Accurate and effective powder compaction analyses are performed for brittle materials such as graphite, utilized as a solid lubricant, by using the discrete element method (DEM). The reliability of the DEM analysis is confirmed by comparing the results of graphite powder compaction analyses using the DEM particle bonding contact model and particle non-bonding contact model with those from the powder compaction experiment under the same conditions. To improve the characteristics, the parameters influencing the compaction properties of the metal-graphite mixtures are explored. The compressibility increases as the size distribution of the graphite powder increases, where the shape of the graphite particles is uniform. The improved compaction characteristics of the metal-graphite (bonding model) mixtures are further verified by the stress transmission and compressive force distribution between the top and bottom punches. It is confirmed that the application of graphite (bonding model) powders resulted in improved stress transmission and compressive force distribution of 24% and 85%, respectively.

Irradiation of the metal nanoparticles causes local plasmon resonance in a specific wavelength band, which can improve the absorption and scattering properties of a structure. Since noble metal nanoparticles have better resonance effects than those of other metals, it is easy to identify plasmonic reactions and this is advantageous to find the optical tendency. Compared to having a particle gap or randomly arranged particle structures, densely and evenly packed structures can exhibit more uniform optical properties. Using the uniform properties, the structure can be applied to optical filtering applications. Therefore, in this paper, validation tests about metal nanoparticles and thin film structures are conducted for more accurate analysis. The optical properties of monolayer and bilayer noble metal nanoparticle structures with different diameters, packed in a uniform array, are investigated and their optical trends are analyzed. In addition, a thin film structure under identical conditions as metal nanoparticle structure is evaluated to confirm the improved optical characteristics.

In this paper, a durability study is presented to enhance the mechanical properties of an Fe-Si-Al powderbased magnetic core, through the addition of graphite. The compressive properties of Fe-Si-Al-graphite powder mixtures are explored using discrete element method (DEM), and a powder compaction experiment is performed under identical conditions to verify the reliability of the DEM analysis. Important parameters for powder compaction of Fe-Si-Algraphite powder mixtures are identified. The compressibility of the powders is observed to increase as the amount of graphite mixture increases and as the size of the graphite powders decreases. In addition, the compaction properties of the Fe-Si-Al-graphite powder mixtures are further explored by analyzing the transmissibility of stress between the top and bottom punches as well as the distribution of the compressive force. The application of graphite powders is confirmed to result in improved stress transmission and compressive force distribution, by 24% and 51%, respectively.

Powder compaction is a continually and rapidly evolving technology where it is a highly developed method ofmanufacturing reliable components. To understand existing mechanisms for compaction, parameter investigation isrequired. Experimental investigations on powder compaction process, followed by numerical modeling of compaction arepresented in this paper. The experimental work explores compression characteristics of soft and hard ductile powdermaterials. In order to account for deformation, fracture and movement of the particles, a discrete-finite element analysismodel is defined to reflect the experimental data and to enable investigations on mechanisms present at the particlelevel. Effects of important simulation factors and process parameters, such as particle count, time step, particle discret-ization, and particle size on the powder compaction procedure have been explored.