Your needs: characterise metal powders for the space sector
What is a metal powder?
A metal powder is a powder made from metals by various processes:
- Grinding of solid metal
- Precipitation of a salt from a solution
- Thermal decomposition of metal carbonyl (carbonyl process)
- Solid state reduction of metal oxide
- Electrodeposition
- Atomisation of molten metal
Why characterise a metal powder for the space sector?
To achieve consistently high quality of metal components, the properties of metal powders must be carefully analysed and characterised to ensure good powder flow, packing and friction, and the best metal composition.
Thus, to ensure the quality of the parts produced, metal powders must meet many requirements to achieve the expected performance.
FILAB supports you in the characterisation of metallic powders for the space industry
For more than 30 years, our FILAB laboratory has had the experience and specific analytical equipment to assist metallurgy manufacturers in the characterisation of powders using various analytical techniques: XRD, SEM-EDX, BET, laser granulometry, etc.
Instruments for the analysis of metal powders :
GranuHeap: measurement of the static properties of a metal powder (angle of repose, static cohesion index).
GranuDrum: measurement of flow properties (flow angle, dynamic cohesion index, angle of first avalanche, powder aeration).
GranuPack: measurement of the dynamic compaction of a metal powder (apparent density, tap density, Hausner ratio, densification dynamics).
GranuFlow: measurement of flow through orifices, a key indicator of powder flowability.
GranuCharge: measurement of the electrostatic properties of metal powders.
The FILAB laboratory is accredited ISO 17025 by the COFRAC for:
- specific surface measurement using the BET method (in accordance with ISO 9277) and laser particle size analysis (in accordance with ISO 13320 for liquid and dry analysis),
- density measurement using Helium pycnometry (in accordance with ASTM B923 and ISO 12154),
- grain size determination (in accordance with ASTM E112 and NF EN ISO 643) for solids.