Development of advanced sintering technology for industrial applications at Idaho National Laboratory
Electric-field assisted sintering (EFAS) is an advanced manufacturing method for efficient consolidation and processing of ceramic and metal materials. This is due to direct rapid heating of the materials and molds through Joule heating. The technique does have limitations though as it is traditionally a batch process and suffers from scale up difficulties. Researchers at Idaho National Laboratory designed and constructed a novel continuous EFAS system (CEFAS) whereby rollers are heated using the same physics used in batch style systems but can apply unique stress states through a rolling, compressive action. Its design creates highly localized electrical, thermal, and mechanical process parameters for continuous samples of limitless length. Furthermore, the world's largest, experimentally available EFAS system has been constructed at INL. System details, design processes, materials processed, and potential areas of impact as it pertains to electrochemical membranes will be discussed.