Effects of Particle Shape and Fiber Length on Viscosity of Metal Composite Mixes

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The particle shape and fiber length has significant effect on the viscosity of the metal composite mixes. The results of flow properties of metal composites have been presented in this paper. Metal powder and fibers were mixed with plastic binder and mixes were developed by extrusion
compounding. The rheological properties of he composite mixes were studied by using a ram type rheometer in the shear rate ranges required for injection molding. Spherical shape aluminum powder and irregular shape aluminum alloy powders were used to study the effect of particle shape on the viscosity. Fibers of different lengths were substituted for powder in composite mixes. Results showed that metal mixes prepared from spherical shape powder showed lower
viscosity compared to irregular shape powder particles. Rheological data showed that the composite mixes with longer fiber showed higher viscosity compared to the mixes with shorter fiber. However, increasing the temperature reduced the viscosity of the mixes.