The Behavior of melt flow during sintering of Cu-10wt%Sn has been studied. Compacts with various green densities (5.9-7.4 g/㎤) and Sn particle sizes (-74+53 and -150+125 um) have been rapidly heated to and sintered at various temperatures. After Sn particles fuse, a part of the Sn melt flows into the fine capillaries between Cu particles.
With decrease of green density and Sn particle size, the amount of liquid flow increases. This flow behavior is explained by a simple infiltration model and the formation of intermetallic compounds between Sn melt and Cu particles. The volume change with green density during sintering can be accounted by the shrinkage effect coming from particle rearrangement due to liquid flow and expansion effect attributed to the volume diffusion of Sn into Cu.
