A new expression for the effective pressure on powders under compression

In this paper, a new expression for the effective pressure acting on interparticle contacts of a powder aggregate, valid for uniaxial, biaxial or triaxial compression, is proposed. This expression satisfies the upper and lower boundary conditions. Thus, in principle, its range of application is bigger than that of other equations, limited to very small deformations. This is obtained by means of a new method that avoids the mechanical problem of the stress–strain relationship. This new way does not require the use of sophisticated numerical computation software, and it is of interest for numerical simulation. Although in this study a simple cubic packing of spheres is supposed, the result is extrapolated to real powder systems, by using a normalized porosity. The proposed equation can be useful in the compaction and sintering processes, extrusion and isostatic pressing of powders.