder because the weight of the powders filled in a die was stabilised owing to its excellent flow ability.