Simulation of Ceramic Granule Compaction Using the MPH Method
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Compression molding of ceramic granules using a die is a key process in ceramic manufacturing. Density non-uniformity generated during compaction can affect product strength; therefore, appropriate settings of die geometry, compression conditions, and granule properties are essential to reduce density variation. However, it is not straightforward to measure the spatial density distribution in a compact. Numerical simulation is thus required to predict density distributions under various conditions and to support process optimization. In the present simulations, the ceramic granules are modeled using the sand flow model [1], which is based on the Moving Particle Hydrodynamics (MPH) method [2, 3]. MPH is discretized to satisfy physical consistency, enabling stable computation without relying on empirical stabilization, and has both a weakly compressible explicit formulation and an incompressible implicit formulation; in the present study, the implicit formulation [4] was used. We set a die with centimeter-scale width and height and performed compaction simulations with MPH. From these simulations, we obtained load–displacement curves and computed the spatial distribution of estimated density. Future work will focus on further validation of the spatial density distribution obtained from the simulations, refinement of the constitutive model (e.g., particle properties and friction), and exploration of conditions that mitigate density non-uniformity. This paper is based on results obtained from a project, JPNP22005, commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
