Proceedings Sintering 2003, Penn State, 9/14-17, 2003 A Model for Simulation of Temperature Field Evolution in Field Activated Sintering J. Zhang 1* , A. Zavaliangos 1 ; J. R. Groza 2 1 Drexel University Department of Materials Science and Engineering Philadelphia, PA 19104 2 University of California, Davis, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Davis, CA 95616 Abstract Sintering aided by pulsed electric current offers the advantage of accelerated densification for a variety of powders. In this work, we employ numerical simulations in order to understand the evolution of temperature within the punch/die/specimen assembly. A coupled thermoelectrical finite element model (FEM) with temperature dependent thermal and electric properties is implemented. Both experiment study and simulation show that temperature gradients exist in both radial and axial directions for electrically conductive and non-conductive specimens. The punches experience the highest temperatures, while the minimum is on the outer die surface, which is where the temperature is monitored for control purposes. A parametric study also show that the above mentioned temperature difference increases as thermal contact resistance increases or thermal conductivity of punch/die material decreases. Introduction Field activation sintering technique (FAST) belongs to a family of manufacturing techniques that produce sintered parts from powder via the application of electric field. A review on the historical background and recent research trends in sintering under electric field can be found in [1-3]. It is a die pressing technique in which the punches and the die are made of conductive material (typically graphite). Electric current is transmitted through the punch/die/specimen assembly. Experiments carried out for electrically conductive [4-6] and non-conductive powders [6-8] have shown some attractive characteristics of the compacted materials, including short overall cycle time, minimization of microstructure evolution; and indications that mechanical properties are improved.