A new powder morphology for making high-porosity nickel structures

Nickel powders with a special branched chain microstructure such as CVRD Inco Limited's Type 255™ have been used for more than 50 years as the basis for making porous metal monoliths for applications such as the electrical backbone of nickel electrode batteries by the sinter/slurry process. The classic trade-off when making these structures is that the strength and porosity are inversely correlated. A number of adaptations to the sinter/slurry making process have been proposed to address this problem. The current approach proposes another solution, optimization of the particle microstructure. The strength and porosity relationship of battery plaques made from Type 255™ is compared with plaques made with the new powder and it is statistically verified that plaques made from the new powder have an improved combination of structural properties. A comparison of the rheological characteristics of metal powder slurries suggests ways that the new powder can be incorporated into existing processes. Finally, it is shown that properties such as the slurry apparent viscosity can be used as the basis for measuring and predicting the characteristics of particle microstructure that impute these benefits to the sinter/slurry process. An analysis of battery plaques made with the new powder on an industrial battery sinter/slurry production line confirms that the laboratory results are valid.