TY - JOUR A1 - Cabo Rios, Alberto A1 - Mishurova, Tatiana A1 - Cordova, Laura A1 - Persson, Mats A1 - Bruno, Giovanni A1 - Olevsky, Eugene A1 - Hryha, Eduard T1 - Ex-situ characterization and simulation of density fluctuations evolution during sintering of binder jetted 316L T2 - Materials & Design N2 - Efficient density evolution during sintering of the as-printed component is vital to reach full densification and required properties of binder jet (BJT) components. However, due to the high porosity and brittle nature of the green compact, analysis of the microstructure development during sintering is very difficult, resulting in lack of understanding of the densification process. Density development from green state (57 ± 1.6 %) up to full density (99 ± 0.3 %) was characterized by high-resolution synchrotron X-Ray computed tomography (SXCT) on BJT 316L samples from ex-situ interrupted sintering tests. Periodicity of density fluctuations along the building direction was revealed for the first time and was related to the layer thickness of ~ 42 μm during printing that decreased down to ~ 33 μm during sintering. Sintering simulations, utilizing a continuum sintering model developed for BJT, allowed to replicate the density evolution during sintering with a mean error of 2 % and its fluctuation evolution from green (1.66 %) to sintered (0.56 %) state. Additionally, simulation of extreme particle size segregation (1 μm to 130 μm) suggested that non-optimized printing could lead to undesirable density fluctuation amplitude rapid increase (~10 %) during sintering. This might trigger the nucleation of defects (e.g., layer delamination, cracking, or excessive residual porosity) during the sintering process. PB - Elsevier KW - Additive manufacturing KW - Synchrotron X-ray CT KW - Binder Jetting KW - Sintering KW - FEM Simulation PY - 2024 UR - https://opus4.kobv.de/opus4-bam/frontdoor/index/index/docId/59438 AN - OPUS4-59438 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-594389 SN - 0264-1275 VL - 238 SP - 1 EP - 18 AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany