In this paper, a phenomenological model to predict the value of the electrical resistance of a compressed metal powder mass is proposed. The model, based on the experimental compressibility and resistivity-porosity curves, is useful in the field of the electrical resistance consolidation. In this area is often required to find out whether a certain mass of powder inside a die of specified inner section, and subjected to a certain compression, reaches a sufficiently small resistance value so that it can be consolidated by electrical means. The model also predicts the electrical resistance value of the powder mass in case of powders with no oxide layers, or after removing them mechanically or electrically by a previous activation process. The model predictions have been successfully validated through direct measurements of electrical resistance in powder aggregates both in as-received state and after electrical activation.

Commercially pure (C.P.) iron powders with a deliberate high degree of oxidation were consolidated by medium-frequency electrical resistance sintering (MF-ERS). This is a consolidation technique where pressure, and heat coming from a low-voltage and high-intensity electrical current, are simultaneously applied to a powder mass. In this work, the achieved densification rate is interpreted according to a qualitative microscopic model, based on the compacts global porosity and electrical resistance evolution. The effect of current intensity and sintering time on compacts was studied on the basis of micrographs revealing the porosity distribution inside the sintered compact. The microstructural characteristics of compacts consolidated by the traditional cold-press and furnace-sinter powder metallurgy route are compared with results of MF-ERS consolidation. The goodness of MF-ERS versus the problems of conventional sintering when working with oxidized powders is analyzed. The electrical consolidation can obtain higher densifications than the traditional route under non-reducing atmospheres.

In this work, powders of cemented ultrafine WC-6 wt.% Co were consolidated. The feasibility of the medium frequency electrical resistance sintering (MF-ERS) technique were studied to prevent WC grain growth during consolidation. Porosity and hardness were measured at different zones of the MF-ERS compacts. The compacts showed a slight inhomogeneity in their properties across their section, but it was controlled by choosing suitable values of the processing parameters. The optimal values for the material studied were current intensities between 7 and 8 kA and sintering times between 600 and 800 ms. The main achievement using this consolidation method was that sintered compacts essentially maintained the initial WC grain size. This was attained to processing times of less than 2 s, and without the need for using protective atmospheres.

A commercially pure (c.p.) nickel powder was consolidated by Medium-Frequency Electrical Resistance Sintering (MF-ERS). In this consolidation technique, a pressure and the heat released by a high-intensity and low-voltage electrical current are concurrently applied to a metal powder mass. A nickel powder with a high tap porosity (86%) and a low applied pressure (only 100 MPa) is chosen in order to be able to obtain compacts with different levels of porosity, to facilitate the study of the porosity influence on the compact properties. The influence of current intensity and heating time on the global porosity values, the porosity and microhardness distribution, and the electrical conductivity of the sintered compacts is studied. The properties of the compacts consolidated by MF-ERS are compared with the results obtained by the conventional powder metallurgy route, consisting of cold pressing and furnace sintering. A universal equation to describe the porosity influence on all the analyzed properties of powder aggregates and sintered compacts is proposed and validated.